Biology 230, Section 101/102 – Midterm 1 Preparation Document, September 2019

Instructions – please read carefully!

Below are examples of the types of questions you are likely to be asked in the midterm. They are
designed to help you practice applying of some of the ideas developed in class, so I will not simply “tell
you the answers”, and no answers will be posted. Try working through them with colleagues in a study-
group format, and then ask my opinion if you wish (i.e. attend office-hours, perhaps with your colleagues,
where we may all discuss and compare answers).
Questions come in three different types:
• short-answer – 1/4-page, 5 marks each. Application, explanation, or interpretation of a concept,
definition, calculation, or graph; hypothesis-making and/or brief suggestions about how to test a
hypothesis.
• long-answer – 8-12 marks each. Longer versions of similar content to short-answer questions, or
a series of linked shorter questions.
• multiple-choice – 2 marks each; only one suitable-choice per question. Note the very specific
instructions that accompany the MC questions!
The midterm will feature one page of short-answers (4 questions, 20 marks, about 15 minutes), one page
with long-answer questions (2 questions, 20 marks, about 15 minutes), and one page of multiple-choice
questions (5 questions, 10 marks, probably less than 15 minutes). This practice test reflects that format.
Coverage – from the first lecture of term through the end of the lecture on Wednesday 25 Sept (but note
that the lecture on Friday 27 Sept. will be useful for understanding how to pose and test ecological
questions and interpret ecological patterns).
Your answers will be written on the fronts of the pages, in the spaces provided – i.e. answering space is
strictly limited. If you make a mistake and decide on a new answer, cross out what you wrote and use the
same amount of space on the back of the page to replace it, making the new location obvious to the
marker.
The exam will be 45 minutes, beginning as soon as possible after class starts on Wednesday Oct 2nd in
our usual lecture room. Enter and seat yourself as usual, and follow these instructions: bring with you
pens, ruler (optional), and calculator (optional), and your student ID card (or other photo ID) in case we
ask to view it; the exam is closed-book (no “cheat-sheets” of any kind); all answers must be written in
pen. Electronic devices such as laptops or cellphones must be switched off and sealed in your pack or
bag. You cannot have a cellphone out, even as a calculator or clock – I will display the time remaining
on the screen at the front of the room.
Tips and Grading: do not rephrase the question in your answer, just jump straight into answering. Do not
assume “number of marks = number of ideas” or “number of points” unless this is stated explicitly in the
question; usually questions are graded qualitatively according to how well understanding was
demonstrated.
TAs will be grading using my schemes. After papers are returned to you, a detailed document will be
posted with the answer-schemes, marker-comments (where applicable), and a question-by-question
breakdown of grades so you can see how you scored compared to the class.
Contact Notes: I will not have the time to write lengthy individual email answers in response to your
work on these questions, or about other material, so if you must email please ask things that can be
answered quickly. In-person attendance of office hours or the in-class review session is infinitely superior
to get effective feedback on any subject. Don’t forget that you can post questions on Piazza for discussion
with other students, and I will provide input as necessary.
Short answer
1. Give an example of a parasite that makes its host more vulnerable to predators. Is this always a bad
thing for the parasite? Why or why not? (5 pts)

2. Draw two graphs, each with a population growth curve: one that shows an example of exponential
growth, and one that shows an example of logistic growth. Be sure to clearly identify each population
growth trajectory (exponential or logistic), label the axes, and indicate the position of K. Indicate which
graph(s), if any, exhibit density-dependent or density-independent growth. (5 pts)

3. What is more likely to go extinct, a large population or a small population? Why? How does this relate
to meta-population dynamics? Make specific reference to the relevant equation, which is available on the
last page. (5 pts)

4. Conservation biologists have deliberately reintroduced wolves to an area to restore its natural ecology.
They are concerned that the newly introduced wolf population is vulnerable to a disease that is found in
domestic dogs in the area. Describe two measures they could take to reduce the probability of a disease
outbreak in wolves? Explain your reasoning. (5 pts)
Long-answer
5. In a single year, a population of annual plants suffers 50% mortality caused by a fungal parasite that
disproportionately effects young, non-reproductive individuals. There are a number of ways the host
population could respond after the infection in the following 50 years. Describe two potential response
scenarios using the following concepts from class: density dependent effects/density threshold, coevolution of
host and parasite. (8 pts)

6. Intertidal dogwhelks, Nucella, prey on barnacles by drilling through their shell and eating the soft tissue
inside. The results in an empty barnacle shell, which has been hypothesized to be good habitat for small
Littorina snails because it provides them with a refuge from desiccation (drying out) at low tide. You are
curious about the role of Nucella in facilitating Littorina by creating this type of refuge habitat.
a) You design an experiment to test the importance of Nucella in two habitats: one that is very dry at low tide,
and one that remains very damp at low tide. You install cages with and without Nucella and count the number
of dead barnacles in each treatment (+ Nucella and - Nucella) in each habitat (dry and damp). Draw a graph of
what you expect dead barnacle densities to look like each of the four possible treatment by habitat
combinations (+Nuc. dry, +Nuc. wet, -Nuc. dry, - Nuc. wet). Assume that Nucella predation is the only source
of barnacle mortality, and that it does not vary with desiccation stress. (3 pts)

b) Now draw a graph showing what you predict Littorina densities to be in each of the four treatment by
habitat combinations. (3 pts)

c) In the relationships between the three species (Nucella, Littorina, and living barnacles), do you find
examples of competition, predation, and/or facilitation? Between which species? (3 pts)

d) Which interspecific interaction described above would you predict to be context-dependent? Why? (3 pts)
Multiple choice. Instructions - nothing written next to the questions will be graded. Write your final
letter choice (use CAPITAL letters) for each question in the appropriate numbered box below. Each
question is worth 2 points and has only one correct answer.
Question 7 8 9 10 11
Your answer

7. A fictional animal, the tribble, reproduces in synchrony at regular intervals. When the logarithm of a
particular tribble population was plotted against time, the result was a straight and increasing line. Which
statement about the tribble population is true?
A. The tribble population is increasing in size geometrically.
B. The l of the tribble population is constant.
C. The l of the tribble population is greater than 1.
D. If the actual population size were plotted against time, the result would be an increasing J-shaped
curve.
E. All of the above

8. Suppose that only two females and nine males are left in a population of a highly endangered New
Zealand bird. Although all of these birds are healthy, by chance, both females fail to reproduce and the
population goes extinct. This extinction is best described as a consequence of
A. inbreeding.
B. genetic drift.
C. environmental stochasticity.
D. demographic stochasticity.
E. natural catastrophe.

9. Which of the following cannot be a resource?

A. pH
B. Oxygen
C. Physical space
D. Light
E. Phosphorus

10. Lodgepole pine trees provide habitat and food for bark beetle larvae, and the beetles damage the trees
in the process of feeding and excavating burrows. This is an example of
A. Competition
B. Predation
C. Mutualism
D. Commensalism
E. Facilitation

11. The term “r-selection” refers to selection

A. to increase age at sexual maturity.
B. under crowded conditions.
C. for high population growth rates.
D. for stress tolerance.
E. for decreased virulence.
Useful equations

Nt+1 = lNt

dN/dt = rN

dN/dt = rN(1-(N/K))

dp/dt = cp(1-p) - ep

dI/dt = bSI - mI

ST = m/b