Chapter 19 - Exam prep questions PDF

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Chapter 19: Community Succession Succession occurs in a community when species replace each other over time. MULTIPLE CHOICE 1. Topic: retreating glaciers in Alaska Level: easy The receding glacier at Glacier Bay in Alaska has been used to study a. competition. b. predation. c. succession. d. nutrient cycling. Answer: c 2. Topic: succession Level: easy Succession is change in _____ over time. a. species interactions b. species competition c. species composition d. land use Answer: c 3. Topic: succession Level: medium Each stage of community change during succession is called a _____ stage. a. succession b. seral c. serial d. community Answer: b 4. Topic: succession Level: medium A pioneer species is _____ species to arrive at a site. a. the final b. the penultimate c. one of the first d. the first Answer: d 5. Topic: Succession occurs in a community when species replace each other over time.

Level: easy Which of the following is a pioneer species? A) B) C) D)

annual plants with small, light seeds plants with large, heavy seeds animals that stay affixed to a substrate, like sea anemones animals that tend to stay very close to where they were born

Answer: a 6. Topic: succession Level: medium The last seral stage in the process of succession is called the _____ community. a. apex b. baseline c. climax d. final Answer: c 7. Topic: succession Level: medium A climax community is generally composed of organisms a. that dominate in a given biome. b. that were present throughout succession. c. from surrounding communities. d. that are common. Answer: a 8. Topic: observing succession Level: easy Succession is best studied using a. indirect observations. b. chronosequences. c. pollen. d. direct observations. Answer: d 9. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: easy To apply the concept of chronosequence, ecologists assume that: A) most terrestrial communities go through the same seral stages.

B) the layers in pond sediments are stacked from youngest at the top to the oldest at the bottom. C) older sites and younger sites have undergone the same disturbances. D) wider tree rings represent periods of rapid population growth. Answer: c 10. Topic: observing succession Level: medium Succession studied at Glacier Bay, Alaska, and on the island of Krakatau, Indonesia, has been done using a. direct observations. b. indirect observations. c. chronosequences. d. pollen. Answer: a 11. Topic: Observing succession Level: easy A sequence of communities that exist over time at a given location is A) a transient climax community. B) never found without soil or organic material. C) a chronosequence. D) an example of secondary succession. E) always showing the same sequence in intertidal areas. Answer: c 12. Topic: Observing Succession Level: medium How could you tell for certain if a plant lived 2000 years ago in a pond sediment sample? A) carbon dating of pollen B) tree rings C) construction of a pond followed by direct observation. D) observation of a chronosequence near the pond Answer: a 13. Topic: observing succession Level: medium Indirect observations of succession are often done by using a. chronosequences and seral stages. b. seral stages and climax communities. c. climax communities and pollen.

d. chronosequences and pollen. Answer: d 14. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Why might direct observation of succession be easier in intertidal communities than in terrestrial communities? A) It is easier to see all of the organisms in an intertidal area. B) Facilitation happens less easily in terrestrial communities, which makes it more difficult to see transitions among seral stages. C) There are many more organisms in a forest than in an intertidal area. D) Organisms in an intertidal area have shorter generation times than organisms in terrestrial communities. Answer: d 15. Topic: Observing Succession Level: medium Why were wind- and sea-dispersed seeds the first to colonize and survive on Krakatau? a. The seeds of these plants were more resistant to dry conditions than those of animaldispersed plants. b. In the early days of colonization, there were no forests to attract animals that could disperse seeds. c. Plants with wind-dispersed seeds were able to survive the volcanic blast better than animal-dispersed plants d. Animal-dispersed plant seeds are more likely to be digested than wind- and sea-dispersed plants. Answer: b 16. Topic: observing succession Level: easy The age of pollen grain is determined using a. carbon dating. b. elemental dating. c. chronosequences. d. seral dating. Answer: a 17. Topic: observing succession Level: medium When succession was initially observed on the islands of Krakatau, plants with _____ seeds

dominated. a. animal-dispersed b. wind-dispersed c. sea-dispersed d. ballistic-dispersed Answer: b 18. Topic: Primary Succession Level: medium Primary succession A) B) C) D)

begins with soil containing organic matter. lasts much longer than secondary succession. has rarely occurred in terrestrial environments. usually begins with lichens and mosses.

