Chapter 20 Succession and Stability

Question 1

Ecological succession would occur after the ______.

Answer 1

retreat of a glacier leaving bare ground

removal of trees after a major avalanche

formation of new rocks from volcanism

Question 2

Succession taking place on a newly formed volcanic island is ______.

Answer 2

primary succession

Question 3

A major spring flood in a river removed all of the vegetation along the stream bank but left the soil largely intact. The subsequent return of the community is known as ______.

Answer 3

secondary succession

Question 4

After surveying a northern forest near glaciers, it becomes apparent that forest dominated with hemlock trees rarely changes in the absence of disturbance. This would be an example of ______.

Answer 4

a climax community

Question 5

Gleason thought ______ played a larger role in the development of climate communities than Clements did.

Answer 5

chance

Question 6

After a disturbance, plant communities will change over time. This is known as ______.

Answer 6

succession

Question 7

When succession takes place on newly exposed geological features, it is known as ______.

Answer 7

primary succession

Question 8

During community succession, which of the following changes are likely to occur?

Answer 8

changes in the composition of species

increases in species richness

Question 9

When disturbance severely disrupts a community but not the soil, the succession that takes place is known as ______.

Answer 9

secondary succession

Question 10

The set of succession study areas at Glacier Bay, Alaska, represents a ______.

Answer 10

chronosequence

Question 11

An older community that appears to remain stable in the absence of disturbance is called a ______.

Answer 11

climax community

Question 12

Unlike Gleason, Clements thought the species composition of the climax community was ______.

Answer 12

highly predictable

Question 13

In the study by Reiners et al. (1971) study, their oldest site was dominated by

Answer 13

picea

Question 14

In a community undergoing primary succession, species richness ______.

Answer 14

increases rapidly during the first years

Question 15

Studies on succession have historically focused on ______.

Answer 15

succession leading to a climax forest

Question 16

The study sites at Glacier Bay, Alaska, include a set of similar forests, but at different ages. This represents a ______.

Answer 16

chronosequence

Question 17

The Piedmont Plateau of eastern North America has many areas of ______ succession.

Answer 17

deciduous forest undergoing secondary

Question 18

When fields were abandoned in Piedmont Plateau of eastern North America, one of the first colonizing species was ______.

Answer 18

crabgrass (Digitaria sanguinalis)

Question 19

Pioneer communities recently established from the retreat of glaciers are typically dominated by

Answer 19

Epilobium, Equisetum, and Salix.

Question 20

Similar to Glacier Bay, during succession, the species richness of woody plants in the Piedmont Plateau ______.

Answer 20

increases in a logarithmic pattern

Question 21

During the later stages of primary succession, ______.

Answer 21

species diversity begins to plateau or decline

Question 22

Similar to forests, species richness in the intertidal zone ______.

Answer 22

increased following a logarithmic pattern

Question 23

Studies showed the rate of succession was the fastest ______.

Answer 23

in a desert stream

Question 24

Many areas of the Piedmont Plateau in eastern North America were ______

Answer 24

clearcut and later abandoned. They are now undergoing secondary succession.

Question 25

Sycamore Creek in Arizona generally has low flows; however, flash floods ______.

Answer 25

remove organisms from the creek are a source of disturbance can initiate succession

Question 26

After about 150 years of secondary succession in the Piedmont Plateau of eastern North America, which types of plants become dominant?

Answer 26

oaks and hickory

Question 27

Nearly 2 months after intense flooding occurred in Sycamore Creek (Arizona), the diversity of diatoms and algae ______.

Answer 27

began to decline

Question 28

The increase in species richness in Glacier Bay and the Piedmont Plateau can be described as ______.

Answer 28

logarithmic

Question 29

During succession, ecosystem properties ______.

Answer 29

change along with the changes in diversity and composition of species

Question 30

Sousa showed that succession on intertidal boulders was ______.

Answer 30

similar to forest succession; species richness increased with time

Question 31

Studies by Chapin et al. 1994 at Glacier Bay indicate that

Answer 31

all the major soil horizons increase over time.

Question 32

The difference in the time of succession between the intertidal zone and primary succession in Glacier Bay as describe by Sousa is about _____.

Answer 32

1,000 years

Question 33

In Sycamore creek, succession ______.

Answer 33

begins after frequent floods disturb the community

Question 34

After intense flooding in a stream, what are the first organisms to colonize the streambed?dia

Answer 34

diatoms

Question 35

In the Hawaiian Islands, Hedin, Vitousek, and Matson used a chronosequence to show that soil organic matter ______.

Answer 35

increased in the soil for the first 150,000 years

Question 36

During primary and secondary succession, ecosystem properties that can change include ______.

Answer 36

nutrient retention primary production biomass

Question 37

Based on the study of Hedin et al., as the Hawaiian Islands age, total nitrogen ______.

