ESA Wildlife Ecology & Management 3

Question 1

In wildlife management, 'compensatory mortality' means that:

Accepted Answer

Hunting mortality replaces some natural mortality so total mortality remains similar

Answer

Hunting mortality adds to natural mortality, causing net population decline

Answer

Predator removal compensates for prey population losses

Answer

Habitat improvement compensates for mortality from disease

Question 2

The minimum viable population (MVP) concept in conservation biology refers to:

Accepted Answer

The smallest population size with a specified probability of persistence over a defined time period

Answer

The smallest population size at which a species can expand its geographic range

Answer

The minimum number of individuals required for successful breeding in captivity

Answer

The population size at which genetic drift becomes negligible

Question 3

Which ecological process does the Allee effect describe?

Accepted Answer

Reduced individual fitness or population growth rate at very low population densities

Answer

Exponential population growth when resources are unlimited

Answer

Increased competition among individuals at high population densities

Answer

Population decline caused by invasive predator introduction

Question 4

Habitat suitability models (HSMs) in wildlife ecology are most commonly used to:

Accepted Answer

Predict the spatial distribution of species based on environmental variables

Answer

Count the exact number of individuals present in a habitat

Answer

Determine genetic relatedness among individuals in a population

Answer

Measure the rate of energy flow through a food web

Question 5

Which term describes the phenomenon where a small founding population has reduced genetic diversity due to chance sampling from the original population?

Accepted Answer

Founder effect

Answer

Genetic drift

Answer

Inbreeding depression

Answer

Bottleneck effect

Question 6

A keystone species is defined as one that:

Accepted Answer

Has a disproportionately large effect on its community relative to its abundance

Answer

Has the highest biomass in an ecosystem

Answer

Is the most abundant species in a given habitat

Answer

Occupies the top trophic level in a food web

Question 7

In wildlife population ecology, 'lambda' (λ) is used to represent:

Accepted Answer

The finite rate of population increase (Nt+1/Nt)

Answer

The rate of genetic mutation per generation

Answer

The proportion of individuals surviving to reproductive age

Answer

The average litter size per reproductive female