Populations and Resources

A population of panthers lives in the southeastern United States. Over 50 years, the size of the panther population in the region increased. What best explains the increase in the size of the panther population?

• The panther population is always increasing because no animal eats panthers.

• Fewer panthers were born than died.

• More panthers were born than died.

• A lot of panthers were born and none of them died.

Scientists have been studying the size of three populations along the coast of Antarctica. In this ecosystem, penguins eat sardines (a type of small fish), and sardines eat zooplankton (very small animals that live in water). The data showed that all three populations were stable. Then the penguin population decreased suddenly.

What will likely happen to the size of the sardine population as a result?

• stay the same. The size of its resource population did not change, so the amount of energy storage molecules available for the sardines did not change. There will be the same number of births and deaths in the sardine population.

• decrease. A decrease in one population causes a decrease in the sizes of all other populations in the ecosystem.

• increase. The smaller penguin population will leave more energy storage molecules available for the sardine population to reproduce more. This will lead to more births in the sardine population.

• increase. The smaller penguin population will need fewer energy storage molecules, so they will eat fewer sardines. This will lead to fewer deaths than births in the sardine population.

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What do birds such as hawks and eagles need energy for?

• flying

• digesting food

• reproducing

• All of the above

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In a rainforest, anteaters eat ants, and ants eat aphids (a type of very small insect). The sizes of the populations have been stable for the last 10 years, but recently the size of the aphid population decreased. What will likely happen to the anteater population?

• stay the same. Anteaters do not eat aphids, so the number of births and deaths in the anteater population will stay the same.

• decrease. Fewer energy storage molecules will be available to the anteater population from the smaller ant population, so the anteater population will reproduce less. This will lead to fewer births than deaths in the anteater population.

• decrease. A decrease in the size of any population leads to a decrease in the sizes of all other populations in an ecosystem.

• increase. The smaller aphid population will leave more energy storage molecules available in the ecosystem for the anteater population, so there will be more births in the anteater population.

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A large population of squirrels lives in a forest. In the last 50 years, the size of the squirrel population has stayed the same. What must be true about the squirrel population during the last 50 years?

• The number of squirrels that were born was the same as the number of squirrels that died.

• Humans started protecting the squirrel population so they stopped dying.

• The squirrels did not have any baby squirrels during these years.

• No squirrels were born and no squirrels died.

In this food web, which of the following animals are part of the resource population?

• Deer

• Coyote

• Wolf

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In this food web, which organism(s) are part of the consumer population.

CAN SELECT MORE THAN ONE!!

• Deer

• Coyote

• Wolf

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When a population is stable it means...

• There are more births than deaths

• There are more deaths than births

• There are the same number of births and deaths

• No organisms were born or died.

When a population is INCREASING it means...

• There are more births than deaths

• There are more deaths than births

• There are the same number of births and deaths

• No organisms were born or died.

When a population is DECREASING it means...

• There are more births than deaths

• There are more deaths than births

• There are the same number of births and deaths

• No organisms were born or died.