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WorksheetsEnvironmental Review Fall 2019
Total questions: 60
Worksheet time: 3hrs 0mins
Which of the following is most likely to occur in a forested region that has been recently clear-cut?
The concentration of nitrates in streams running through the region will increase
The average depth of topsoil will increase
The water temperature in streams running through the region will decrease
Volume of runoff after rains will decrease
The frequency of landslides will decrease
According to the information in the graph above, which of the following would most effectively slow the loss of arable land?
Increasing the efficiency of desalination processes
Reducing urban development
Increasing the efficiency of erosion control
Using more extensive irrigation systems
Discovering cheaper energy sources
Fragmenting one large park or preserve into many small parks with human habitation in between them is most likely to lead to which of the following?
reduction in species diversity
stabilization of microclimates
decrease in the proportion of edge habitat
increase in gene flow within species
increase in population size of carnivores
Which of the following is most likely to result from destruction of wetlands surrounding a river?
a decreased sediment load in the river
a decreased level of pollutants such as nitrates in the river
an increased diversity of aquatic species in the river
an increased level of oxygen in the river
an increased frequency of flooding of the river valley
Overgrazing of public land by privately owned livestock is an example of the
tragedy of the commons
right of eminent domain
rule of seventy
principle of manifest destiny
swapping of debt for nature
A state highway was constructed over wetlands. The state obtained a permit to fill the existing wetlands in accordance with the provisions of the Clean Water Act of 1972, and agreed to create another wetland. This trade-off approach to addressing an environmental issue is known as
Mitigation
Restoration
Preservation
Remediation
Sustainability
As urbanization increases and natural soil surfaces are covered, the groundwater supply is reduced due to
increased evaporation and traspiration
decreased surface runoff
loss of recharge area
confinement of aquifers
capping of artesian wells
The major cause for the decline in the worldwide catch of fish since 1990 is
acid deposition
escalating price of fuel
competition from aquiculture
overfishing
decline in market price
The chart above compares the daily water use per person to the price of water in selected countries. Which of the following conclusions can be correctly drawn using only the data in the chart?
water use and water price are directly proportional
increased water use causes prices to decline
increased prices cause water use to decline
increased water use is generally correlated with lower water prices
water is more plentiful in the United States and Canada than in other countries
Which of the following best illustrates the concept of the tragedy of the commons?
destruction of landscape by surface mining on private land
selective harvesting of trees by a timber company in a national forest
legislation of catch limits to avoid depletion of fish stocks in a shared lake
inadvertent destruction of beneficial species while attempting to control pests
depletion of an aquifer by regional farmers
National parks in Africa represent all of the following EXCEPT
an economic benefit
an aid to soil conservation
the creation of new jobs
the protection of endangered species
increased desertification
Of the following, which is a benefit resulting from drip irrigation?
increased eutrophication of groundwater
increased eutrophication of surface water
enrich the heavy metal content of the soil
decreased evaporation from croplands
provide a steady source of nitrogen for lawns and perennial crops
Concerns over genetically modified agricultural products include all of the following EXCEPT
decreased soil fertility
decreasing biodiversity of croplands
allergic reactions in consumers
increased soil erosion
hybridization of GM crops and non-GM crops
Which of the following is a commercially used method for harvesting trees and is most likely to lead to fragmented landscape with decreases in biodiversity?
selective cutting
clear-cutting
shelter-wood cutting
slash and burn clearing
gleaning
Which of the following represent natural capital in land managed by the US Forest Service (USFS)?
lumber
fresh water
metallic core (copper, iron, tungsten)
all of the above
none of the above
Monoculture forestry has led to all of the following EXCEPT
suppression of ecologically important natural fires
decreased pH of forest soils
loss of soil nutrients
increased biodiversity
increased soil erosion
All of the following factors contributed to a doubling of U.S. food productivity since 1940 except increased
use of fossil fuels
amount of cultivated land
use of pesticides
use of inorganic fertilizers
use of nitrogen
The largest use of water in the western United States is
energy production
cooling
irrigation
hosing down livestock pens
manufacturing
Which of the following is NOT a result of the Green Revolution?
increase food production
high-yield crop varieties due to selective breeding
decreased use of monoculture
more land being converted for use in agriculture
use of pesticides and fertilizers
Deforestation, overgrazing, & the overworking of soil for crop production can lead to which of the following?