Answer: d 19. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: easy Development of communities in habitats that are initially devoid of plants and organic soil is known as _____ succession. a. climax b. initial c. secondary d. primary Answer: d 20. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: easy Over the course of terrestrial succession, what is the general pattern of species richness? A) B) C) D) E)

a constant increase over time an increase followed by an abrupt decline no change over time an increase that plateaus, followed by a slight decline a decline followed by an abrupt increase

Answer: d 21. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium

Secondary succession takes place in habitats that _____. a. are initially devoid of plants and organic soil. b. have some plants following disturbance. c. have some plants following disturbance but do not have organic soil. d. have been disturbed and contain no plants but still contain organic soil. Answer: d 22. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium Which of the following is NOT an example of a habitat that could undergo primary succession? a. lava flow b. parking lot c. tree-fall gap d. sand dune Answer: c 23. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: easy In primary succession of sand dunes, the first species to colonize are a. lichens. b. grasses. c. herbs. d. mosses. Answer: b 24. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium Which of the following habitats could NOT undergo secondary succession? a. mud slide b. bare rock c. clear-cut forest d. severely burned forest Answer: d 25. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: easy Why does secondary succession occur faster than primary succession? A) Direct observation of secondary succession is easier than for primary succession. B) Lichens are better able to colonize soil than bare rock. C) Soil in secondary sites can contain plant seeds and roots. D) Primary succession areas get too much sunlight for succession to happen quickly.

Answer: c 26. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: difficult Can you tell what plant seral state you are in by looking at the bird species in a given area? A) B) C) D)

Yes, because bird species are usually associated with a particular seral stage. Yes, because each bird species eats only a particular type of plant. No, because some bird species are associated with many plant seral stages. No, because birds eat a wide variety of insects as well.

Answer: c 27. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium If you were assigned the task of starting a plant community that could thrive on Mars, where there is no soil on the surface, which might be good to bring for the initial colonization? A) B) C) D) E)

alders pines lichens low-growing bushes cacti

Answer: c 28. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: difficult You observe three beech–maple forests in Indiana that began as ponds. How might you determine whether they all started succession with the same community composition? A) carbon-date the maple and beech trees to see how long they have been living; older trees would suggest a more diverse starting community B) calculate the species diversity of lichens found on the trees C) try growing different types of pioneer species at each site D) sample the soils at each site for pollen and carbon-date them to get an estimate of the species that appeared first at the site Answer: d 29. Topic: Observing Succession Level: easy What is the clearest way to document succession?

A) pollen sediments from a pond B) direct observation C) tree rings D) carbon dating of wood Answer: b 30. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: difficult When succession was studied at the Duke Forest in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, how many years did it take for the forest to revert to deciduous climax forest from agricultural field? a. 300 years b. 200 years c. 150 years d. 50 years Answer: b 31. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium Which is true about terrestrial succession? a. Initial conditions do not affect the trajectory of succession. b. Primary and secondary succession result in different climax communities. c. The sequence of seral stages is variable. d. The sequence of seral stages is linear. Answer: c 32. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: easy Succession in aquatic environments a. is often faster than succession in terrestrial environments. b. is often slower than succession in terrestrial environments. c. has more seral stages than succession in terrestrial environments. d. never reaches a climax community. Answer: a 33. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Succession in intertidal communities is rapid because a. the climax community has only a small number of species. b. the generation time of the dominant species is shorter. c. species easily disperse into the disturbed habitat. d. algae have a very rapid growth rate.

