Population Ecology Diagnostic - Answers

Population Ecology Diagnostic Questions 1. What term is used to describe the number of individuals moving into a population? a) emigration b) imitation c) immigration d) migration 2. What is population density? a) pattern of spacing of a population in an area b) number of organisms in an area c) characteristics of a population d) manner in which a population grows 3. When does zero population growth occur? a) when birth rate equals death rate b) when death rate exceeds birth rate c) when birth rate exceeds death rate d) when there are zero births 4. Which is a density-dependent factor? a) disease b) fire c) flooding d) weather 5. Which is a density-independent factor? a) competition b) extreme cold c) parasites d) predation 6. Which factor can limit the carrying capacity of a population? a) emigration b) predation c) available nutrients d) extreme temperatures 7. The study of the size, density, distribution, and movement of the human population is _______. a) bioinformatics b) demography c) ecology d) ethnography 8. Which is a primary reason for the decline in the percent growth of the human population after 1962? a) b) c) d) 9. decreased agriculture famine and wars setbacks in medicine voluntary population control What will happen to the human population when the birthrate equals the death rate? a) CDC b) HPG c) PGR d) ZPG 10. Which type of population growth model does this graph represent? a) b) c) d) exponential spatial genetic logistic 11. Based on the information in the graph, infer which statement accurately represents the information provided. a) India has very little land for farming. b) Germany is smaller per acre than the United States. c) More land is used to support an individual in the United States. d) A person in Indonesia requires more land than a person in Brazil. 12. Use the graph to explain the growth of the mice population. Answer: If two adult mice breed and produce a litter and their offspring survive to breed, then the population grows slowly at first. This slow growth is defined as the lag phase. The rate of population growth begins to increase rapidly because the total number of organisms that are able to reproduce has increased. Exponential growth occurs when the growth rate is proportional to the size of the population. All populations grow exponentially until some limiting factor slows the population’s growth. 13. An ecologist estimates a population density of 2.3 lemmings per square meter of tundra. What would be the approximate number of lemmings over 1000 square meters of tundra? a) 0.23 b) 23 c) 230 d) 2300 14. The ecologist finds that over a 1000m2 plot of tundra, lemmings tend to concentrate in clumps in drier areas. What is the term for this pattern of spacing? a) density b) dispersion c) logistic spacing d) spatial distribution 15. Brine shrimp are able to survive only in certain lakes that have a very high salt concentration. Which is the correct population characteristic of brine shrimp? a) It is density-dependent. b) It is limited by biotic factors. c) It has a limited spatial distribution. d) It is randomly dispersed in the environment. 16. Why does the population growth level off at 10,000? a) Biotic factors have made survival difficult. b) The population has reached its carrying capacity. c) Density-independent factors have slowed the growth of the population. d) Immigration into the population has reached the maximum limit. 17. Which organism is the best example of a k-strategist? a) wolf b) grasshopper c) rabbit d) whale