18) A migratory bat species pollinates agave plants in northern Mexico on its way to the
southwestern United States, where it spends the summer eating insects and reproducing. Farmers
spraying pesticides affect these bats, which eat the insects and also feed them to the baby bats.
This could be the start of a story about ________.
A) a top predator
B) an extirpation
C) an umbrella species
D) insect biodiversity
E) a keystone species
19) Ecotourism ________.
A) is a reasonable option only in impoverished countries
B) decreases biodiversity by causing increased speciation in environmentally sensitive areas
C) increases biodiversity by providing income for areas that might otherwise be destroyed
D) decreases biodiversity by selling souvenir organisms
E) increases biodiversity by introducing new, rare species
20) The area effect of the equilibrium theory of island biogeography suggests that ________.
A) the number of species increases with the size of the island; all else being equal, larger islands
contain more species
B) the number of individuals of each species decreases as the size of the island increases because
competition decreases population sizes
C) the number of species decreases with increasing island size; all else being equal, larger islands
contain fewer species
D) organism size (large or small) is what most affects the number of individuals of each species
E) the total number of species increases as an island is further from the mainland; the larger
distance from the mainland, the higher the probability of speciation
21) The Convention on Biological Diversity produced documents ________.
A) that included a set of international laws
B) designed to reduce biodiversity
C) that require biodiversity be used in a sustainable manner
D) that ensure the distribution of biodiversity’s benefits to wealthy countries that can pay for it
E) that spell out future management plans for all biomes
22) The country of Belize depends on lobster for a major portion of its income, along with
fishing and tourism. Over the past 30 years the average size of an individual lobster has dropped,
even as increasing numbers of Belizeans buy boats, build lobster traps, and enter the industry.
This is an example of ________.
A) the problems with monoculture
B) habitat alteration
C) the effects of pollution
D) the results of an invasive species
E) overharvesting
23) European rabbits were introduced into Australia and quickly spread, reproduced, and became
a terrible pest. They eat up to $600 million worth of food and pasture crops annually, and have
damaged the populations of many native plants and the populations of animals that eat the plants.
Twice in the past 50 years, rabbit diseases have been introduced to try to control the population,
with some success.This is a case where ________.
A) an extirpation has occurred
B) habitat alteration has reduced biodiversity
C) an invasive species has reduced the genetic diversity of indigenous species
D) introduced diseases reduced the genetic diversity of indigenous species
E) climate change has reduced the genetic diversity of indigenous species
24) The wood thrush makes its nest in woodlands in southeastern Canada. As patches of woods
become smaller, and with more of their perimeter exposed, increasing numbers of wood thrush
nests have eggs laid in them by the brown-headed cowbird. Cowbirds live in open fields and are
nest parasites; the female cowbird flies up to an unattended nest, quickly lays an egg in another
bird’s nest, and leaves the host parents to raise their “adopted” young. Wood thrushes are
decreasing in numbers because ________.
A) habitat fragmentation makes it easier for cowbird parasitism to occur
B) cowbirds are an invasive species that is rapidly increasing
C) climate change is reducing nest site availability
D) overharvesting in the open fields has driven the cowbirds into the woodlands
E) pollution of the open fields has caused a change in cowbird behaviour
25) In his 2005 book, Richard Louv maintains that today’s children ________.
A) develop more balanced emotions in urban compared to natural settings
B) should not be exposed to the dangers of natural ecosystems
C) have a better understanding of natural environments than their grandparents
D) suffer psychologically and emotionally from “nature deficit syndrome”
E) should not participate in environmental education programs until high school
26) There are three islands off the coast of British Columbia: their distance from the mainland
and area are, respectively: island X: 10 km, 10 km2; island Y: 20 km, 10 km2; and island Z: 10
km, 20 km2.
Based on the equilibrium model of island biogeography, one may expect that ________.
A) X will have the most species
B) Y will have the most species
C) Z will have the most species
D) Y and Z will have the most species
E) X and Y will have the most species
27) Which of the following would be most vulnerable to extinction?
A) a moth, brought to Canada for silk production, escaping into the wild and becoming
established
B) an orchid endemic to an area where logging is occurring
C) Atlantic salmons brought to the salmon farms on the Pacific Coast of Canada and escaping
from the cages.
D) a migratory flock of warblers stopping along its winter route to feed on local resources that
are now gone and replaced by a suburb
E) a mould that attacks wheat in a field
28) The first Canadian national park was ________.
A) Prince Albert
B) Gros Morne
C) Banff
D) Cape Breton Highlands
E) Glacier
29) Buying a parcel of land to preserve it in its natural condition is an action typical of
________.
A) municipal governments
B) Department of Natural Resources
C) Greenpeace
D) Land Lease
E) Nature Conservancy
30) The SLOSS dilemma is often resolved using ________.
A) insights from island biogeography models
B) controlled burns
C) government subsidies to farmers and ranchers
D) biological characteristics of biomes
E) climatographs
31) Wildlife corridors between several small protected areas are NOT ________.
A) a solution that favours the “Several Small” option in the SLOSS dilemma
B) providing large animals with access to more habitats
C) an example of the application of the findings of an island biogeography model
D) helping to counter the habitat fragmentation
E) a solution that favours the “Single Large” option in the SLOSS dilemma
32) In all wildlife refuges ________ is/are NOT allowed.
A) hunting
B) hunting and fishing
C) logging, hunting, and fishing
D) logging and hunting
E) logging
33) The Hamilton Naturalists Club was ________.
