Bio chapter 14 learning curve – Flashcards

The number of individuals that can be supported in a given habitat is the:
A. biotic potential
B. density-dependent effect
C. carrying capacity
D. innate capacity for increase
E. density-independent effect

Because constraints limit evolution, life histories are characterized by trade-offs between investments in growth, reproduction, and _______

aging is:
A. an increased risk of dying with increasing age
B. the underlying cause of all deaths, despite the initial appearance of accidents
C. the technical term for DNA loss over years
D. an increased risk of free-radical production that results in the loss of skin elasticity
E. a reference to the change in aesthetics over time in an individual

An “age pyramid”:
A. shows the current birth and death rates of a population
B. Predicts survival and mortality rates for an individual at a given age
C. reflects the number of individuals in various age groups in a population
D. directly future age distributions of the population
E. all of the above

disease is spread more quickly between individuals who live in close proximity, such as in a nesting colony of penguins. Disease can be considered a(n):
A. density-dependent factor
B. factor that increases carrying capacity
C. density-independent factor
D. factor that causes greater birth rate than death rate
E. exponential growth factor

life extension:
A. has not been achieved in the laboratory
B. is not possible because natural selection cannot weed out disease-causing alleles that have an effect only after reproductive age
C. can be achieved in species by selectively breeding individuals with the earliest age of maturity
D. both the first and third choices are true
E. all of the above

what is the “baby boom” of the twentieth century?
A. increasing birth rates that occurred after WWII and continue through today
B. the period before oral contraceptives when the average number of children was about six per person
C. a general term used to loosely describe any period during which the birth rate exceeds the death rate
D. increasing birth rates that occurred after WWII and continued through the early 1960s
E. the period during WWII during which oral contraceptives were banned due to budget decreases

which of the following statements about maximum sustainable yield is FALSE?
A. the maximum sustainable yield for a population is the population growth rate at about half the carrying capacity
B. the maximum sustainable yield for a population can be difficult to determine because it is not always possible to accurately measure carrying capacity
C. the max sustainable yield for a population can be difficult to determine because it is not always possible to accurately measure population size
D. the max sustainable yield for a population is a useful management guideline for harvesting plant products such as timber, but it is not helpful for managing animal populations
E. the concept of maximum sustainable yield can generate useful info for fighting the growth of pest species

which of the following is a MAJOR trradeoff in life histories?
A. size of offspring for a number or reproductive events
B. size of offspring for amount of parental investment
C. number of reproductive events for number of offspring per reproductive event
D. size of life span
E. growth for reproduction

lifespan extension has been scientifically achieved in ____ _____ in the lab

which of the following is NOT a means by which one can measure the “ecological footprint” of an organism, like human beings?
A. land
B. food and water
C. fuel consumption
D. oxygen consumption
E. none of the above

which of the following statements best exemplifies the difference between a population and an individual?
A. genetic changes do not occur within the individual
B. birth rates, death rates, immigration rates, and so on are features possessed by populations, not individuals
C. population ecology examined features that cannot be studied on an individual organism
D. all of the above exemplify the difference between a population and an individual
E. none of the above

which of the following characteristics is associated with a species whose life history strategy has a greater longevity and survival rate?
A. they have large numbers of offspring whenever they reproduce
B. they have many natural predators
C. they produce large numbers of gametes during reproduction
D. they do not provide much parental care to their offspring
E. their rate of population growth is low

natural selection:
A. does not influence again because aging is determined by an individual’s environment
B. cannot reduce the frequency of alleles that cause mortality among individuals who have not yet reached the age of maturity
C. cannot weed out from a population any alleles that do not reduce an individual’s relative reproductive success, even if these alleles increase an individual’s risk of dying
D. leads to an increase in the frequency of any illness-inducing alleles that have their effect when an organism can reproduce
E. can influence aging but not longevity

a primary difference between the age pyramids of industrialized and developing countries is that:
A. mean longevity is significantly greater in developing countries
B. in developing countries, females live significantly longer than males, whereas the reverse is true in industrialized countries
C. developing countries show a characteristic “bulge” that indicates a baby boom
D. in developing countries, much larger proportions of the population are in the youngest age groups
E. developing countries have significantly more individuals than industrialized ones

which of the following scenarios is MOST likely to result in oscillations of two populations together?
A. one population is the sole predator of another population
B. mob behavior causes a reduction in reproductive capacity
C. both populations form giant swarms that cause simultaneous decreases in population size
D. one population forms giant swarms that attack the other population
E. one population forces another to commit suicide

which of the following is NOT true about life history patterns in general?
A. the greater the average size of offspring, the fewer offspring are produced in a mating
B. the fewer the reproductive events, the longer individuals are likely to live
C. the longer a species lives, the more offspring they are likely to leave behind
D. the greater an investment in reproduction, the longer a species is likely to live
E. growth is slowed during periods when reproduction occurs

which of the following statements about the hazard factor of a population is FALSE?
A. it is responsible for the rate of again among the individuals in a population
B. it is higher for a population of porcupines than for a population of guinea pigs
C. it is a measure of how quickly the individuals in a population age
D. it is a measure of mortality risk from external (environmental) causes relative to internal (genetic) causes
E. it is a measure of an organism’s risk of death from external sources

the death rate of organisms in a population exhibiting a type III survivorship curve is:
A. usually correlated with density-independent causes
B. higher in post-reproductive than in pre-reproductive years
C. unrelated to age
D. lower after the organisms survive beyond the earliest age groups
E. more or less constant throughout their lives

organisms that live in high-risk worlds would tend to have:
A. shorter lifespans
B. aging that occurs earlier in the lifespan
C. an earlier reproductive age
D. all of the above
E. only the first and third choices are correct

in a population exhibiting logistic growth, the rate of population growth is greatest when N is:
A. .5K
B. 0
C. above the carrying capacity
D. K
E. all of the above are correct; the rate of population growth is constant in logistic growth

which of the following survivorship curve types is INCORRECTLY matched to its description and/or characteristic organism?
A. type I: high survivorship until old age: giant tortoise
B. Type II: survivorship decreases at a steady, regular pace: painted bunting
C. type III: high mortality early in life, but those that survive the early years live long lives: mackerel
D. type I: tend to produce a large amount of offspring with little investment: frogs
E. none of the above

experiments where the longevity of fruit flies was increased yielded insight into longevity and forced evolution. Which of the following statements pertaining to these experiments is false?
A. the generation time was increased to 6 weeks maximum
B. ultimately, flies with a genome free of mutations that might cause early death could contribute to the new generation
C. the net result was the creation of flies with much “cleaner” genomes
D. the average life span of the new flies was more than 60 days, which is double that of the original flies
E> all of the above are false

there are many causes of death due to aging in humans. This is because:
A. bodies naturally fall apart as they get older, regardless of what alleles a person carries
B. mutant alleles that cause adverse health effects early in life become more common in a population
C. mutant alleles that cause adverse health effects later in life become more common in a population
D. a persons reproductive output is the same whether they carry a “die young” allele or not
E. the longer a person lives, the more likely that person is to die from accidents, as well as disease

David reznick has studied life history evolution in guppies that live in streams in trinidad. guppies are found in two different types of habitats: sites where predation is higher, and sites where predation is low. Which of the following life history characteristics would you expect to evolve in a guppy population living in a high-predation site?
A. bright colors and courtship displays
B. increased parental care
C. delayed sexual maturity
D. increased egg size
E. none of the above