BIOL 140

Practice Exam 3 + Key

Concepts

Sexual Selection
Population Dynamics
Herbivory, Predation, Mutualism, Disease Ecology
Ecosystem Ecology
Macroevolution

1. Males of many swordtail fish in the genus Xiphophorus earned their common name by
producing elongated "swords" on their tails. Males of some species, however, have
secondarily lost the ability to produce swords. A mate choice experiment in which
females of the sword-less species were given a choice between males of their own
species without swords and males of a different species with swords preferentially mated
with the sword-producing males of the other species, even though these mating events
would not result in successful fertilization.

Based on our discussion of sexual selection, briefly describe a hypothesis for why males
of the sword-less species do not produce tail swords.

2. Describe an environment that would select for asexual reproduction in a particular

organism that lives there. You could choose any organism that could reproduce
asexually, either terrestrial or aquatic. Focus on what features of the environment might
make asexual reproduction a more effective strategy to maximizing fitness.

3. A) How would you describe tradeoffs in sexual selection for sperm- and egg-producing
individuals of a species?

B) What are the implications of these tradeoffs for traits related to reproductive fitness?
Provide an example of this phenomenon and describe the trait that is involved in mate
competition.

4. Which of these following ecosystems would likely have the lowest annual net ecosystem
production? Why?
○ A cornfield in Iowa
○ A tropical coral reef
○ The aphotic zone (1000+ meters deep) of the ocean
○ The Sonoran Desert
5. Most terrestrial ecosystems are either nitrogen or phosphorus limited. For each of these
two nutrients, choose which of the following could influence the limitation of that
nutrient, and explain your reasoning. You won't use all the reasons for each answer.

· Abundance and diversity of plants with mutualistic relationships with rhizobia

· Mean annual precipitation
· Mean annual temperature
· Age of soil

6. Which of the following represents a carbon source to the atmosphere? [select all that
apply]
· Heterotrophic respiration
· Autotrophic respiration
· Fossil fuel combustion
· Methane release from anaerobic environments

7. An herbivore eats leaf A, and another eats leaf B. The herbivore that eats leaf B has a
higher excretion rate (non-respiratory waste once eaten) than the herbivore that eats leaf
A. The herbivore that eats leaf A has a higher…

· Assimilation Efficiency
· Consumption Efficiency
· Production efficiency
· All of the above

8. A healthy freshwater lake has a N:P ratio of 24:1. Which of the following statements
is/are correct. (Select all that apply.)

· This is consistent with lakes being phosphorus limited.

· This is inconsistent because lakes are usually nitrogen limited.
· This is the Redfield ratio for phytoplankton biomass.
· Net primary productivity is likely limited by light availability in this lake.

9. Which term describes the theory proposing that evolution occurs in rapid bursts
separated by long periods of stability?
· Gradualism
· Genetic drift
· Punctuated equilibrium
· Ecological equilibrium
10. Old World lineages of Malpighiaceae, a family with many flowering plant genera and
species, are shown in the image (mostly yellow flowers) and in red in the phylogeny
below. These plants are now distributed globally with high diversity in South America, as
well as species in Africa, Australia, Asia, and Madagascar. You suspect that the process
that contributed to the patterns in the phylogeny is either vicariance or dispersal. What
data would you need to support each of these hypotheses?
11. Discuss the potential causes and consequences of a mass extinction event.
12. Bats are a nocturnal species that range in their diets. Some insectivorous species
consume whole insects (top image), while other nectarivorous species consume nectar
from flowers of several night-blooming plants (bottom image).

For each of these diets, are bats a predator, grazer, parasite, or none of these? Briefly
explain your reasoning.
13. Imagine a population of a species of insectivorous bat (see figure above)...

A) What is indicated by the thick blue horizontal line? What does this line tell us about
growth in the bat population and the mortality and birth rates? (3 pts)

B) Describe what is happening in this plot for the population between times I - II,
between times II-III, and finally between times III - IV. (4 pts)

C) White nose syndrome is a fungal pathogen transmitted through direct contact among
bats. Would you expect this pathogen to have a greater impact on per capita growth rate
at time point II or at time point III? Explain your reasoning in the context of the SIR model
of disease. (3pts)

14. On the island of Gran Canaria, canary populations are prey species for owls.(14 pts)
A) (Fill in the blank question type) Owls can attack nests, young, and adult finches equally
well. This is type ___ survivorship, because ________ is equally likely across age
groups. (2pts)

B) The life history table below represents data for age classes of canaries. What do these
data suggest about the population of canaries on Gran Canaria? Specifically, what do lx
and mx, and ∑lxmx help you to understand about changes in this canary population? If
predation only causes mortality among age class 0 and age class 3 individuals (young
 and old), do you expect the growth rate of the population to be substantially impacted?
Explain. (4pts)

14-alt) Considering life history tables, why is it important to arrive at (calculate) the numbers in
the lxmx column? How can we use this column to predict population growth or decline in the
future?
 Answer Key:

1. The following are three possible examples of hypotheses. The males may not produce
swords if:

· It is an honest signal of condition and the sword-less species live in

environments with lower resources. These males could potentially produce
swords but don’t because they are in poor condition (note that the phrasing
“secondarily lost” implies that they wouldn’t be able to make swords at all
though).