A) was formed in 1976 with the intent to ensure multiple use and sustainable yield of forest
resources
B) established in 1989 and was instrumental in establishing a bird sanctuary in Hamilton
C) founded in 1919 and began acquiring land for conservation; it is the oldest land trust in
Canada
D) organized in 1981 and offers subsidies to timber companies if they replant areas in public
lands
E) was chartered in 1973 to set up the formation of land trusts on public lands
9.5 True/False Questions
1) Paleontologists estimate that roughly 99% of all species that have ever lived are already
extinct.
2) Resource conservation for protection of pharmaceuticals is overstated because only about 25%
of the people on our planet use biological resources directly in traditional medicine.
3) DNA is currently being recovered from extinct species to be used in cloning.
4) Extinction is a relatively new phenomenon, as it only results from the impacts of humans on
natural species.
5) Nongovernmental agencies are currently paying off countries’ debts in exchange for promises
to keep diverse areas under protection.
6) Habitat fragmentation increases ecological diversity and also biodiversity.
7) Under the Canadian legislation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA) the final word on whether
or not a species is included on the protected list belongs to the scientific body COSEWIC.
8) Biosphere reserves are one of several types of internationally managed protected lands.
9) Land trusts are local or regional organizations funded by forest industries that purchase land to
harvest its resources.
9.6 Essay Questions
1) What is the value, to a species, of having genetic diversity?
2) What is the value, to humankind, of biodiversity in the organisms with which we share our
planet?
3) What are the basic concepts of the equilibrium theory of island biogeography? How do they
apply to terrestrial ecosystems?
4) Is extinction natural? How has the extinction rate changed over time? Why are extinction rates
today different than in the past?
5) What is the main federal legislation protecting the biological diversity in Canada? What are its
criticisms? Give an example.
6) What are the four traditional reasons for the development of parks and protected areas? What
fifth reason has been added recently?
7) Provide several reasons why our estimates of species numbers are incomplete and to which
taxonomic groups these reasons particularly apply. How we can try to compensate for these
limitations?
8) What is the “wise-use” movement? What are its goals compared with the goals of the
environmental movement and whose interests does it represent?
9) Define a biodiversity hot spot. Why is this concept useful in international conservation
efforts?
10) What is the latitudinal gradient in species richness? Describe several hypotheses explaining
it.
9.7 Scenario-Based Questions
Read the following scenario and answer the questions below.
Western Canada contains a series of tall mountain ranges that extend south through the United
States and far down into Mexico. The largest of these ranges are the Rockies and the Coast
Range, but they are all part of the same mountain-building event that occurred many millions of
years ago, and they all have similar features. In the southwestern United States, much of the
vegetation on these mountaintops is alpine, or very similar to the vegetation of the mountains in
Western Canada, and they are often referred to as “Sky Islands” because of their similarity to
each other, their higher moisture content, and their isolation from the lower, drier, areas
surrounding them.
1) There are groups of tropical birds, such as trogons and parrots, that are usually considered to
live in Central America and the mountains of southern and central Mexico. Small populations of
these birds migrate into the United States each year. It is probably true that ________.
A) more of these birds are found in the mountains of New Mexico and Arizona than in the
mountains of Colorado or Canada
B) more of these birds are found in the taller mountains of Canada than in the shorter mountains
in southern Arizona, even if the relative area of the mountains is the same
C) these birds can live in the lower, drier elevations in Canada as well as in the mountain ranges
D) these birds migrate to southern Vancouver Island in the winter because it is warmer there
E) these birds have higher genetic diversity in the Canadian populations than in the populations
in Central America
2) Large predators and omnivores, such as mountain lions and bears, roam the Sky Islands of the
southwestern United States. Which of the following statements is true?
A) Because of habitat fragmentation, the individual populations of these Sky Islands have more
biodiversity than they did in the past.
B) Because of habitat fragmentation, the individual populations of these Sky Islands have less
genetic diversity than they did in the past.
C) Because of immigration and emigration, the individual populations of these Sky Islands have
less biodiversity than they did in the past.
D) Because of immigration and emigration, the individual populations of these Sky Islands have
more biomass than they did in the past.
E) Because of extirpation, many of these individual populations have more biodiversity than they
did in the past.
3) The tendency of humans to want to live in these Sky Islands, visit them for recreation, and use
them for lumber or for wood pulp, causes ________.
A) increased ecosystem diversity
B) increased genetic diversity
C) increased biomass
D) increased habitat fragmentation
E) decreased extirpation
4) According to the principles of island biogeography and the species-area curve, these Sky
Islands have ________.
A) more large mammals than birds
B) more carnivores than producers
C) more beetles and butterflies than reptiles
D) more snakes than mice
E) more fish than mammals
5) Because the pine-oak woodlands of the Sky Islands of Mexico and the southwestern United
States have a large number of endemic species and have lost large amounts of habitat to
development, they have been listed as one of the ________.
A) extirpation areas of the Endangered Species List
B) keystone areas of the Endangered Species List
C) umbrella species areas for the Convention on Biological Diversity
D) biodiversity hot spots of Conservation International
E) transport areas of CITES
6) Regarding the Sky Islands, it is likely that ________.
A) the biodiversity is evenly distributed through the mountains that stretch from Central America
up through the Rockies into Montana, Idaho, and Canada
B) there is more biodiversity in the northern end of the mountain ranges because of the milder
climate
C) there is more biodiversity in the southern end of the mountain ranges because of the
latitudinal gradient
D) the biodiversity is patchy because of the altitudinal gradient
E) no claims about relative biodiversity can be made
7) The World Conservation Union’s Red List includes several species of birds and amphibians
that live in these Sky Islands. This indicates that these species ________.
A) are completely extinct
B) have been extirpated
C) are under intense breeding programs to increase biodiversity
D) face high risks of extinction
E) have been successful in returning from near extinction
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