37) The main purpose of wildlife (movement) corridors is to _____.
A) slow down the introduction of new individuals of a species
B) slowly introduce a species to a new preserve
C) create more edge habitat
D) connect two otherwise isolated populations
38) A land developer and several ecologists are discussing how a parcel of private land should be
developed while saving twenty hectares as natural habitat. The land developer suggests that the
twenty hectares be divided into twenty separate one-hectare areas. The ecologists suggest that it
would be better to have one intact parcel of twenty hectares. What is the significance of these
different arrangements of the twenty hectares?
A) There really is no difference; they should both work equally well.
B) The isolated hectare plots increase the ability of individuals to disperse from one habitat to
another.
C) The isolated plots are more vulnerable to edge effects.
D) The large plot will create more inbreeding in many species.
39) Looking at the figure above, what can be said about edge effects?
A) Biomass declines along edges of forest fragments.
B) Biomass increases along the edges of forest fragments.
C) Species diversity decreases along the edges of forest fragments.
D) Fragmentation does not affect biomass.
40) Which of the following is generally true about the current research regarding forest
fragmentation?
A) Fragmented forests promote biodiversity because they result in the combination of forest-
edge species and forest-interior species.
B) In fragmented forests, the number of forested-adapted species tend to decline and the number
of edge species tend to increase.
C) Fragmented forests are the goal of conservation biologists who design wildlife preserves.
D) The disturbance of timber extraction causes the species diversity to increase because of the
new habitats created.
41) Brown-headed cowbirds utilize fragmented forests effectively by _____.
A) feeding on the fruits of shrubs that tend to grow at the forest/open-field interface
B) parasitizing the nests of forest birds and feeding on open-field insects
C) roosting in forest trees and nesting in grassy fields
D) outcompeting other songbird species for access to nesting holes in old-growth trees
42) Movement (wildlife) corridors can be harmful to certain species because they _____.
A) increase inbreeding
B) spread disease and parasites
C) increase genetic diversity
D) allow seasonal migration
43) Locating new nature preserves in biodiversity hot spots may not necessarily the best choice
because _____.
A) hot spots are situated in remote areas not accessible to the public
B) their ecological importance makes land purchase very expensive
C) a hot spot helps conserve only a few species
D) changing environmental conditions may shift the location of the communities
44) What is the biggest problem with selecting a site for a preserve?
A) Making a proper selection is difficult because currently the environmental conditions of
almost any site can change quickly.
B) Keystone species are difficult to identify in potential preserve sites.
C) Only lands that are not useful to human activities are available for preserves.
D) Most of the best sites are inaccessible by land transportation, so making roads to them is often
prohibitively expensive.
45) What is a critical load?
A) the amount of nutrient augmentation necessary to bring a depleted habitat back to its former
level
B) the level of a given toxin in an ecosystem that is lethal to 50 percent of the species present
C) the amount of added nutrient that can be absorbed by plants without damaging ecosystem
integrity
D) the number of predators an ecosystem can support that effectively culls prey populations to
healthy levels
46) Agricultural lands frequently require nutrient augmentation because _____.
A) nitrogen-fixing bacteria are not as plentiful in agricultural soils because of the use of
pesticides
B) the nutrients that become the biomass of plants are not cycled back to the soil on lands where
they are harvested
C) land that is available for agriculture tends to be nutrient-poor
D) cultivation of agricultural land inhibits the decomposition of organic matter
47) This is caused by excessive nutrient runoff into aquatic ecosystems.
A) depletion of ozone layer
B) acid precipitation
C) biological magnification
D) eutrophication
48) This causes extremely high levels of toxic chemicals in fish-eating birds.
A) acid precipitation
B) biological magnification
C) greenhouse effect
D) eutrophication
Use the following graph and information to answer the question below.
Flycatcher birds that migrate from Africa to Europe feed their nestlings a diet that is almost
exclusively moth caterpillars. The graph below shows the mean dates of arrival, bird hatching,
and peak caterpillar season for the years 1980 and 2000.
49) The shift in the peak of caterpillar season is most likely due to _____.
A) earlier migration returns of flycatchers
B) an innate change in the biological clock of the caterpillars
C) global warming
D) acid precipitation in Europe
50) Your friend is wary of environmentalists’ claims that global warming could lead to major
biological change on Earth. Which of the following statements can you use in response to your
friend’s suspicions?
I) We know that atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased over the past 150 years.
II) Through measurements and observations, we know that carbon dioxide levels and
temperature fluctuations are directly correlated, even in prehistoric times.
III) Global warming could have significant effects on agriculture in the United States.
A) only I
B) only II
C) only III
D) I, II, and III
51) The main cause of the increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere over
the past 150 years is _____.
A) increased worldwide primary production
B) an increase in the amount of infrared radiation absorbed by the atmosphere
C) the burning of larger amounts of wood and fossil fuels
D) additional respiration by the rapidly growing human population
52) Which of the following is a consequence of biological magnification (biomagnification)?
