Chapter 3: Review Questions

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Question 1

1. Genetic diversity in populations is important to which of the following?

  1. Domestication of plants and animals

  2. Survival of species faced with climate change

  3. Survival of species challenged by pathogens

  4. All of the above

Question 2

2. Which of the following species would most likely be in danger of extinction?

  1. A widespread, abundant, genetically diverse species

  2. Drought-caused deaths in a plant population

  3. A rare, geographically restricted species with low genetic diversity

  4. A rare, geographically restricted species with high genetic diversity

Question 3

3. Which of the following describes an example of density-dependent population of regulation?

  1. High temperatures reducing insect numbers

  2. Drought-caused deaths in a plant population

  3. The release of toxic pollutants into a lake

  4. A disease that spreads easily through a population

Question 4

4. K-selected species are least likely to have which of the following qualities?

  1. Large size

  2. Short average life span

  3. Long average life span

  4. Late maturity

Question 5

5. Competitive exclusion is most likely to occur under which of the following circumstances?

  1. Competition between two species of carnivores

  2. Competition between two species of herbivores

  3. Competition between two species with nearly identical niches

  4. Competition between two species of plants

Question 6

6. Which of the following is considered to be the greatest threat to the existence of species?

  1. Habitat destruction

  2. Wildlife trafficking

  3. Invasive species

  4. Predator control programs

Question 7

7. Does saving endangered species have any potential positive economic consequences?

  1. No, saving endangered species just costs money.

  2. Yes, saving endangered species can provide a focus for commercial nature films.

  3. Yes, but only saving endangered plant species from which medicines can be made.

  4. Yes, since plants, animals, and insects make a broad range of contributions to the economy.

Question 8

8. What species are protected by the Endangered Species Act of 1973?

  1. Endangered species native to North America

  2. Endangered mammals such as the gray wolf

  3. Endangered animals, including invertebrate animals, and plants from anywhere in the world

  4. Only endangered species with no potential economic value

Question 9

9. Why was the banning of DDT critical to saving North American peregrine falcons from extinction?

  1. DDT was killing adult peregrine falcons.

  2. A breakdown product of DDT was causing reproductive failure in peregrine falcons.

  3. DDT was killing the species peregrines prey on.

  4. DDE, a breakdown product of DDT, was causing blindness in adult peregrine falcons.

Question 10

10. What do the patterns of loss of sheep and cattle indicated by Figure 3.32 suggest about these two types of livestock?

  1. Sheep are much less subject to predation than cattle.

  2. Compared with sheep, a higher percentage of cattle are lost to predators, especially to wolves.

  3. A higher percentage of sheep are lost to predators, but a higher proportion of cattle losses to predators are the result of wolf predation.

  4. Losses of sheep and cattle to predators, as a percentage, are approximately equal.

Critical Analysis

Question 1

1. In places where there are fewer species of warblers in the community, compared with those pictured in Figure 3.19, the feeding zones of the remaining warblers expand. What does this suggest about the feeding zones of these warblers?

Question 2

2. What steps might be taken to protect species from wildlife trafficking? Consider all aspects of the activity.

Question 3

3. If DDT were the only insecticide available for controlling malaria-carrying mosquitoes, should the use of the insecticide have been continued, even at the cost of the extinction of peregrine falcons, bald eagles, and other birds of prey? Justify your answer.

Question 4

4. Do changing societal attitudes toward wolves over the past century reflect changes in the relative influences of anthropocentric versus biocentric or ecocentric ethics (see Chapter 1, page 22)?

Question 5

5. How can stakeholders reach across cultural and economic divides to establish cooperative, mutually beneficial approaches to wolf restoration?