Answer 37

is lower at sites that are 1.1 million and 1.4 million years old compared to sites that are 150,000 years old

Question 38

During primary succession at Glacier Bay, Chapin et al. 1994 has shown that total soil depth

Answer 38

increases over time.

Question 39

Weatherable phosphorous, in the Hawaiian Islands, is ______.

Answer 39

typically depleted in about 20,000 years

Question 40

In the Hawaiian Islands, nutrient availability changes over time when ______.

Answer 40

more phosphorous is retained in the ecosystems phosphorous becomes the limiting nutrient

Question 41

After flooding occurred in Sycamore Creek, AZ, Fisher's group found that ______.

Answer 41

invertebrates and algal biomass increased rapidly for at least the first 2 weeks

Question 42

Early studies of the soils in the Hawaiian Islands indicate that ______.

Answer 42

primary production is initially limited by nitrogen

Question 43

During succession in Sycamore Creek, AZ, nitrogen ______.

Answer 43

retention increased rapidly and eventually leveled off after about 28 days

Question 44

On the Hawaiian Islands, soil nitrogen ______.

Answer 44

varies almost precisely with total organic matter

Question 45

In the Hawaiian Islands, primary production in older soils is limited by ______.

Answer 45

phosphorous availability

Question 46

In 1916, Clements proposed ______ as the major mechanism of succession in ecological communities.

Answer 46

facilitation

Question 47

Which of the following best describes the change in rates of nutrient loss in the Hawaiian islands over 4 million years based on the work by Hedin et al.?

Answer 47

Rates of nitrogen loss progressively increase, while rates of phosphorous loss decrease.

Question 48

During the early states of succession in streams, ______.

Answer 48

algal biomass increases rapidly

Question 49

During the early stages of succession, pioneer species ______.

Answer 49

colonize new habitat and modify it so that it facilitates the establishment of later succession species

Question 50

According to Grimm (1987), during the early stages of stream succession in Sycamore Creek, dissolved inorganic nitrogen ______.

Answer 50

entered and left the stream in roughly equal amounts

Question 51

A model of succession that proposes that any species, including dominant species in later succession, can colonize at any time without affecting future colonization, is known as the ______ model.

Answer 51

tolerance

Question 52

The ______ model makes the assumption that even late successional species can colonize an area early in succession.

Answer 52

inhibition

Question 53

Connel and Slatyer (1977) proposed three models of succession that include ______.

Answer 53

tolerance inhibition facilitation

Question 54

In Sousa's experiments in the rocky intertidal zone, he removed middle successional species from rocks and found that ______.

Answer 54

late successional species recolonized the rocks

Question 55

The inhibition model predicts that ______ susceptible to various sources of mortality.

Answer 55

early successional species are more

Question 56

A model of succession that proposes pioneer species are able to colonize new habitat first is called the ______ model.

Answer 56

facilitation

Question 57

Open space in the rocky intertidal zone along the Oregon coast is created by ______.

Answer 57

winter storms that generate high waves

Question 58

Based on Connell and Slatyer's tolerance model of succession, ______.

Answer 58

pioneering species do not facilitate colonization later successional species are more tolerant of the conditions found in later successional stages

Question 59

In the rocky intertidal zone along the Oregon coast, the establishment of Phyllospadix is dependent on ______.

Answer 59

the presence of middle successional algae

Question 60

The inhibition model predicts that ______.

Answer 60

early colonists prevent the colonization of later arrivals

Question 61

In 1979, Sousa removed middle successional species from experimental plots which were then colonized by late successional species. This result supported the _____ model for succession.

Answer 61

inhibition

Question 62

Keever (1950) showed that succession in the Piedmont depends on ______.

Answer 62

the facilitation and inhibition model

Question 63

If early successional species are susceptible to various sources of mortality, it would support the ______ model.

Answer 63

inhibition

Question 64

In the spruce stage, growth rates and survivorship are low due to ______.

Answer 64

inhibition

Question 65

Open space in the intertidal zone along the Oregon coast is often colonized first by ______.

Answer 65

Ulva in May

Question 66

Some communities are stable because they ______.

Answer 66

lack disturbance are resistant to change are resilient

Question 67

Turner (1983) found that Phyllospadix seeds were all attached to middle successional algae. This observation supports the _____ model.

Answer 67

facilitation

Question 68

The lack of change in a community is known as ______.

Answer 68

stability

Question 69

After surviving a hurricane, a mangrove forest maintains its basic structure and functioning. This community is ______.

Answer 69

resistant

Question 70

In the Piedmont Plateau of the eastern United States, Keever's 1950 experiment demonstrated that ______.

Answer 70

Aster is important for the growth of Andropogon the growth of Aster is inhibited by Erigeron

Question 71

Some forests have frequent fires every 3–5 years that remove much of the ground cover. However, most species return to their previous abundances, restoring diversity and ecosystem functioning within a year. This is an example of ______.