A) Toxic chemicals in the environment pose greater risk to top-level predators than to primary
consumers.
B) Populations of top-level predators are generally smaller than populations of primary
consumers.
C) Only a small portion of the energy captured by producers is transferred to consumers.
D) The amount of biomass in the producer level of an ecosystem decreases if the producer
turnover time increases.
53) Why are changes in the global carbon cycle important?
I) Burning reduces available carbon for primary producers and, therefore, primary consumers.
II) Deforestation and suburbanization reduce an area’s net primary productivity.
III) Increasing atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide could alter Earth’s climate.
IV) By using fossil fuels we are destroying a nonrenewable resource.
A) only I and III
B) only II and IV
C) only II, III, and IV
D) only I, II, III, and IV
54) Looking at the figure above, what can you conclude about the data?
A) As species richness changes, plant biomass remains consistent.
B) As species richness increases, plant biomass increases.
C) As species richness increases, plant biomass increases and then levels off.
D) As species richness decreases, plant biomass increases.
55) Examine the figure above and consider this hypothesis: Plant biomass increases with species
richness. In looking at the data in the figure above, how would you relate it to this hypothesis?
The hypothesis is _____.
A) partially supported
B) supported
C) rejected
56) Examine the figure above, which notes the average barrels of oil used per person per year in
different countries. What can be concluded?
A) Residents in warmer climates use more energy per person.
B) Residents of industrialized countries use more energy per person.
C) Residents of more populated countries use more energy per person.
D) English-speaking countries tend to use more energy per person.
57) The main goal of sustainable development is to _____.
A) involve more countries in conservation efforts
B) use only natural resources in the construction of new buildings
C) use natural resources such that they do not decline over time
D) reevaluating and re-implementing management plans over time
Copyright © 2003 American Institute of Biological Sciences. (Foster, D.R., F. Swanson, J. Aber,
D. Tilman, N. Brokaw, I. Burke and A. Knapp. 2003. The importance of land-use and its legacies
to ecology and environmental management. BioScience 53:77-88.)
58) Based on the figure above, what can you conclude about the history of land use in the
southern Yucatán?
A) Massive soil erosion caused the Mayan population to crash.
B) Reduction in forest cover caused the Mayan population to crash.
C) As Mayan population increased, deforestation increased, probably leading to increased soil
erosion.
D) This Mayan population practiced sustainable development.
59) Which of the following nations has become a world leader in the establishment of zoned
reserves?
A) Costa Rica
B) China
C) United States
D) Mexico
60) Which of the following statements about protected areas that have been established to
preserve biodiversity are correct?
I) About 25 percent of Earth’s land area is now protected.
II) National parks are one of many types of protected areas.
III) Management of a protected area should be coordinated with management of the land
surrounding the area.
IV) It is especially important to protect biodiversity hot spots.
A) only I and III
B) only II and IV
C) only I, II, and IV
D) only II, III, and IV
61) Eutrophication is often caused by excess limiting nutrient runoff from agricultural fields into
aquatic ecosystems. This results in massive algal blooms, which eventually die and decompose,
ultimately depleting the dissolved oxygen and killing large numbers of fish and other aquatic
organism. Predict which of the following human actions would best address the problem of
eutrophication near agricultural areas?
A) After each eutrophication event, remove the dead fish and invertebrates to place on
agricultural fields instead of fertilizer.
B) Determine which limiting nutrient is responsible for the algal bloom and use other fertilizers
to apply to crops.
C) Remove the algae before it dies and decomposes to prevent eutrophication from occurring.
D) Determine critical nutrient loads required for certain crops and do not exceed this amount
during fertilizer application.
62) Elevated carbon dioxide levels have been shown to contribute to the greenhouse effect,
resulting in an increase in mean global temperature. Ecosystems where the largest warming has
already occurred include snow-covered northern coniferous forests, tundra, and arctic sea ice
habitats. Which statement best explains how the elimination of ice-covered ecosystems affects
the rise or fall in global temperature?
A) Melting ice releases dissolved ozone gas, which adds to the greenhouse effect.
B) More reflective surfaces of ice are replaced with darker, more absorptive surfaces, thereby
contributing to the warming trend.
C) Large-scale ice melts actually contribute toward lowering global temperatures by decreasing
salinity of the oceans.
D) Carbon dioxide levels are lowered as a result of greater volume of water to accommodate
greater dissolved gas.
63) A parasitic fungus, Geomyces destructans, has decimated millions of bats in the United
States since it was first observed in upstate New York in 2006. The disease has been named
White-nose syndrome because of the white fungal hyphae that cover the bat upon infection. It is
believed that this fungus was introduced from Europe by into caves with hibernating bat
populations. Which prediction most likely reflects changes that will occur in natural
communities as a result of massive bat mortality?
A) Increased animal populations as a result of niche availability.
B) Increased rodent populations as a result of an increase in flying insect populations.
C) Increased flying insect populations and decreased populations of bat-pollinated plants
D) Decreased bird populations as the spread of the fungus infects other closely