ECOLGEN Comprehensive Exam

Which of the following constitutes a primary storage reservoir within the nitrogen cycle?

Which nutrient primarily accelerates cultural eutrophication in lakes compared to other nutrients?

Which nutrient typically limits growth in unpolluted lakes and rivers?

Which of the following makes up a major storage pool within the phosphorus cycle?

Which nutrient does NOT contribute to the formation of acid rain?

Which nutrient typically exhibits the lowest turnover rate, taking the longest to renew?

What is the primary reason nutrients at the ocean bottom are not fully utilized for photosynthesis?

Which description accurately characterizes the sulfur cycle?

If a soil sample contains 8 moles of nitrogen and 8 moles of phosphorus, what is the potential carbon assimilation by plants assuming Redfield stoichiometry?

If soil contains 8 moles of nitrogen and 8 moles of phosphorus, which nutrient will be left over after crop harvesting, assuming plant growth adheres to the Redfield ratio?

In a container with 32 moles of organic nitrogen and 1 mole of available phosphorus, how many moles of phosphorus fertilizer are needed to achieve 159 moles of fixed carbon, assuming the plants follow the Redfield ratio?

If a soil sample contains 16 moles of nitrogen and 2 moles of phosphorus, what is the maximum fixed carbon possible if all nitrogen is utilized and plants follow the Redfield ratio?

Given a soil pot containing 16 moles of nitrogen and 2 moles of phosphorus, which nutrient remains after plant harvesting when following the Redfield ratio?

Which statement accurately describes the various forms of stored carbon within the carbon cycle?

In a pot of soil containing 16 moles of nitrogen and 2 moles of phosphorus, identify the limiting nutrient assuming Redfield stoichiometry for plant growth.

In an ecosystem, what is the expected most abundant trophic level given a certain amount of primary production by plants?

Assuming 10% trophic transfer efficiency, calculate the total energy available to GIVEN 5,000 kg C / sq km photosynthesized by primary producers.

Which statement explains the relative rarity of large terrestrial predators within most ecosystems?

According to the figure, which stock has the longest residence time of nutrients

According to the figure, if there is an increase in nutrient uptake and all other conditions remain constant, which stock will deplete first

According to the figure, if suspension feeding is doubled and all other conditions remain constant, which stock will deplete first

According to the figure, if precipitation doubles and there is an increase of Phosphorous in the sediment, which stock increases next?

According to the figure, if the amount of Phosphorous in the water increases while all other conditions remain constant, what happens to the sediment stock amounts?

According to the figure, which stock has the fastest turnover rate?

According to the figure, if sediments and Spartina stocks were the system of interest, what type of system would that be?

If we consider only the Spartina stock or pool and the processes (flows) to and from it as our system of interest, we are dealing with:

If we consider only the water, sediments, Spartina, detritus, and filter feeders stocks or pools and the processes (flows) between them as our system of interest, we are dealing with:

If ANIMAL DECOMPOSITION is doubled in the above figure and all other processes remain unchanged, what happens next after (P in) FILTER FEEDERS is nearly depleted and (P in) WATER increases?

If ANIMAL DECOMPOSITION is halved in the above figure and all other processes remain unchanged, what happens next after (P in) FILTER FEEDERS increases and (P in) WATER is nearly depleted?

Sunlight (along with nutrients) are converted to energy in biomass by plants. This biomass is converted to produce energy in firewood and fossil fuels. Firewood and fossil fuels are burned to produce heat. Heat is used to produce kinetic (mechanical) energy. Kinetic energy is used to generate electricity. Given this series of conversions of energy from one form to another, which of the following statements in INCORRECT

The fitness pattern in Figure 3A drives selection that will result in?

The fitness pattern in Figure 3D drives selection that will result in?

The fitness pattern in Figure 3C drives selection that will result in?

Which fitness pattern in Figure 3 will result in an increase in body size over time?

Which fitness pattern in Figure 3 describes stabilizing selection?

Which fitness pattern in Figure 3 describes disruptive selection

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=5%, Aa=80%, aa=15%. What is the frequency of the “A” allele (in proportions)?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=5%, Aa=80%, aa=15%. Which genotype is in short supply (that is, in less proportions than equilibrium levels)?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=50%, Aa=50%, aa=0%. What is the frequency of the “a” allele (in proportions)?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=50%, Aa=50%, aa=0%. Which observed genotype(s) is/are farthest from equilibrium?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=50%, Aa=50%, aa=0%. If the “A” allele determines the larger beak depth of this species (“AA” leads to large beak depth, “Aa” is moderate beak depth, and “aa” leads to smaller beak depth), what type of selection is this population experiencing?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=45%, Aa=10%, aa=45%. Which genotype(s) will have the largest frequency/frequencies when the observed population achieves Hardy Weinberg equilibrium?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=45%, Aa=10%, aa=45%. If the “A” allele determines the larger beak depth of this species (“AA” leads to large beak depth, “Aa” is moderate beak depth, and “aa” leads to smaller beak depth), what type of selection is this population experiencing?

