51. Community Ecology

Flounder is a type of fish that looks like the seafloor. This is an example of __________.

The flower fly resembles a honeybee, but the flower fly has no stinger. This is an example of what natural phenomenon?

The poison-arrow frogs Dendrobates of tropical America are all brightly colored and have very similar patterns. Although each species is distasteful to predators and all possess toxic skin secretions, some of the species live quite separately from the others. The adaptive relationship among these species is best termed __________.

Certain species of acacia trees in Central and South America have hollow thorns that house stinging ants, which attack anything that touches the tree. The ants feed on nutrients produced by the acacias. This is an example of __________.

What is the key difference between a dominant species and a keystone species?

A species of malaria-carrying mosquito lives in a forest in which two species of monkeys, A and B, coexist. Species A is immune to malaria, but species B is not. The malaria-carrying mosquito is the chief food for a particular kind of bird in the forest. If all these birds were suddenly eliminated by hunters, which of the following would be an immediately observable consequence?

Fill in the blanks in the table below summarizing the interspecific interactions in a community.

What is niche differentiation?a. the evolution of traits that reduce niche overlap and competitionb. interactions that allow species to occupy their fundamental nichec. the degree to which the niches of two species overlapd. the claim that species with the same niche cannot coexist

Compare and contrast the species interactions of mutualism, predation, and competition.

The principle of competitive exclusion states thata. two species cannot coexist in the same habitat.b. competition between two species always causes extinction or emigration of one species.c. two species that have exactly the same niche cannot coexist in a community.d. two species will stop reproducing until one species leaves the habitat.

The relationship between corals and the photosynthetic protists they harbor is an example ofa. commensalism.b. competition.c. consumption.d. mutualism

What is true about inducible defenses? Select True or False for each statement.T/F They are always present; thus, an individual is always able to defend itself.T/F They make it impossible for a consumer to launch surprise attacks.T/F They result from a coevolutionary arms race.T/F They make efficient use of resources, because they are produced only when needed.

To ensure adequate nitrogen for a crop, a farmer would want to decrease _________ by soil bacteria.a. nitrificationb. denitrificationc. nitrogen fixationd. a and c

Cite an example to explain why species interactions are conditional and dynamic.

Evaluate this statement: Species want to increase their fitness by helping friendly species and hurting enemy species.