Elements of Ecology, 8e (Smith/Smith)

Chapter 8 Properties of Populations

8.1 Short Answer Questions

1) A group of individuals of the same species inhabiting a given area is called a(n) ________.
Answer: population
Topic: Introduction to Chapter 8

2) An individual tree or plant produced by sexual reproduction and thus arising from a zygote is
a genetic individual, known as a(n) ________.
Answer: genet
Topic: Section 8.1

3) The ________ of a population describes its spatial location, the area over which it occurs.
Answer: distribution
Topic: Section 8.2

4) As a result of environmental heterogeneity, most populations are divided into smaller

populations, referred to as local ________.
Answer: subpopulations
Topic: Section 8.2

5) ________ defines the size of a population, the number of individuals in it.

Answer: Abundance
Topic: Section 8.3

6) Population ________ is the number of individuals per unit area, or per unit volume.
Answer: density
Topic: Section 8.3

7) Because a direct count of all individuals within a population is often impossible, population
density is usually estimated by one or more methods of ________.
Answer: sampling
Topic: Section 8.4

8) Counting the total number of individuals within a square or rectangle of known area, referred
to as a(n)________, is a sampling method that is commonly used to study plants or other sessile
animals.
Answer: quadrat
Topic: Section 8.4

9) Populations can be divided into three ecologically important age classes: prereproductive,
reproductive, and ________.
Answer: postreproductive
Topic: Section 8.5

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10) A graph that compares the relative number of individuals within different age groups of a
population is called an age ________.
Answer: pyramid
Topic: Section 8.5

11) In most mammalian populations, the ________ sex ratio at birth is often weighted toward
males.
Answer: secondary
Topic: Section 8.6

12) Individuals moving from another location into a subpopulation is referred to as ________.
Answer: immigration
Topic: Section 8.7

13) A round-trip movement of an individual from one place to another and back again is called
________.
Answer: migration
Topic: Section 8.7

14) The primary factors driving the dynamics of population abundance are the demographic
processes of ________ and ________.
Answer: birth; death
birth, death
birth death
birth and death
birth & death
birth/death
Topic: Section 8.8

8.2 Multiple-Choice Questions

1) Which of the following is not a feature of a population?

A) size
B) density
C) number of species
D) distribution
Answer: C
Topic: Introduction to Chapter 8

2) A module that is produced asexually by an original genetic individual, which may remain
physically linked to the parent or may be separate, is referred to as a
A) genet.
B) ramet.
C) clone.
D) bud.
Answer: B
Topic: Section 8.1

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3) Which of the following represents a modular organism?
A) lizard
B) coral
C) dog
D) ant
Answer: B
Topic: Section 8.1

4) A group of local subpopulations is called a(n)

A) community.
B) species.
C) metapopulation.
D) ecogroup.
Answer: C
Topic: Section 8.2

5) The area inhabited by all individuals of a particular species is known as this population's
A) geographic range.
B) density.
C) ecosystem.
D) habitat.
Answer: A
Topic: Section 8.2

6) A population's density is calculated as the

A) area over which the population is distributed.
B) number of individuals within the population.
C) unit of area divided by the number of individuals.
D) number of individuals per unit area.
Answer: D
Topic: Section 8.3

7) In populations of animals that defend an area for their own exclusive use or in plants that
compete intensively for belowground resources such as water or nutrients, the spatial distribution
of individuals is usually
A) homogenous.
B) clumped.
C) random.
D) uniform.
Answer: D
Topic: Section 8.3

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8) An ecologist counts the number of individuals in five samples of equal area for four species of
organisms. Which of these counts best represents a clumped population?
A) 23, 21, 25, 22, 18
B) 133, 124, 113, 128, 119
C) 47, 18, 93, 12, 28
D) 12, 13, 12, 13, 11
Answer: C
Topic: Section 8.3

9) Which of the following sampling techniques represents an index of abundance rather than an
estimate of density?
A) number of oak trees within a quadrat
B) number of bear droppings along a trail
C) ratio of marked and unmarked mice in a field
D) number of ducks on a pond
Answer: B
Topic: Section 8.4

