How many reasons are there for why invasions are useful for addressing basic research questions in ecology, evolutionary biology, and biogeography?
four
100
True or False: Recent studies suggest that exotic competitors are unlikely to cause the complete extinction of species?
True
100
How can genetic bottlenecks promote rapid adaptation and evolution?
By increasing importance of genetic drift and higher-order epistatic interactions among genes.
100
What can the study of species invasions assist with?
Conservation, management and policy strategies needed to address aspects of global change, like species extinctions and ecosystem functioning.
100
True/False: Introduced zebra mussels cause millions of dollars of damage annually due to clogging of underwater machinery?
True
200
Are we able to observe evolutionary processes while studying invasions?
YES, we can directly observe the evolutionary process, and can watch it happen in real time.
200
How can individual plant species transform the environment they’re in?
They can alter nutrient availability and disturbance regimes (e.g. CA fires resistant plants replaced by non-fire resistant plants, fires, erosion, floods)
200
According to Sax et al., 2007: In general, what is the net consequence of invasions into species-rich plots?
An increase in total species richness.
200
What are some long term effects of translocation (assisted migration) of native species onto small islands?
Changes in genetics, life history, morphology, and ecology.
200
What is the primary mechanism for overland zebra mussel dispersal?
Recreational Boating
300
What is the benefit of knowing benchmark dates of species invasions?
We can study rates of processes (genetic change, range expansion) easier with invasives than with natives because we know exactly when invasives first arrived.
300
Why do exotic predators and pathogens have disproportionately large roles in species extinctions?
Competition-induced extinctions might take hundreds or even thousands of years, while disease and predation invasion extinctions occur much more rapidly
300
Why is the net consequence of invasion an increase in species richness?
More organisms included overall but also more competition.
300
How do exotic species provide perfect examples for studying the many aspects of the speciation process?
Because of their large scale and natural setting (e.g. role of sexual selection).
300
Why did the researchers use veliger sampling to determine whether zebra mussels were present in the lakes?
Veliger sampling provided the most efficient way to determined whether zebra mussels were present in lakes, because veligers are much easier to find than adults, since millions are produced each reproductive cycle
400
Why is it useful for ecologists, morally, when exotic species naturally migrate to new habitats?
Because it would be unethical to do species addition experiments in native ecosystems without knowing the consequences.
400
Does the success of exotic species outside of their native range support or refute the idea that species ranges are limited by dispersal?
Support, they have shown that they can be successful outside of their natural range, but their range is smaller because of dispersal barriers.
400
Which global, abiotic, human-induced, factor limits species distribution ranges?
Climate
400
Do ecologist expect invasive species to be more common in ecosystems in the future?
YES
400
Why is slowing the spread of zebra mussels into inland lakes important?
So we can decrease their overall dispersal into other lakes, minimizing the cost of their damages to machinery and improve natural ecosystem functioning.
500
What is a logistical constraint with planned manipulative questions that is avoided by observing invasions?
Planned manipulative studies usually occur over short periods and small spatial scales, but invasions can occur over long periods and on large spatial scales.
500
Is the reason that invasive species are effective in their new environment because native species are not optimally adapted for their environment, or is the presence of an exotic species a strong enough disruption to break the ecosystem?
Open-ended, judges discretion
500
According to emerging insights, does adaptive genetic change occur slowly or rapidly?
It can occur rapidly (soapberry bugs did in 30-40 years).
500
What role does assisted migration have in future conservation efforts and ecology?
Open-ended, judges discretion
500
Why do Zebra mussels do well at invading lakes larger than 100 ha and smaller than 500 ha?