Unit 3 Populations

The fertility of a population is defined as:

• the reproductive capacity of the females

• the number of individuals of each sex

• the number of individual born per unit time

• the change in the total population per unit time

Which of the following is true of a specialist species:

• narrow niche, low risk of extinction

• broad niche, high risk of extinction

• narrow niche, high risk of extinction

• broad niche, low risk of extinction

The following are likely to be pioneer species in an ecological succession:

• Specialists and r-selected species

• Specialists and K-selected species

• Generalists and K-selected species

• Generalists and r-selected species

Which of the following is not true of K-selected species:

• Population regulation is usually density independent

• Population size tends to be stable over time

• Reproductive rate is slower

• Population regulation is usually density dependent.

A typical sequence of species succession in a primary succession is:

• K-strategists > intermediate strategists. r-strategists

• r-strategists> intermediate strategists> K-strategists

• r-strategists> K-strategists> intermediate strategists

• There is no typical pattern of species replacement

A Type I (late loss) survivorship is typical of:

• r-selected organisms

• Marine invertebrates

• Rodents

• K-selected organisms

An age structure diagram can provide information on:

• The proportion of young in the population

• Whether reproduction has been successful

• Whether a population is increasing or decreasing

• All of the above

Carrying capacity is defined as:

• The maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support indefinitely

• The maximum number of individuals an ecosystem can support for a brief period

• A measure of ecosystem quality

• A measure determining logistic growth.

The graph shows changes in a marmot population in Utah. The graph indicates that:

• The carrying capacity for this population is ~150 marmots.

• The carrying capacity for this population has been increasing over time.

• The carrying capacity for this population is ~120 marmots.

• The ecosystem was not able to support this population of marmots.

An example of a density independent limiting factor is:

• A decrease in water due to drought

• The amount of available space

• The amount of available food

• The availability of mates