· Sexual selection on male swords is weak and/or opposing natural selection.

This may happen if this species exists as female-biased populations (more
females than males are actively mating at any given time) or if there are
strong selective pressures against sword presence (e.g. predator avoidance
is slower with longer tails).

· The swordless species evolved/exist in ecosystems where visual

identification of mates is not possible (underground aquatic environments or
high turbidity). In other words, there is no reproductive advantage to the
rather costly ornamentation, and therefore it would likely be selected against.

2.
This environment is probably a very stable one with limited impacts of pathogens or
parasites, and a species that is not involved in coevolutionary arms races with the
species it feeds on or is fed upon by. It may also be favorable if encounters with potential
mates are rare. Some examples include the deep ocean, caves, or springs. The Tropics
are also generally more stable than higher latitudes, although high species richness in
the Tropics may negate these benefits.

3.
a. Egg-producers have a high investment in few eggs, while sperm-producers have a low
investment in large quantities of sperm. While egg-producer reproductive success
plateaus with additional mates, sperm producers reproductive success increases linearly
and this has evolutionary resulted in egg-producers being "choosy" while
sperm-producers have evolved traits to compete for mates.
b. Sexual selection in sperm-producers has evolved some seemingly maladaptive traits
due their greater variability in reproductive success, and the important of female choice
in reproductive success.
One example is the widowbirds tail length is an example of runaway selection for a trait
in male birds to attract mates.
Also-egg producing individuals can evolve traits which facilitate mate choice during and
post copulation, for example the morphology of the duck vagina/reproductive
tract/genitalia.
4.
The aphotic zone has no light penetrating to that depth, so all primary production would
be occurring through chemosynthesis in rare habitats where this can occur (e.g.,
hydrothermal vents). However, it receives considerable amounts of organic matter
sinking from the surface waters to fuel ecosystem respiration. The other three
ecosystems all receive lots of sunlight. Cornfields are specifically managed for high NPP,
and tropical coral reefs are also quite productive. Deserts may have lower NPP due to
limited water availability (yet note that the Sonoran is one of the most diverse and
productive drylands in the world)but this also likely limits Ecosystem Respiration
(R-auto+R-hetero) so we would expect NPP to still be higher than the deep ocean.

5.
A) Nitrogen
Abundance and diversity of plants with mutualistic relationships with rhizobia, and
mean annual precipitation because rhizobia will increase nitrogen fixation in soils and
precipitation may remove N from terrestrial systems and carry them into aquatic
systems. Temperature also important because bacterial nitrogen fixation and cycling
are impact by temperature (for example, in tundra environments fixation is low, and
DOM is not efficiently recycled)

B) Phosphorus
Mean annual precipitation and Age of soil because precipitation will aid in weathering
and increase P in terrestrial systems, but as soils age they will decrease in P
availability.

6.
All of these are correct

7.
Assimilation Efficiency

8.
This is consistent with lakes being phosphorus limited.

9.
Punctuated Equilibrium

10.
Support for vicariance: these species evolved when these land masses were connected
through the super continents of Gondwana and Laurasia and have subsequently evolved
and diverged after continental drift. Support for dispersal: some species evolved at the
time of supercontinents, with subsequent dispersal of these plants at later periods of
 time. We would want to collect fossil and genetic evidence to understand when and
where these lineages diverged.

11.
Mass extinctions can be caused by various factors like volcanic eruptions, asteroid
impacts, climate change, or changes in sea levels/acididty. These events lead to the
rapid decline of numerous species, disrupting ecosystems and causing ecological
imbalances. The aftermath includes the loss of biodiversity, opening ecological niches for
surviving species, and sometimes triggering adaptive radiations as new species evolve
to fill vacated ecological roles.

12.

Insectivores: Predators, because they consume several whole individuals.

Nectarivores: Grazers, they consume resources from several living organisms, affecting
their fitness.

13.

A) Bat populations reach a carrying capacity as a result of limited resources (moths)/space and
increased competition, where birth rate = mortality rate.

B) This population first exhibits high growth from I-II, growth continues but the rate slows as N
approaches K due to density dependent effects. From III to IV the population exceeds carrying
capacity (horizontal line), and experiences negative growth (mortality) rate until below carrying
capacity. Overall, carrying capacity is more of a range, rather than a precise number. This phase
is because of the range of birth/mortality rates in populations that delineate K.

C) Expect pathogens to have a greater impact at higher population/population density (point III).
S is higher here. Beta (transmission rate) would be higher at higher density. EXTRA: disease is
one of several density dependent factors that defines carrying capacity.

14.)
A) (Fill in the blank question type) Owls can attack nests, young, and adult finches equally
well. This is type II survivorship, because risk of mortality is equally likely across age
groups. (2pts)
B) lx and mx show survivorship and fecundity, the sum of their product is Ro and can be
used to determine if a population is increasing, stable, or decreasing. The R naught (sum
of lxmx) suggests that this population is increasing. Older canaries are contributing few
offspring. There will be a small impact on Ro if only age class 0 and 3 canaries
experience mortality.
14-alt) lxmx represents the offspring produced per original individual in each age class. Summing
all of the values in this column gives you R0, the basic reproductive rate. If R0 is <1 the
population is declining each generation, and if >1 it’s increasing.