Ecology 203, Exam I, Sept. 29, 1999 Name _________________________ (1 pt extra credit, spelling counts)

Rules: Read carefully, work accurately and efficiently, place longer answers in blue book. I recommend marking the questions you want to answer before you begin writing. If you get stuck on a question move on and return if you have time. The last question will take some time and is worth 20 points so plan ahead.

Good Luck!!!


Multiple Choice. Answer five. Circle the one correct answer. Answer all. (2 pts each; 10 pts total)

  1. Asking why trees lose their leaves in the fall represents a question asked in which disciplines in ecology (circle all that apply)
    1. Physiological Ecology
    2. Behavioral Ecology
    3. Evolutionary Ecology
    4. Ecosystem Ecology
    5. Population Ecology
    6. Community Ecology
    7. None
  2. Bernd Heinrich tested the ability of moths to shunt heat from the thorax to the abdomen. He heated the thorax and noted that
    1. the thorax of living moths heated but the abdomen remained unchanged
    2. the thorax of dead moths heated but the abdomen cooled
    3. the thorax and abdomen of living moths heated
    4. that dead moths lie.
    5. None of the above
  3. A fish living in fresh water
    1. loses water and must drink
    2. must gulp air
    3. gains water through osmosis
    4. gains salts
    5. all of the above
  4. Hubbard Brook is an LTER site dedicated to
    1. supplying clean, fresh water to southern California
    2. the long-term analysis of a forest community
    3. studying brook trout ecosystems
    4. all of the above
    5. none of the above
  5. What information below would allow you to best predict what the vegetation might look like in any particular place on earth:
    1. long-term monthly rainfall data
    2. long-term monthly temperature data
    3. soil depth
    4. yearly average rainfall and yearly average temperature
    5. soil and bedrock types and knowledge about the predator community
  6. Which of the following five elements comprise 93% - 97% of living biomass (submitted by student):
    1. N, O, H, B, Fe
    2. C, H, P, Mg, Cu
    3. C, H, O, N, P
    4. Mg, Ca, S, Na, K
    5. None of the above
  7. Which is not a mechanism used to reduce metabolic rate in some animals? (submitted by student)
    1. torpor
    2. ingestion
    3. hibernation
    4. estivation
    5. none of the above (all are used to reduce metabolic rates)

 

 


True-False – circle T for true, F for false (2 pts each; 10 pts total).

  1. T F Net energy gain by an organism decreases with residence time in a habitat patch.
  2. T F C4 plants have higher water use efficiency than C3 plants.
  3. T F Fish in oceans must excrete water.
  4. T F Trofim Lysenko revolutionized Soviet agriculture, allowing them to keep pace with agricultural techniques of the United States.
  5. T F Science is a process that yields no proof and results that are always provisional.

 

 


Definitions (Define in sufficient detail FOUR of the following): (5 pts each; 20 pts total).

ecology water potential models in ecology coevolution

inferential statistics p-value r2 PAR

science genetic drift Hardy-Weinberg Law homeotherm

 

 


Short answer. Do FOUR. Use sentences. Please provide a graph where requested: (10 pts each; 40 pts total)

  1. Why do seasons change? Graph temperature in relation to months for Geneseo.
  2. Why do scientists collect data? Provide and interpret a graph in an example.
  3. I presented the data below in class. Provide a graph with your interpretation of these data.

Brood size 1 2 3

Number of Broods 36 204 96

% Fledged 83 84 58

# young fledged/brood 0.8 1.7 1.7

  1. Discuss the running ability of the pronghorn antelope in terms of oxygen consumption and provide a graph.
  2. Discuss the factors involved in soil formation (discuss one of the four soils mentioned in lecture).
  3. Discuss how temperature influences the physiology of skunk cabbage when flowering (provide a graph).
  4. Graph and discuss a photosynthetic response curve. Include axis labels.
  5. Discuss two adaptations that desert plants have to cope with their environment (submitted by student).

9) What is the significance of this graph to the mechanism of natural selection?

 

  1. Explain what is meant, using an example, by the statement "there is usually an interaction between resources." Provide a graph.
  2. What is meant by "statistics"? Provide a graph of an example.
  3. What is meant by the statement: "Conclusions are falsifiable." Give one example of something that is not falsifiable. (submitted by a student)


Mandatory (10 points each; 20 points total)

  1. Using complete sentences, what are the four, easily observed characteristics that constitute natural selection.
  2. Design an experiment to test the following null hypothesis: The size of red-winged blackbird territories are not influenced by food availability. Provide only the methods. You may use a diagram if that helps. Do not provide an introduction, justification, results, discussion, or a graph of possible results.