Answer: b 34. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Why does stream succession rely less on how fast organisms can move themselves than terrestrial succession? A) Most streams are short. B) Water can carry organisms from less disturbed to more disturbed sites. C) Most stream organisms are algae. D) Succession happens very slowly in streams. Answer: b. 35. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Stream succession is rapid because a. disturbed sites receive constant inputs of nutrients via runoff. b. organisms that live in streams have rapid growth rates. c. organisms can move downstream from less disturbed sites. d. disturbances that occur in stream communities are often not severe. Answer: c 36. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Why does succession in intertidal communities tend to happen faster than succession after a disturbance in terrestrial communities? A) The ocean has a higher concentration of organisms than soil. B) There are many more disturbances in the intertidal zones than in terrestrial areas. C) The generation time of dominant species in the intertidal zone is shorter than that of the dominant species in terrestrial habitats. D) The generation time of dominant species in terrestrial habitats is shorter than that of the dominant species in the intertidal zone. Answer: c 37. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium In the study of stream succession following a major flood event at Sycamore Creek in Arizona, what was the first organism to recolonize the stream? a. fish b. Cladophora c. cyanobacteria d. diatoms

Answer: d 38. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Researchers have recently proposed a new way lake succession can occur. What is one feature of this new model? A) Lake succession is slow and steady. B) Colonization of plants happens from the lakeshore. C) Colonization of plants happens from the sediments at the lake bottom. D) The production of a peat layer is not necessary in lake succession. Answer: c 39. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: easy What role does disturbance play in the recently discovered mechanism of pond succession that isn't found in the classical mechanism of succession? A) Droughts lower water levels so that plants can colonize lake sediments. B) Rushing water scours the bottom of the lakes, allowing diatoms to colonize. C) Glaciers scour the land, leaving depressions that can fill up with melting water. D) Peat fires remove the vegetation, allowing secondary succession to proceed. Answer: a 40. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Which type of succession would be expected to be the slowest? a. intertidal b. lake c. stream d. All of these types of succession are equally slow. Answer: b 41. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: difficult What characteristic shared by diatoms and cyanobacteria might make them good colonizers of nutrient-poor habitats? A) They are both extremely tough to eat. B) They are both unicellular. C) They both photosynthesize light to make carbohydrates. D) They both have adaptations that allow them to survive droughts. Answer: c

42. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Why must oxygen concentrations remain at low levels for pond succession to occur? A) High oxygen levels would cause succession to run too quickly, leaving no climax community. B) High oxygen levels increase the chance of drought in areas around the pond. C) Low oxygen levels allow for easier colonization of plants at the pond edge. D) Low oxygen levels decrease decomposition rates, resulting in peat production. Answer: d 43. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: difficult How do herbivores affect the outcome of succession in intertidal zones? A) They alter the abiotic environment with their waste products. B) They forage on particular types of algae, allowing others to dominate. C) They trample algae, allowing sea anemones to colonize. D) They have little effect on the outcome of succession. Answer: b Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: difficult

(Figure 19.7) Look at how species richness increases and reaches a plateau in the figure. Why does the species richness level off? A) There isn't enough energy left in the system to allow for more species. B) There are only five or six species of algae and invertebrates in southern California. C) There isn't enough space on the boulders to accommodate more species. D) The boulders have been exposed to the sun for too long, limiting the colonization ability of algae and invertebrates. Answer: c 44. Topic: Change in Species Diversity Level: difficult (Figure 19.10) These graphs show that succession is associated with a rapid increase in species richness that slows and levels off over time. How might you explain a graph showing succession with an initial increase in species richness followed by a decline in species richness over time? A) a disturbance such as fire B) facilitation

