Invasive species Knowledge-Based Download PDF

Questions

1. 1.

   Why are endemic species on geographically isolated oceanic islands often disproportionately vulnerable to extinction following the arrival of an invasive predator?

   • A) Island organisms typically exhibit exceptionally rapid reproductive cycles that quickly exhaust all available primary productivity.
   • B) Insular ecosystems naturally lack complex trophic networks and contain no decomposers to recycle organic matter.
   • C) Geographical isolation causes native island fauna to rely exclusively on marine resources for their physiological survival.
   • D) Endemic island species frequently evolved in the prolonged absence of specialized mammalian predators and lack anti-predator behavioral defenses.
2. 2.

   What is a major ecological risk associated with introducing a non-native biological control agent to suppress an established invasive species?

   • A) The introduced biological agent will undergo rapid speciation into a primary producer.
   • B) The native competitor species will instantly develop physiological resistance to the introduced agent.
   • C) The target invasive species will inevitably be driven to complete global extinction.
   • D) The introduced agent may shift hosts to attack non-target native species and disrupt ecological food webs.
3. 3.

   What key criterion distinguishes an introduced non-native species specifically as an invasive species?

   • A) It relies permanently on human management and artificial sheltering to persist in the novel environment.
   • B) It establishes self-sustaining wild populations that cause environmental, economic, or human health harm.
   • C) It exhibits a highly specialized diet restricted to a single native producer or prey organism.
   • D) It has coevolved over evolutionary timescales alongside native predators, competitors, and pathogens.
4. 4.

   What is the primary ecological mechanism through which an invasive species causes a rapid decline in native biodiversity?

   • A) By increasing the genetic diversity and mutation rate among native competitor populations
   • B) By monopolizing essential resources in the absence of co-evolved predators and diseases that normally limit their growth
   • C) By eliminating the abiotic nutrients from the physical environment through chemical decomposition
   • D) By permanently halting primary succession and stabilizing ecological climax communities
5. 5.

   Which characteristic is most typical of an invasive species that enables it to successfully colonize a new ecosystem and outcompete native organisms?

   • A) Highly specialized dietary requirements and narrow tolerance for environmental changes
   • B) Rapid reproduction rate and an absence of natural predators in the introduced range
   • C) Low genetic diversity and complete dependence on native mutualistic partners
   • D) Extended developmental periods and low reproductive output per breeding cycle