Climate change Knowledge-Based Download PDF

Questions

1. 1.

   In various reptile species, such as sea turtles, offspring sex is determined by nest incubation temperature rather than sex chromosomes. How does sustained global warming primarily threaten the long-term reproductive viability of these populations?

   • A) It skews population sex ratios excessively toward females, eventually resulting in a shortage of breeding males.
   • B) It induces permanent chromosomal mutations that disable the development of functional reproductive organs.
   • C) It triggers an immediate transition to obligate asexual reproduction, eliminating genetic diversity.
   • D) It leads to an overproduction of male hatchlings, causing intense territorial combat that depletes female numbers.
2. 2.

   As the oceans absorb excess anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, ocean acidification occurs. Which chemical change associated with this process directly impairs the ability of marine calcifiers, such as mollusks and corals, to build and maintain their protective structures?

   • A) Increasing seawater salinity, which disrupts cellular osmotic balance
   • B) Elevating dissolved oxygen levels, which promotes destructive oxidative stress
   • C) Decreasing the concentration of available carbonate ions necessary for shell formation
   • D) Raising the ocean pH, which denatures structural proteins in external tissues
3. 3.

   Which ecological outcome occurs when rising average global temperatures alter the seasonal timing of life-cycle events at different rates between mutually dependent species, such as plants and their specialized insect pollinators?

   • A) Biomagnification
   • B) Phenological mismatch
   • C) Competitive exclusion
   • D) Genetic drift
4. 4.

   Which mechanism directly causes widespread coral bleaching during marine heatwaves associated with global climate change?

   • A) An abrupt drop in dissolved oxygen levels that suffocates living polyp tissues
   • B) The expulsion of symbiotic photosynthetic dinoflagellates due to thermal stress
   • C) Direct dissolution of the underlying calcium carbonate skeleton by warmer water
   • D) Rapid physical abrasion of reef structures by accelerated deep-water ocean currents
5. 5.

   How does anthropogenic climate change primarily alter the geographic distribution of terrestrial species adapted to cooler climates?

   • A) By shifting their distributions toward higher latitudes and higher elevations to track their thermal niches
   • B) By expanding their ranges uniformly across all latitudes due to extended growing seasons
   • C) By forcing migration toward equatorial regions where greater atmospheric moisture stabilizes temperatures
   • D) By allowing species to remain stationary through immediate physiological adaptations within single lifetimes