C) inhibition D) tolerance Answer: c 45. Topic: quantifying community similarities Level: easy Jaccard’s index quantifies a. similarity between communities. b. differences between communities. c. community diversity. d. community species richness. Answer: a 46. Topic: quantifying community similarities Level: medium What information about species is needed to calculate Jaccard’s index? a. diversity b. growth rate c. those present d. mortality Answer: c 47. Topic: changes in species diversity Level: medium Which of the following is TRUE about succession? a. Species richness initially increases with time in aquatic succession. b. Species richness initially increases with time in terrestrial succession. c. Both a and b are true. d. Neither a nor b is true. Answer: c SHORT ANSWER 48. Topic succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium The assumptions behind the valid use of chronosequences are usually not all met. How, then, do researchers establish the most likely scenario of terrestrial succession in a given area? Answer: Because chronosequences by themselves may not be accurate, researchers also use pollen records and direct, long-term studies of the area to establish what succession looked like.

49. Topic: succession in terrestrial environments Level: medium As succession progresses, what is similar and what is different among fields, sand dunes, and wetlands in Indiana near Lake Michigan? Answer: Similar: they all end with the same climax community of beech and maple trees. Different: they begin with different pioneering plant species.

50. Topic: Succession occurs in a community when species replace each other over time. Level: difficult Typical colonizers in primary succession are mosses and lichens that inhabit bare rock. What colonizers in primary succession do not inhabit bare rock? Answer: Drought-tolerant grasses can colonize dry sand dunes. 51. Topic: succession in aquatic environments Level: medium Describe the process that forms bogs in lakes. Answer: Plants colonize the lake edge and begin to spread across open water along the edge. Under the layer of vegetation is a layer of partially decomposed vegetation called peat. The vegetation continues to grow over the surface of the lake, and the peat layer thickens. Detritus from the peat layer accumulates on the bottom of the basin. Eventually the vegetation covers the surface of the lake and peat sediments fill in the basin to form a bog. 52. Topic: quantifying community similarity Level: difficult Researchers studying succession in three forest sites want to determine how similar the forests are in terms of species composition. Using Jaccard’s index, rate the similarity of the three forests (A, B, C). Show your calculations. Tree Species Acer saccharum Fagus grandifolia Quercus rubra Quercus alba Acer rubrum Prunus serotina Liriodendron tulipifera Carya ovata

Forest A X X X X X X X

Answer: Forests A and B 4 X = J = 3 + 1 + 4 A + B + X Forests A and C X 4 J = = A + C + X 3 + 0 + 4 Forests B and C

Forest B X X

Forest C X X X

X X X X

= 0.50

= 0.57

J =

X 1 = 0.13 = B + C + X 4 + 3 + 1

The two forests that are most similar are A and C, followed by A and B because they have the highest Jaccard’s index. Forests B and C are least similar because they have the lowest Jaccard’s index. Succession can occur through different mechanisms. MULTIPLE CHOICE 53. Topic: traits of early- versus late-succession species Level: medium Which of the following is NOT a trait of a pioneer species? a. many seeds b. shade tolerant c. small seeds d. fast growing Answer: b 54. Topic: traits of early- versus late-succession species Level: easy What are the characteristics of plants found immediately after a drought in a pond? A) They have few large seeds. B) They have low root-to-shoot ratios. C) They are large and have high tolerance to shade. D) They have extremely slow growth rates. Answer: b 55. Topic: traits of early- versus late-succession species Level: medium One of the traits common in late-succession plant species is a. small seed size. b. low root-to-shoot ratio. c. fast growth rate. d. few seeds. Answer: d 56. Topic: traits of early- versus late-succession species Level: medium When seeds of early- and late-succession species were raised under low light conditions similar to those found in the understory of mature forest, researchers found that species with

_____ seeds had _____ seedling survivorship in shade. a. small; high b. small; low c. large; high d. There was no relation between seed size and seedling survivorship. Answer: d 57. Topic: facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance Level: easy Why do plants in early seral stages exhibit high levels of tolerance? A) Early plants cannot inhibit the growth of other plants. B) Early plants must deal with harsh conditions, such as fluctuating temperatures. C) Early plants are poor competitors and thus must tolerate othe...