Answer 71

resilience

Question 72

During primary succession, the alder stage facilitates spruce seedlings by ______.

Answer 72

increasing organic matter in the soil

Question 73

If a community lacks disturbance or can recover from a disturbance, then it may be ______.

Answer 73

stable

Question 74

The community in the Park Grass experiment has remained stable for over 150 years. This indicates that ______.

Answer 74

the species composition has remained relatively unchanged

Question 75

A community that remains the same over time is termed

Answer 75

stable

Question 76

Based on results of the Park Grass Experiment, grasses were most dominant when ______ added to the plots.

Answer 76

no fertilizers were

Question 77

If a community maintains its structure and function when facing disturbance, then it is ______.

Answer 77

resistant

Question 78

If a community is affected by a disturbance, but returns to its original state, then this community is ______.

Answer 78

resilient

Question 79

In the Park Grass Experiment, the proportion of plants, including grasses and legumes, vary from year to year based mainly on ______.

Answer 79

annual variations in precipitation

Question 80

For nearly 150 years, there have been no new colonizations in the Park Grass Experiment. This provides support that this community is ______ on at least one dimension.

Answer 80

stable

Question 81

When analyzing the Park Grass Experiment at the individual species level, the community appeared to be ______.

Answer 81

unstable

Question 82

The Park Grass Experiment demonstrated that fertilizing with nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, sodium, and magnesium ______.

Answer 82

increased the proportions of plants other than grasses reduced the dominance of grasses

Question 83

When a piezometer measures a positive vertical gradient, this would indicate ______.

Answer 83

water flow from the streambed to the stream

Question 84

Although there is annual variation in the proportion of grasses, legumes, and other plants in the Park Grass experiment due to changes in precipitation, the proportions of the three groups ______.

Answer 84

were very similar over the course of the study

Question 85

In Sycamore Creek, Arizona, algal production is often higher in regions ______.

Answer 85

with positive vertical pressure | upwelling

Question 86

Sycamore Creek in Arizona was found to be more stable in areas with ______.

Answer 86

positive vertical hydraulic gradients

Question 87

How we determine community stability is a function of the ______.

Answer 87

spatial scales involved level of resolution when a community is analyzed time scales involved

Question 88

Valett's team found that Sycamore Creek was stable after intense flooding because ______.

Answer 88

the spatial arrangement of downwelling and upwelling areas remained constant

Question 89

When a piezometer measures a negative vertical gradient, this would indicate a(n) ______.

Answer 89

downwelling zone

Question 90

Regions in Sycamore Creek, Arizona, with higher nitrate concentrations are associated with ______.

Answer 90

upwellings and have higher algal production

Question 91

Stability in Sycamore Creek, Arizona, is due in part to the ______.

Answer 91

stability of the underlying bedrock

Question 92

Based on Valett's (1994) work on Sycamore Creek, Arizona, algal communities in upwelling zones were found to be more ______.

Answer 92

resilient to disturbance

Question 93

Restoration ecology seeks to restore damaged ecosystems to acceptable levels of ______.

Answer 93

biodiversity physical structure ecosystem function

Question 94

Match a factor that affects the time and course of succession with the correct description of that factor's influence on succession.

Answer 94

Physical and chemical stressors = Potentially reduce plant establishment Plant establishment = Limited by the availability of suitable "safe" sites Interspecific plant interactions = may inhibit or facilitate establishment and growth Plant dispersal rates = can limit site colonization by poor dispersers

Question 95

Intense flooding in Sycamore Creek, Arizona, ______.

Answer 95

had no effect on the locations of upwelling and downwelling allowing for community stability

Question 96

In order to limit the drying of soils in restoration plots of tropical forests, it is best to add ______ to the soil surface.

Answer 96

forest floor litter Reason: The forest floor litter limits evaporation rates and eventually adds organic matter to the developing soil.

Question 97

In Sycamore Creek, Arizona, regions of upwelling and thus community stability are associated with ______.

Answer 97

areas where the bedrock is close to the surface

Question 98

______ ecology focuses on ways to improve the effectiveness of ecological restoration.

Answer 98

Restoration

Question 99

Total soil carbon increases faster in restored forest roads if they are ______.

Answer 99

recontoured first

Question 100

By protecting vulnerable plants until they are well established during restoration what factor of restoration would be most affected?

Answer 100

herbivory

Question 101

Identify effective methods that should be used when restoring tropical forests.

Answer 101

Add forest floor litter. Encourage many bird-dispersed seeds. Add nitrogen-fixing plants

Question 102

How does the recovery of former logging roads differ if the roads are recontoured rather than just being abandoned?

Answer 102

Recontoured roads recover faster.