Chapter 50

According to optimal foraging theory, predators: a. always feed on the largest prey possible. b. always feed on the prey that are easiest to catch. c. choose prey based on the costs of capturing and consuming it compared with the energy it provides. d. feed on plants when animal prey are scarce. e. have coevolved mechanisms to overcome prey defenses.

The use of the same limiting resource by two species is called: a. brood parasitism. b. interference competition. c. exploitative competition. d. mutualism. e. optimal foraging.

The range of resources that a population can possibly use is called: a. its fundamental niche. b. its realized niche. c. character displacement. d. resource partitioning. e. its relative abundance.

The range of resources that a population can possibly use is called: a. its fundamental niche. b. its realized niche. c. character displacement. d. resource partitioning. e. its relative abundance.

Bacteria that live in the human intestine assist digestion and feed on nutrients the human consumed. This relationship might best be described as: a. commensalism. b. mutualism. c. endoparasitism. d. ectoparasitism. e. predation.

The table below shows how many individuals were recorded for each of five species in five separate communities (a-e). Which community has the highest species diversity? $$ \begin{array}{llllll} \text { Community } & \begin{array}{l} \text { Species } \\ 1 \end{array} & \begin{array}{l} \text { Species } \\ 2 \end{array} & \begin{array}{l} \text { Species } \\ 3 \end{array} & \begin{array}{l} \text { Species } \\ 4 \end{array} & \begin{array}{l} \text { Species } \\ 5 \end{array} \\ \text { a. } & 90 & 10 & 0 & 0 & 0 \\ \text { b. } & 80 & 10 & 10 & 0 & 0 \\ \text { c. } & 25 & 25 & 25 & 25 & 0 \\ \text { d. } & 2 & 4 & 6 & 8 & 80 \\ \text { e. } & 20 & 20 & 20 & 20 & 20 \end{array} $$

A keystone species: a. is usually a primary producer. b. has a critically important role in determining the species composition of its community. c. is always a predator. d. usually reduces the species diversity in a community. e. usually exhibits aposematic coloration.

Species richness is often highest in communities where disturbances are: a. very frequent and severe. b. very frequent and of moderate intensity. c. very rare and severe. d. of intermediate frequency and moderate intensity. e. very rare and mild.

The change in the species composition of a community from bare and lifeless rock to climax vegetation is called: a. disturbance. b. competition. c. secondary succession. d. primary succession. e. facilitation.

The equilibrium theory of island biogeography predicts that the number of species found on an island: a. increases steadily until it equals the number in the mainland species pool. b. is greater on large islands than on small ones. c. is smaller on islands near the mainland than on distant islands. d. can never reach an equilibrium number. e. is greater for islands near the equator than for islands near the poles.