10) The age of a tree is best approximated by

A) estimating tree height.
B) counting tree growth rings.
C) measuring the diameter of a trunk at breast height (dbh).
D) counting the number of leaves.
Answer: B
Topic: Section 8.5

11) The demographic age pyramid of a rapidly growing population is

A) wide at the base, narrow at the top.
B) wide at the top, narrow at the bottom.
C) wide at top and bottom, narrow in the middle.
D) similarly wide from top to bottom.
Answer: A
Topic: Section 8.5

12) The movement of individuals in space is called

A) distribution.
B) migration.
C) dispersal.
D) density.
Answer: C
Topic: Section 8.7

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13) An ecologist spent a year studying the population dynamics of a species of duck on a lake. At
the beginning of the year, there were 86 adults. Of these, 16 adults left the lake, 12 adults arrived
on the lake from elsewhere, 76 chicks hatched from eggs, 24 chicks survived to become adults,
and 8 adults died. How many individuals emigrated?
A) 8
B) 12
C) 16
D) 24
Answer: C
Topic: Section 8.7

14) Which of the following organisms is listed as a Federal Noxious Weed because of its
profound negative impacts on ecosystems of the southeastern United States?
A) gypsy moth
B) corn
C) ivy
D) kudzu
Answer: D
Topic: Ecological Issues: Human-Assisted Dispersal

8.3 True/False Questions

1) The members of a population often belong to different species.

Answer: FALSE
Topic: Introduction to Part 3

2) A genet is produced asexually.

Answer: FALSE
Topic: Introduction to Chapter 8

3) A ramet is genetically identical to its original parent.

Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.1

4) An individual plant is often more difficult to recognize than an individual animal.

Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.1

5) The distribution of species is rarely determined by minimum and maximum temperature

tolerances.
Answer: FALSE
Topic: Section 8.2

6) Most populations are divided into subpopulations.

Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.2

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7) A uniform distribution of individuals within a population occurs if each individual's position is
independent of others' positions.
Answer: FALSE
Topic: Section 8.3

8) The most common spatial distribution among individuals within a population is clumped.
Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.3

9) Ecological density is a measure of the number of individuals per unit of available living space.
Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.3

10) The density of a population is usually measured by counting every individual.

Answer: FALSE
Topic: Section 8.4

11) A quadrat is usually used to measure density in mobile populations of animals.

Answer: FALSE
Topic: Section 8.4

12) The age of a fish can be determined by counting the annual rings of otoliths (ear stones).
Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.5

13) Small trees are often the same age as large individuals in the canopy.
Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.5

14) The sex ratio in a population is usually fixed and does not vary among age classes.
Answer: FALSE
Topic: Section 8.6

15) All animals disperse actively, whereas all plants disperse passively.
Answer: FALSE
Topic: Section 8.7

16) Unlike the one-way movement of an individual in emigration and immigration, migration
refers to round-trip movements.
Answer: TRUE
Topic: Section 8.7

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8.4 Essay Questions

1) Explain how the mode of reproduction can make it difficult to define an individual. Provide
some examples of individual and modular organisms.
Topic: Section 8.1

2) Discuss the three distribution patterns of individuals within a population and explain the
conditions that give rise to each pattern.
Topic: Section 8.3

3) Discuss three methods of determining density in a species of organisms, and identify the
conditions for which each method would be most useful.
Topic: Section 8.4

4) Describe several approaches used by ecologists to establish age structure for plant and animal
populations.
Topic: Section 8.5

5) Describe several ways that plants disperse.

Topic: Section 8.7

6) Some animals migrate daily, whereas others migrate seasonally. Give an example of each
migration pattern and explain the benefit of this lifestyle to the organisms exhibiting each
pattern.
Topic: Section 8.7

7) Using examples, discuss the impact of increased human travel in the 20th century on long-
distance dispersal of plants and animals. Describe how and why introduced species typically alter
native ecosystems.
Topic: Ecological Issues: Human-Assisted Dispersal

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