salinization
monoculture
desertification
increased crop rotation
depletion of aquifers
What is the result of the suppression of forest fires?
increase in succession in forest ecosystems
severe fires when wildfires do occur
increase in biodiversity in forest ecosystems
abundance of soil nutrients
strengthening of overall ecosystem health
Which of the following is associated with fishing down the food chain?
harvesting of all fish species
the extinction of small fisheries
harvesting of benthic organisms
fishing for smaller and smaller fish due to the decline of larger fisheries
selective breeding of fish species
Which of the following was the main driving force behind urbanization in the United States?
better healthcare and education
industrialization and technological advancements
decline of the agricultural sector
increased disease transmission
high levels of pollution in rural areas
Which of the following organizations is responsible for the management of public lands?
U.S. Forest Service
National Park Service
Congress
Bureau of Land Management
Environmental Protection Agency
Aquaculture has many benefits & many drawbacks. Which of the following is considered a positive aspect of aquaculture?
decrease in disease among species of fish
less waste in benthic environments
reduction in fossil fuel use
increased consumption of wild populations
elimination of long-line fishing
Under the integrated pest management system, the first line of defense during an infestation is to use
biological methods
DDT
chemical pesticides
essential oils
herbicides
Alternatives to using pesticides include all of the following except
using monocultures to single out pests
using pheromones to lure pests
using genetic engineering within plants
using hot water to scald the pests
using a barrier to keep pests out
The leaf litter that will enrich the topsoil beneath it makes up the ___horizon.
O
A
E
B
C
The largest cause of soil erosion and removal of topsoil is/are
industrial monoculture
strong wind
clear-cutting forest
flowing water
desertification
Modern (2nd gen) pesticides have many advantages...NOT including
saving human lives through their use
increasing agricultural yields
eliminating genetic resistance
fast-acting results
they are profitable
In general, which of the following is the best long-term method of preventing extinctions?
Breeding endangered species in captivity
Protecting the habitats of endangered species
Paying people not to kill endangered species
Providing food to endangered species in the wild
Removing predators from areas that contain endangered species
The ultimate source of energy for terrestrial ecosystems is
nutrients in soil
nutrients in vegetation
primary consumers
producers
the sun
Compared with people in developing countries, people in industrialized countries are more likely to eat
Beans
Beef
Corn
Rice
Wheat
The land on a 100-acre is equally suited for grazing cattle and growing corn. Of the following ways of distributing land use, which would produce the greatest number of calories for human consumption?
Cattle:100 Corn: 0
Cattle: 80 Corn: 20
Cattle: 50 Corn: 50
Cattle: 20 Corn: 80
Cattle: 0 Corn:100
Vegetarianism is often cited as a partial solution to the growing problem of deforestation and other types of habitat destruction as the human population continues to grow. The reason for this is
Vegetarians are healthier due to a lack of animal fat in their diets
more people can be fed using less agricultural land because vegetarians eat at a lower trophic level
Vegetarians consume fewer calories per person and therefore require fewer acres of farmland
Vegetarian diets often recommend consuming large amounts of tree nuts as a source of protein, which preserves forest habitats
Vegetarians often support conservation efforts that promote forest conservation
Factors contributing to the rise in world hunger include all of the following EXCEPT
Unequal distribution of available food supplies
Loss of or decline in arable land
increasing rate of population growth
Increasing poverty in developing countries
Increasing consumption of vegetable protein in place of meat protein
Why do introduced species often become pests?
They displace native species
They increase biodiversity
They do not adapt well to local habitats
They contribute to habitat fragmentation
They have low biotic potential
Competitive exclusion is most likely to occur between two
closely related species occupying two different niches
closely related species occupying the same niche
related species occupying different habitats
unrelated species occupying different niches
populations of the same species
In traveling from a forest ecosystem to a grassland, one notes that the trees gradually give way to prairie grasses. The critical factor governing this shift is usually the
length of the growing season
annual mean temperature
availability of carbon dioxide
availability of water
availability of oxygen
In which organism in the food chain above would the biological magnification of DDT concentration be most obvious?
