Populations and Communities Review

Gannets are fish-eating seabirds that make their nests in the rocky cliffs of coastal areas. In 2003, a colony of gannets began inhabiting the Noup Cliffs region of Scotland. Since 2003, the gannet population there has been rapidly increasing. The graph shows the number of gannets in the Noup Cliffs region since 2003.

Which factor would most likely limit the Noup Cliff’s gannet population size?

• a decrease in average sea level height

• an increase in competition among cliff bird species for nesting space

• a decrease in the number of predators that eat seabird eggs and offspring

• an increase in the population of marine fish that seabirds prefer to eat

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Most yellow jackets wasps are unable to survive the winter. Typically, only the queen and a few other wasps are able to survive the cold hibernating.

Which ecological concept best categorizes weather (i.e., temperature) as a limiting factor in yellow jacket wasp survival?

• A. population birth rate

• B. population death rate

• C. density-dependent factors

• D. density-independent factors

The table shows data collected on the growth rate of a fruit fly population. What conclusion does the data support?

• The population of fruit flies will continue to grow after 45 days pass.

• The population of fruit flies reaches the carrying capacity at 35 days.

• The death rate of fruit flies is greater than the birth rate of fruit flies at 40 days.

• A disease enters the population at 35 days and prevents population growth.

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Use the graph to answer the question.

A team of biologists introduced 5 white-tailed deer to a 5-square-mile island off the coast of South Carolina that was previously uninhabited by the deer. The biologists tracked the deer population by sitting in a 20-foot-tall deer stand on the east end of the island and counting every deer they observed over a 6-hour period on the first day of each month for 24 months, as shown in the graph.

What is the best step the biologists could take to ensure a more accurate way to track the deer population?

• They could count the deer for twelve hours instead of six on the first day of each month.

• They could count the deer from a similar deer stand closer to the island’s center.

• They could count the deer population twice each month instead of just once each month.

• They could count the deer and tag them each with a different colored tag to ensure they do not count the same deer twice.

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In 1911, a small population of 25 reindeer was introduced on Saint Paul Island. The graph shows the increase in the population of reindeer on the island between 1911 and 1940 with four lines (W, X, Y, and Z) that represent the estimated reindeer population by 1950.

If the reindeer population overgrazed their food supply in 1940, which line would likely represent the estimated population of reindeer on the island by 1950?

• A. W

• B. X

• C. Y

• D. Z

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The graphs show the population sizes of grass and deer in a forest ecosystem the year before and the year after a controlled forest fire.

How does the carrying capacity of the ecosystem change during the year after the forest fire?

• The carrying capacity for the deer increases

• The carrying capacity for the grass decreases

• The carrying capacity for the grass increases

• The carrying capacity for the deer decreases

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Scientists introduce ten male pheasants and thirty female pheasants to an island on which pheasants have not previously lived. The island has a natural food source and no predators of pheasants. Which graph best represents the population of the pheasants once carrying capacity has been reached?

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The table shows different organisms interacting with each other to fulfill their basic requirements. Which interaction(s) is (are) an example of parasitism?

• only 1

• only 2

• both 2 and 3

• both 3 and 1

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Which symbols represent the relationship shared by the wasp and the fig tree?

• A) +/+

• B) +/–

• C) 0/+

• D) 0/–

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Which statement is an example of mutualism?

• A. A koala eats eucalyptus leaves, and it is unharmed by the poison in the leaves.

• B. A deer tick feeds on the blood of a deer, and the deer loses blood and nutrients.

• C. A plover bird feeds on food stuck in a crocodile’s teeth, and the crocodile gets its teeth cleaned in the process.

• D. A hookworm feeds on the small intestine of a dog, causing the dog to lose weight and become weak.

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