A hypothetical population was found to have a genotype frequency of AA=5%, Aa=90%, aa=5%. If the “A” allele determines the larger beak depth of this species (“AA” leads to large beak depth, “Aa” is moderate beak depth, and “aa” leads to smaller beak depth), what type of selection is this trait likely experiencing in this population?

If Abingdon is the first and Daphne is the last island to be colonized in the above figure, what kind of selection did the bird in Daphne experience

If Chatham is the first and Crossman is the last island to be colonized in the above figure, what kind of selection did G. fuliginosa experience?

If Chatham is the first and Crossman is the last island to be colonized in the above figure, what kind of selection did G. fuliginosa experience?

The extinction of G. magnirostris in Charles and Chatham is probably the result of a shortage of food appropriate for its large beak. If so, what kind of selection is the population of G. magnirostris in Abingdon, Bindloe, James, and Jervis islands likely experiencing?

Figure 4 shows hypothetical assemblage of species along a gradient (which could be beak depth and corresponding food sizes). Which of the following species will likely drive directional selection in Species A?

Figure 4 shows hypothetical assemblage of species along a gradient (which could be beak depth and corresponding food sizes). Which of the following species will likely experience stabilizing selection?

Complete the life table for the following: lx of 1.0, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.062; a 5 year life-span, fecundity schedule (mx) of 0.0, 2.0, 2.4, 2.4, 0.0 respectively for each of the five years. What is the next reproductive rate (R0) of this population?

Complete the life table for a hypothetical organism with a 5 year life span and the following: lx of 1.0, 0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.062 respectively for each of the five years. What is the average life expectancy of an individual of this population at birth ?

What kind of survivorship curve does a hypothetical organism with a 5 year life-span and the following dx 100, 400, 287, 185, 28 have?

Complete the life table for a hypothetical organism with a 5 year life-span and the following: nx of 1000, 900, 500, 213, 28 respectively for each of the five years. What is the average life expectancy of an individual of the oldest age class of this population?

Complete the life table for the following: dx of 500, 375, 109, 15, 1; a 5 year life-span, fecundity schedule (mx) of 0.0, 2.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0 respectively for each of the five years. What is the next reproductive rate (R0) of this population?

Complete the life table for the following age class (up to 100 years) and dx combinations: 0-10:16, 11-20: 1, 21-30: 3, 31-40: 4, 41-50:11, 51-60:11, 61-70:10, 71-80:31, 81-90:26, 91-100: 6. What is the average life expectancy of a newborn individual of this population?

What kind of life-history strategy does a hypothetical organism with a 5 year life-span and the following: nx (1000, 100, 85, 40, 20) have?

What is the effective population size if 40% of the panmictic (=random mating) population of 100 humans are life-long monogamous (i.e., typically having one mate) females and the rest are polygamous

The _______ dispersion pattern is the result of aggressive, competitive interactions between individuals of a population.

The ________ dispersion pattern suggests unevenly distributed resources in an environment.

The ________ dispersion pattern suggests positive interactions among individuals in a population.

The _________ dispersion pattern suggests an individual has an equal opportunity of occurring anywhere in an area

What is the effective population size if 40% of the panmictic population of 100 butterflyfishes are monogamous males and the rest are polygamous females?

What is the effective population size if 40% of the panmictic (=random mating) population of 100 humans are polygamous males (i.e., typically having more than one mate) and the rest are polygamous

Arrange the following ideas describing biological evolution through natural selection by choosing a number from 1 to 5 corresponding to the logical sequence (1 being first):

a. The genetic composition and consequent general characters of the populations change over time

b. Those genotypes that confer an advantage get passed on to more individuals in the succeeding generations as their bearers are more successful in having more offspring

c. Populations grow faster than their resources can support. Random mutation creates variations in genotypes (and consequent phenotypes). These variations are passed on to succeeding generations.

d. Individuals in the population compete depending on severity of crowding, resource supply. Both lead to different biological conditions over time and space. Physical and chemical conditions in the environment differ over time and space.

e. Some phenotypes (and corresponding genotypes) confer an advantage during competition; others confer a disadvantage to those competing individuals that have this trait.