Cohort Studies and Survivorship Curves Quiz

Which of the following best describes species distribution?

The movement of individuals away from an area of origin
The spatial arrangement of species that have dispersed (correct)
The evolutionary history of a species
The factors that dictate the distribution of species

What is the fundamental question of ecologists regarding species distribution?

Where do species occur?
Why do species occur in a certain area? (correct)
How do species disperse?
What are the ecological factors that dictate species distribution?

What is dispersal in ecology?

The movement of individuals away from an area of origin (correct)
The spatial arrangement of species that have dispersed
The evolutionary history of a species
The factors that dictate the distribution of species

What can be a limitation to dispersal?

Physical barriers (D) Signup and view all the answers

What helps to explain patterns of species distribution?

Molecular evidence (A) Signup and view all the answers

Where are kangaroos primarily found?

Australia (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of interaction is described as a general term for any +/- interaction where one species benefits by feeding on another species?

Exploitation (D) Signup and view all the answers

What type of coloration deters predators through warning or bright coloration?

Aposematic coloration (A) Signup and view all the answers

What type of interaction involves one species killing and eating another species?

Predation (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of interaction involves one species benefiting while the other is not harmed?

Commensalism (B) Signup and view all the answers

What type of interaction occurs when both species benefit from the interaction?

Mutualism (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the number of species present in a community?

Species richness (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of community is more resistant to invasive species?

Communities with high species diversity (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the role of dominant species in a community?

They are the most abundant or have the highest biomass (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which species have a pivotal role or niche in a community?

Keystone species (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for species that dramatically alter their environment?

Ecosystem engineers (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which type of control occurs when a lower trophic level affects the community structure of higher trophic levels by means of resource restriction?

Bottom-up control (A) Signup and view all the answers

What does the top-down model postulate about community organization?

Predation controls community organization because predators control herbivores (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is a characteristic of Type I survivorship curve?

Flat at the start and during mid-life, then drops steeply among older age groups (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the ecological niche of an organism?

The specific set of biotic and abiotic resources that an organism uses in its environment (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the carrying capacity of a population?

The maximum population size that a particular environment can sustain (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is competitive exclusion?

When two species in a community compete for a limited resource and one species has a competitive edge, leading to the exclusion of the other species (B) Signup and view all the answers

What are interspecific interactions?

Interactions between individuals of two different species (B) Signup and view all the answers

How is a life table constructed?

By calculating the proportion of a cohort that survives from one age group to the next (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT an abiotic factor that affects dispersal?

Predation (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is an example of a fundamental niche?

A species that can survive in a wide range of abiotic conditions (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a biotic factor that affects dispersal?

Temperature (A) Signup and view all the answers

What are the two most important abiotic factors that limit species distribution?

Temperature and moisture (B) Signup and view all the answers

What is the density of a population?

The number of individuals per unit area or volume (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the mark-recapture method used for?

Estimating the size of a population (C) Signup and view all the answers