Basic Biology Practice Test: Population Ecology | Practice Test / Quiz / MCQs

1. Which of the following is characteristic of K-selected populations?

early parental reproductionmany offspring per reproductive episodea high intrinsic rate of increaseoffspring with good chances of survivalsmall offspring

2. As N approaches K for a certain population, which of the following is predicted by the logistic equation?

The carrying capacity of the environment will increase.The growth rate will not change.The population will increase exponentially.The growth rate will approach zero.The population will show an Allee effect.

3. Why do some invertebrates, such as lobsters, show a 'stair-step' survivorship curve?

Many invertebrates mate and produce offspring on multiyear cycles.Within a species of invertebrates, younger individuals have a higher survivorship than older individuals.Many invertebrate species have population cycles that go up and down according to the frequency of sunspots.Many invertebrates molt in order to grow, and they are vulnerable to predation during their 'soft shell' stage.The number of fertilized eggs that mature to become females in many species of invertebrates is based on ambient temperature.

5. Which of the following choices would most likely promote random distribution?

spacing during the breeding seasonflocking and schooling behaviorshomogeneous chemical and physical factors in the environmentspecies that secrete chemicals to attract or inhibit other individualsterritorial species

7. Which of the following causes populations to shift most quickly from an exponential to a logistic population growth?

removal of predatorsdecreased death rateincreased birth ratecompetition for resourcesfavorable climatic conditions

8. Which of the following is the best example of uniform distribution?

territorial songbirds in a mature forest during mating seasonbees collecting pollen in a wildflower meadowa cultivated cornfield in the Midwestsnails in an intertidal zone at low tidemushrooms growing on the floor of an old growth forest

9. The Allee effect is used to describe a population that

is in crash decline.has become so small that it will have difficulty surviving and reproducing.is viable and stable at its carrying capacity.has become so large that it will have difficulty surviving and reproducing.has exceeded its carrying capacity.

10. A population of ground squirrels has an annual per capita birth rate of 0.06 and an annual per capita death rate of 0.02. Calculate an estimate of the number of individuals added to (or lost from) a population of 1,000 individuals in one year.

20 individuals added20 individuals lost400 individuals added120 individuals added40 individuals added

11. Which pair of terms most accurately describes life history traits for a stable population of wolves?

semelparous; r-selectediteroparous; K-selectediteroparous; r-selectedsemelparous; K-selectediteroparous; N-selected

12. In 2008, the population of New Zealand was approximately 4,275,000 people. If the birth rate was 14 births for every 1,000 people, approximately how many births occurred in New Zealand in 2008?

600,00042,2756,000140,00060,000

13. The three basic variables that make up the life history of an organism are

how often reproduction occurs, life expectancy of females in the population, and number of offspring per reproductive episode.life expectancy, birth rate, and death rate.number of reproductive females in the population, age structure of the population, and life expectancy.the number of reproductive females in the population, how often reproduction occurs, and death rate.age when reproduction begins, how often reproduction occurs, and how many offspring are produced per reproductive episode.

14. Which of the following statements about the evolution of life histories is correct?

The reproductive efforts of r-selected populations are directed at producing just a few offspring with good competitive abilities.K-selected populations are most often found in environments where density-independent factors are important regulators of population size.K-selected populations rarely approach carrying capacity.Stable environments with limited resources favor r-selected populations.Most populations have both r- and K-selected characteristics that vary under different environmental conditions.

15. The observation that members of a population are uniformly distributed suggests that

the members of the population are competing for access to a resource.the size of the area occupied by the population is increasing.the density of the population is low.resources are distributed unevenly.the members of the population are neither attracted to nor repelled by one another.

16. Why do populations grow more slowly as they approach their carrying capacity?

Density-dependent factors lead to fewer births and increased mortality.Hormonal changes promote higher death rates in crowded populations.Density-independent factors lead to fewer births and increased mortality.The incoming energy decreases in populations experiencing a high rate of increase.Individuals voluntarily stop mating so that overcrowding does not occur.

17. A population of white-footed mice becomes severely overpopulated in a habitat that has been disturbed by human activity. Sometimes intrinsic factors cause the population to increase in mortality and lower reproduction rates to occur in reaction to the stress of overpopulation. Which of the following is an example of intrinsic population control?

Because the individuals are vulnerable they are more likely to die off if a drought or flood were to occur.Females undergo hormonal changes that delay sexual maturation and many individuals suffer depressed immune systems and die due to the stress of overpopulation.Clumped dispersion of the population leads to increased spread of disease and parasites, resulting in a population crash.All of the resources (food and shelter) are used up by overpopulation and much of the population dies of exposure and/or starvation.Owl populations frequent the area more often because of increased hunting success.

18. Scientific study of the population cycles of the snowshoe hare and its predator, the lynx, has revealed that

the hare population is r-selected and the lynx population is K-selected.multiple biotic and abiotic factors contribute to the cycling of the hare and lynx populations.the prey population is controlled by predators alone.hares and lynx are so mutually dependent that each species cannot survive without the other.both hare and lynx populations are regulated mainly by abiotic factors.

19. Carrying capacity is

determined by density and dispersion data.the maximum population size that a particular environment can support.fixed for most species over most of their range most of the time.seldom reached by marine producers and consumers because of the vast resources of the ocean.the term used to describe the stress a population undergoes due to limited resources.

20. Which of the following assumptions have to be made regarding the capture-recapture estimate of population size?
I.Marked and unmarked individuals have the same probability of being trapped.
II.The marked individuals have thoroughly mixed with the population after being marked.
III.No individuals have entered or left the population by immigration or emigration, and no individuals have been added by birth or eliminated by death during the course of the estimate.

I onlyII and III onlyI, II, and IIII and II onlyII only

22. In July 2008, the United States had a population of approximately 302,000,000 people. How many Americans were there in July 2009, if the estimated 2008 growth rate was 0.88%?

2,700,000303,000,000304,000,0005,500,0002,710,800,000

23. Why does the 2009 U.S. population continue to grow even though the United States has essentially established a ZPG?

baby boomer reproductionbetter sanitationthe 2007-2009 economic recessionemigrationimmigration

25. Consider two forests: one is an undisturbed old-growth forest, while the other has recently been logged. In which forest are species likely to experience exponential growth, and why?

Exponential growth is equally probable in old-growth and logged forests.Old growth, because of stable conditions that would favor exponential growth of all species in the forest.Logged, because the disturbed forest affords more resources for increased specific populations to grow.Logged, because the various populations are stimulated to a higher reproductive potential.Old growth, because each of the species is well established and can produce many offspring.

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25 Questions

❤ If you liked Fatskills, consider supporting us by checking out The Life Manuals You Never Got.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know? Privacy | Terms |

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All trademarks, logos and brand names are the property of their respective owners. All company, product and service names used in this website are for identification purposes only. Use of these names, trademarks and brands does not imply endorsement.

About | Explore | User Guide | Topics | Subjects | Doubt Solver | Career Aptitude Test | Answers | Free Tools | OSHA Basics Quiz | What Should We Know?
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Without work one finishes nothing. - Ralph Waldo Emerson
© 2026 Fatskills.com