Mega Biogeography Trivia
(230).jpg "Mega Biogeography Trivia - Quiz")
Biogeography is the branch of geography that focuses on the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time. Organisms and biological communities usually vary in a regular fashion along geographic gradients of latitude, elevation, isolation, and habitat area. Do you think you know everything about this topic? Attempt this quiz to find out more
- 1.There are 2 kinds of histories: history of place & history of lineages.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 2.Which of the following are components of the history of place?
- A.
Geology
- B.
Geography
- C.
Climate
- D.
Soils & Vegetation
- E.
Evolution & Extinction of new taxa
- F.
Distribution changes
- G.
Range shifting
- 3.The history of lineages follows fundamental biogeographic processes. Which of the following is involved in the history of lineages?
- A.
Evolution of new taxa
- B.
Extinction of taxa
- C.
Changes in distribution
- D.
Geology
- E.
Climate
- F.
Soils & Vegetation
- 4.Select which of the following are fundamental biogeographic patterns.
- A.
Endemism
- B.
Provincialism
- C.
Disjunction
- D.
Interchange
- E.
Divergence & Convergence
- 5.Species can be endemic only over a continental scale.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 6.Which is not a reason why endemism occurs?
- A.
Due to mass extinction
- B.
Due to historical events and ecological processes
- C.
Originated and never disappeared
- D.
Entire range has shifted in locality
- E.
Now survive in small part of former range
- 7.Endemism occurs on a variety of spatial scales and at a nested hierarchy of taxonomic scales.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 8.Which of the following statements about provincialism are true?
- A.
Made up of endemic forms that are randomly distributed
- B.
Most closely related species tend to have overlapping or adjacent ranges
- C.
Unrelated higher taxa show similar patterns of endemism
- 9.Concerning Biogeographic regions, there are many lines dividing species. Sclater's line is for birds whereas Wallace's line is for terrestrial mammals.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 10.Within the deserts of North America, independent groups of organisms have similar distribution boundaries.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 11.Biogeographic provinces within the Nearctic Biogeographic region are not stable in location or composition over time.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 12.Biogeographical lines represent areas of rapid turnover of taxa at the boundaries between regions.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 13.Marine provincialism involves the change of location and composition with changing climates.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 14.Disjunction can occur through historical events or ecological processes. Select all of the following which are ways by which disjunction occurs (3 correct answers)
- A.
Tectonics
- B.
Intervening Extinction
- C.
Dispersal
- D.
Sympatric Speciation
- 15.One form of disjunction is amphitropical where species occur in temperate regions in North America and South America but not in the trophics themselves.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 16.All disjunct distributions are accurate and based upon phylogenetic data.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 17.Interchange can repeat through time.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 18.Concerning interchange, it was found that mammals with northern ancestry did better with crossing filters than mammals with southern ancestry. Which of the following is not a reason why?
- A.
Better reproductive strategies
- B.
Better migrators
- C.
Better survivors and speciators
- D.
Better competitors
- 19.Symplesiomorphic (shared primitive) characters are not useful in diagnosing a monophyletic group.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 20.[Blank] are used to polarize primitive to derived direction of character state changes in ingroups (focal monophyletic group)
- 21.Which of the following does not apply to phylogenetics in modern biogeography?
- A.
All of these answers apply
- B.
Importance of fossils
- C.
Value of molecular characters (phylogenetics)
- D.
History of vicariance and dispersal
- E.
None of these answers apply
- 22.Fossils are important for:
- A.
Documentation of extinction
- B.
Earliest appearance of a taxonomic lineage
- C.
Appearance of lineage traits
- D.
Reconstructing past environments, climates, and distributions
- E.
Phylogenetic accuracy
- F.
Hierarchical resolution
- 23.What is the value of molecular characters in phylogenetics (systematics)?
- A.
Phylogenetic accuracy
- B.
Phylogenetic comparability
- C.
Dating divergence events (molecular clocks)
- D.
Molecular diagnosis of taxa and distributions from fossils
- E.
Hierarchial resolution
- F.
Distribution and timing of taxonomic lineages
- G.
Reconstructing past environments, climates, and distributions
- 24.A biota is defined as "all species of plants, animals, and microbes inhabiting a specified region." Which of the following are important questions regarding biotas?
- A.
What part of a "biota" are actually sampled and why?
- B.
How do we specify a region of interest?
- C.
What time range does a biota cover?
- D.
Is climate irrelevant to any particular biota?
- 25.Prior to Croizat's metaphor, most biogeographers generally believed in "dispersal over a permanent geography" from a Center of Origin; vicariance was not addressed until the plate tectonic theory was introduced.
- A.
True
- B.
False
Related Topics
Featured Quizzes
Back to top