BSC 108 Final Exam Yates 2024,2025
A graduate student is studying the influence of territory size on reproductive success in
northern shrike. Which hierarchical level is she studying? - ANSWER-population
ecology
A non-native species that has spread far beyond the original point of introduction and
causes environmental or economic damage is called a(n) _____. - ANSWER-invasive
species
A population is __________. - ANSWER-a group of individuals of the same species
occupying a given area
A population is defined as _____ - ANSWER-a group of individuals of a single species
that occupies the same general area
A process in which organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to
survive and reproduce than are individuals with other characteristics is called _____. -
ANSWER-natural selection
A reproductive barrier that prevents species from mating is an example of ______. -
ANSWER-a pre-zygotic barrier
According to the principle of interspecific competition, two species cannot continue to
occupy the same _____. - ANSWER-ecological niche
Age structures are helpful for predicting _________ - ANSWER-a population's future
growth
Animals that possess homologous structures probably __________ - ANSWER-evolved
from the same ancestor
Darwin based his theory of natural selection on two key observations. What are the two
observations? - ANSWER-Overproduction- all species produce excessive numbers,
which leads to struggle for existence
Individual variation- variation exists among individuals in a population and much of this
variation is heritable
Define biotic potential - ANSWER-the maximum reproductive capacity of a population
under optimum environmental conditions
Define carrying capacity. - ANSWER-the maximum population size of the species that
the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other
necessities available in the environment
, Define growth rate. - ANSWER-the change in the size of a poluation over a period of
time
Define niche. - ANSWER-the status of an organism within its environment and
community (affecting its survival as a species)
Define population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere - ANSWER-Population-
number of members of a species in a particular area
community- sum of the populations inhabiting a particular area
ecosystem- all of the Biotic and abiotic factors in an area
biosphere- the global ecosystem; the entire portion of the earth is inhabited by life
Earthquakes are the result of ______. - ANSWER-the movement of continental plates
against one another
Example of behavioral isolation - ANSWER-Blue footed boobies and many other
animals use complex courtship displays in selecting mates. Because other species
cannot mimic these displays, offspring are not produced with members of other species
Example of gametic isolation - ANSWER-Although the sperm and eggs of these two sea
urchin species are released into the water, they are unable to fuse because the proteins
on the surface of the eggs and sperm cannot bind to one another
Example of habitat isolation - ANSWER-Even though they occupy the same geographic
area, these two species of garter snakes occupy different habitats, preventing them
from mating
Example of hybrid breakdown (a post-zygotic barrier) - ANSWER-The first generation of
hybrids may be both viable and fertile, but due to genetic factors the offspring of these
hybrids are weak, feeble, or sterile, as in domesticated rice strains.
Example of hybrid inviability - ANSWER-Different salamander species sometimes mate,
but the offspring fail to complete development, keeping the gene pools of the two
species isolated from one another
Example of hybrid sterility - ANSWER-Different species may mate, and produce viable
offspring that are sterile, preventing further mixing of gene pools. Mules are robust
animals, offspring of a donkey and horse, but they cannot reproduce
Example of mechanical isolation - ANSWER-Snails of different species in the genus
Bradybaena may attempt to mate, but differences in the shapes of their shells prevent
them from succeeding
Example of temporal isolation - ANSWER-Eastern and Western spotted skunks mate at
different times of year, preventing them from producing offspring even in areas where
the two species live together
A graduate student is studying the influence of territory size on reproductive success in
northern shrike. Which hierarchical level is she studying? - ANSWER-population
ecology
A non-native species that has spread far beyond the original point of introduction and
causes environmental or economic damage is called a(n) _____. - ANSWER-invasive
species
A population is __________. - ANSWER-a group of individuals of the same species
occupying a given area
A population is defined as _____ - ANSWER-a group of individuals of a single species
that occupies the same general area
A process in which organisms with certain inherited characteristics are more likely to
survive and reproduce than are individuals with other characteristics is called _____. -
ANSWER-natural selection
A reproductive barrier that prevents species from mating is an example of ______. -
ANSWER-a pre-zygotic barrier
According to the principle of interspecific competition, two species cannot continue to
occupy the same _____. - ANSWER-ecological niche
Age structures are helpful for predicting _________ - ANSWER-a population's future
growth
Animals that possess homologous structures probably __________ - ANSWER-evolved
from the same ancestor
Darwin based his theory of natural selection on two key observations. What are the two
observations? - ANSWER-Overproduction- all species produce excessive numbers,
which leads to struggle for existence
Individual variation- variation exists among individuals in a population and much of this
variation is heritable
Define biotic potential - ANSWER-the maximum reproductive capacity of a population
under optimum environmental conditions
Define carrying capacity. - ANSWER-the maximum population size of the species that
the environment can sustain indefinitely, given the food, habitat, water and other
necessities available in the environment
, Define growth rate. - ANSWER-the change in the size of a poluation over a period of
time
Define niche. - ANSWER-the status of an organism within its environment and
community (affecting its survival as a species)
Define population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere - ANSWER-Population-
number of members of a species in a particular area
community- sum of the populations inhabiting a particular area
ecosystem- all of the Biotic and abiotic factors in an area
biosphere- the global ecosystem; the entire portion of the earth is inhabited by life
Earthquakes are the result of ______. - ANSWER-the movement of continental plates
against one another
Example of behavioral isolation - ANSWER-Blue footed boobies and many other
animals use complex courtship displays in selecting mates. Because other species
cannot mimic these displays, offspring are not produced with members of other species
Example of gametic isolation - ANSWER-Although the sperm and eggs of these two sea
urchin species are released into the water, they are unable to fuse because the proteins
on the surface of the eggs and sperm cannot bind to one another
Example of habitat isolation - ANSWER-Even though they occupy the same geographic
area, these two species of garter snakes occupy different habitats, preventing them
from mating
Example of hybrid breakdown (a post-zygotic barrier) - ANSWER-The first generation of
hybrids may be both viable and fertile, but due to genetic factors the offspring of these
hybrids are weak, feeble, or sterile, as in domesticated rice strains.
Example of hybrid inviability - ANSWER-Different salamander species sometimes mate,
but the offspring fail to complete development, keeping the gene pools of the two
species isolated from one another
Example of hybrid sterility - ANSWER-Different species may mate, and produce viable
offspring that are sterile, preventing further mixing of gene pools. Mules are robust
animals, offspring of a donkey and horse, but they cannot reproduce
Example of mechanical isolation - ANSWER-Snails of different species in the genus
Bradybaena may attempt to mate, but differences in the shapes of their shells prevent
them from succeeding
Example of temporal isolation - ANSWER-Eastern and Western spotted skunks mate at
different times of year, preventing them from producing offspring even in areas where
the two species live together
