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Hummingbirds use their long beaks to drink nectar from flowers. In turn, they carry the pollen from flower to flower, assisting the reproduction of the flowers.
What relationship does this describe?
Coevolution is a process by which two or more species evolve in response to one another, and generally describes competing species. While the hummingbird and the flower may evolve due to this relationship, coevolution more freqeucntly describes the evolution of defense mechanisms in response to a predator-prey relationship. Parasitism is the relationship in which one species benefits at the expense of the host. This can sometimes lead to coevolution, depending on how the host reacts. Neither species is being harmed in the given scenario, so this is incorrect. Commensalism is when one species benefits, but the other species is not impacted. In this case, both the hummingbird and the flower are benefiting, so this is not our answer. Resource partitioning is when species evolve together to share resources in a sustainable way. The hummingbird is using a resource that the flower provides, but they are not "sharing" in the sense of the definition of resource partitioning. Competitive exclusion describes the phenomenon when two species share the same niche, and the stronger one forces out the weaker competitor.
Mutualism, the correct answer, describes a relationship wherein species exploit each other mutually. In this case, the hummingbird gains nutrition from the flower, and the flower gains a reproductive advantage from the hummingbird.
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Why are sharks invaluable to the scientific community?
Sharks have been shown to be very resistant to infection when they have been wounded. It is also notable how low cancer rates are in sharks—in fact, researchers from MIT have isolated a potential anti-tumor agent in sharks' skeletons that could further cancer research with regard to human patients.
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Which of the following best defines the interspecies interaction in the following situation?
Jackrabbit populations introduced to the Australian outback from Europe in the 1800s decimate communities of desert shrubs and grasses.
The over-browsing by the invasive jackrabbit population has resulted in harm being done to the desert plant communities with no negative impact on the rabbits, resulting in amensalism.
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Which of the following choices is best defined as the relative proportion of different species in a given area?
Species evenness is a measure of diversity that takes into account the relative proportion of different species in a given area. Richness can also be classified as a measure of diversity; however, it refers to the number of different species in an area rather than proportion. Last, phylogeny refers to the construction of branched models that illustrate evolutionary pathways.
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Globally, cheetahs possess a low genetic diversity. This is the result of a mass extinction event that occurred about 12,000 years ago. Unfortunately, low levels of genetic diversity have made cheetahs prone to kinked tails, poor sperm quality, and sensitivity to the same infectious diseases across the species.
Which of the following choices best characterizes the mass extinction of cheetahs?
Bottleneck effect occurs after a drastic reduction in population size due to events such as a natural disaster, or widespread disease. The remaining population lacks genetic diversity because there are fewer individuals and fewer genes present within the population. This is the correct answer. The founder effect is not correct because it is defined as the loss of genetic variation as a result of a few numbers of individuals establishing a population. Geographic isolation occurs when a population is isolated from others due to geographic boundaries such as mountains, cliffs, or large bodies of water; therefore, it is not the correct choice. Last, genetic drift refers to the change in frequency of gene variation due to random sampling and does not correctly answer the question.
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Which of the following is not a type of species interaction?
Parallelism can describe a type of evolution, but does not represent a type of species interaction. On the other had the other choices—interspecific competition, predation, parasitism, and mutualism—are types of species interactions. Interspecific competition occurs when members of species compete for the same resource or niche. Predation happens when one species (predator) feeds on another species (prey). Parasitism takes place when one organism lives off the body of another. This organism is a parasite and usually lives inside or on the host. Mutualism refers to interaction between multiple species for the benefit of all species members.
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Species can interact in a variety of ways. A textbook example would be the interaction between bees and flowers. Flowers provide nectar for bees. The bees, in turn, provide fertilization services for flowers. Which of the following types of relationships best describes this scenario?
The question describes a mutualistic relationship in which both the bee and the flower benefit. Mutualistic relationships can be described as win-win interactions between species. Facilitative relationships occur when one species benefits and the other species is not impacted in any way. Competitive relationships are win-lose interactions where one species benefits and the other species is detrimentally impacted.
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Populations can lose genetic diversity over time. The change in genetic diversity (e.g. allele frequency) over time from random variation is referred to as which of the following?
The correct answer is genetic drift. This is the only answer choice that refers to random, natural process by which allele frequencies are reduced in general populations. All the other terms are events that occur in response to small population sizes or colonization.
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Which of the following is not an example of species interaction?
Species interact in many ways:
Predation - one species (predator) preys on another species (prey).
Parasitism - symbiotic relationship between species where one species benefits at the expense of the other.
Mutualism - a positive symbiotic relationship where both species benefit.
Commensalism - a relationship between species where one benefits and the other remains unaffected.
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Many insects like bees or moths do not have many physically defensive abilities, so instead they closely resemble insects that do. This is an example of which of the following?
Batesian mimicry and Mullerian mimicry are easily confused. Batesian mimicry involves one organism taking on physical characteristics of a commonly known, dangerous organism. Mullerian mimicry happens when multiple poisonous species resemble each other.
Camouflage helps prey avoid predators by blending into their surroundings. Warning coloration is similar to Batesian mimicry. Since many poisonous organisms exhibit colorful exteriors, some non poisonous organisms can also be brightly colored and are still avoided.
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Which of the following terms describes the array of living organisms, their assemblages, their evolutionary and natural histories, as well as their interactions with each other?
The correct answer choice is biodiversity. Biodiversity is the area within biology focused on understanding biological diversity. The terms "disturbance" and "fragmentation" are natural processes that can have impacts on species, but they do not describe species. The terms "biomagnification" and "bioaccumulation" describe how nutrients and contaminants accumulate over time.
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Land managers are responsible for conserving biodiversity within areas of natural habitat. By monitoring specific species in the habitat, land managers can tell whether or not they have a healthy ecosystem. Which do we call species that gives us information about the health of an ecosystem?
The correct response is indicator species. If the indicator species is healthy, then it tells or indicates that the ecosystem as a whole is healthy. Indigenous species are native to a certain location, while invasive species are those that are not native to a location and their introduction usually causes harm to the existing ecosystem. A keystone species is one that plays a critical role in the overall health of an ecosystem.
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Which form of signaling is very important in marine ecosystems both in intraspecies and interspecies communication and is used by many reef fishes in conjunction with other senses to recognize places and receive warnings.
Olfaction in fish and other marine life is very important. Smells are carried on currents and can be used to identify and find prey, recognize familiar territory, attract mates, and warn predators and/or competitors of defense mechanisms.
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Of the following biomes, which contains the highest biodiversity?
Somewhere between 40% and 75% of all species are indigenous to rainforests, meaning that they are found nowhere else on earth. They contain half of the extant animal and plant species currently on earth, with a large majority of all flowering plants found there. Many of the world's natural medicines have been found in tropical rainforests, and with thousands of undiscovered species still lurking within them, it is likely that there are many more medicines waiting to be discovered.
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Some species of barnacles live attached to the skin of whales. This allows them to travel vast distances through the ocean without ever actually moving, guaranteeing them a constantly changing supply of food. While this is tremendously beneficial for the barnacles, it doesn't really have any effect on the whales, which are large enough that the barnacles aren't even a minor annoyance.
What kind of symbiosis does this describe?
In relationships based upon commensalism, one of the species benefits greatly, while the other is neither harmed nor helped. This is different from mutualism, where both species are benefited, and parasitism, where one species is benefited and the other is hindered. "Endosymbiosis" is the theory used to describe how mitochondria developed, and "predation" describes a situation where one organism feeds on another.
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