Grass --> Cricket --> Prairie chicken --> Coyote --> Vulture
Grass
Cricket
Prairie Chicken
Coyote
Vulture
Approximately what percent of the population in Country II is under age 15?
1%
5%
10%
25%
50%
The increase in the size of Earth’s human population in the last century has been dramatic. Which of the following identifies two major contributors to this increase?
New methods of agriculture and the identification of new food crops
The Industrial Revolution and modern medicine
Increased emigration/immigration and decreased warfare
New methods of birth control and decreased warfare
Increased education for women and the development of new pesticides
Population biologists are concerned about introduced species such as the zebra mussel in North America because
Their removal from their native habitat has a negative impact
Predators of the introduced species often overpopulate because of the influx of the introduced species
The introduced species compete for resources more effectively than native species
Introduced species often become endangered when they are placed in a new habitat
Their introduction will require more land to be protected
A bottom-heavy age structure diagram is indicative of
a population at carrying capacity
slow growth
rapid growth
low mortality rate
low natality rate
Which of the following would most likely have the greatest positive impact on the quality of the natural environment worldwide?
Discovery of new reserves of fossil fuel in coastal areas
Increased agricultural production on marginal desert lands
Increased life expectancy in more developed nations
Increased reliance on food from ocean ecosystems
Stabilization or reduction of the size of the human population
Zero population growth is associated with
Phase I only
Phase II only
Phase III only
Phase IV only
Phases I and IV
Most pests are
K-selected organisms
equilibrium populations
long-lived
r-strategists
none of the above
One would expect to find the most births per woman in which of the following regions?
Oceania
Equatorial Africa
Easter Europe
South America
Southeast Asia
Density independent population controls include all of the following EXCEPT
resource competition
drought
fire
climate change
soil pH change
Which of the following is most likely the primary cause of high death rates in phase I?
Loss of breeding-age males due to warfare
Loss of breeding-age females due to disease
Large percentage of elderly individuals in the population
Infant and childhood mortality
General starvation due to famine
Which of the following best shows the process of evolution?
A lizard’s color becomes brown as it sits on a log
A bear goes into hibernation
A plant loses its leaves in a drought
A population of mosquitoes develops resistance to a pesticide
A population of mosquitoes develops resistance to a pesticide
Of the following organisms, which occupies the lowest trophic level?
Spider
Deer
Lion
Hawk
Snake
Which of the following is generally true of K-strategist species as compared to r-strategist species?
They reach sexual maturity earlier
They have more young
They are more likely to be invasive species
They have longer life spans
Their population cycles are more rapid
Characteristics that tend to increase the risk of a species becoming endangered include which of the following?
I. Having a very limited distribution
II. Being a specialist at the end of a long
food chain
III. Having a small population size
I only
II only
III only
II and III only
I, II, and III only
Traveling southward from the Arctic regions of Canada to the tropics of Panama, one passes through several biomes-tundra, coniferous forest, temperate deciduous forest, and tropical rain forest. This pattern of change in vegetation is primarily the result of
Primary and secondary succession
The invasion of exotic species
An increase in both mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation
An increase in both mean annual temperature and mean annual precipitation
An increase in the total annual hours of sunlight
The factor that likely poses the greatest threat of extinction of species worldwide is
weakening of environmental legislation
increase in hunting and fishing
aggressive collecting of specimens by museums and zoos
black market trade in endangered species
increasing loss of habitat
An age structure diagram of Germany is likely to
be A-Shaped
be V-Shaped
bulge in the middle
bulge at the top and bottom
be of constant width
Which of the following countries is NOT expected to have a declining population in the twenty-first century?
South Africa
Japan
Germany
United States
Greece
Which of the following is a true statement about the total fertility of a society?
The total fertility of a society is the difference between the crude birth rate and the crude death rate.
The total fertility of a society is the number of children necessary for a couple to replace themselves in the next generation.
The total fertility of a society is positively correlated with the average education of women.
The total fertility of a society is negatively correlated with the number of women of child-bearing age.
The total fertility of a society decreases as the society progresses through the demographic transition.
Which of the following is the best description of a population that has a stable age distribution?
A large population that is growing at a constant rate
A large population with a negative growth rate
A population that is in the early stages of logistic population growth
A growing population in which the proportions of individuals in the different age classes remain constant
A small population that has not yet achieved exponential growth
