WFC 151 2008

FINAL EXAM

FALL

Name____________________________________________________ The human population has been increasing exponentially for a long time, but the future pattern is uncertain. You visit the future in a time machine to determine whether the human population will show logistic growth, an irruption, or a cycle. Explain how you would distinguish among these three patterns. (3 pts)

Briefly describe two kinds of plant defenses against herbivores, and two adaptations of herbivores to circumvent plant defenses. (4 pts)

Fifteen papers were assigned as readings during the 10 weeks of the course. For any two of these papers, give one main objective of the paper, and briefly describe what was learned in the context of that objective. (4 pts)

An island supports one predator species and just two prey species, Prey A and Prey B. The predator can limit numbers of either prey, and it selects whichever prey is more abundant. Both prey compete with each other for resources via exploitative competition, but Prey A is the superior competitor. Will Prey A drive Prey B to extinction? Explain. (Note: niche partitioning is not a possibility). (3 pts)

Early successional plant communities provide good habitat for a wide variety of wildlife species. Why? (2 pts)

A newspaper reporter is writing an article on current ideas about regulation of wildlife populations, and she asks you to explain the Population Limitation Hypothesis. What is your answer? (4 pts)

Consider two species of predator that are competing for the same prey; one is a generalist predator and the other is a specialist predator. Which one do you think will be better at exploitative competition, and why? (2 pts)

Conservation biologists are concerned that when a population becomes small, it may become vulnerable to random processes that can lead to extinction. Name and describe these three processes. (6 pts)

Mesopredator release is an important concept in conservation biology and an active topic of research in wildlife ecology. Explain the ecological interactions that are hypothesized to cause mesopredator release. (4 pts)

For a given body size, carnivores have larger home ranges than do herbivores of the same body size. Explain why. (4 pts)

You are a conservation manager designing a fragmented reserve for a rare mammal, in which fragments will be linked by dispersal. Identify the three attributes of dispersal that you would have to keep in mind in designing a successful reserve, and why they are important. (6)

Lizards are common in tropical and temperate latitudes, but rare in arctic latitudes. Explain why. (2 pts)

Several ecological concepts help explain the extinction of the passenger pigeon, including K-selected, Allee Effect, and climax community. Explain what each of these concepts means, and their roles in the extinction of the passenger pigeon. (6 pts)