List of top Applied Ecology & Evolution Questions on Ecology asked in GATE Ecology and Evolution

Which one or more of the following would make a plant community more susceptible to invasion by exotic plants?
The table below describes the number of tree species in a forest whose seeds are dispersed by large or small animals, and whether they are insect or wind pollinated. In the past, seed dispersers and pollinators were abundant in this forest. Now, there are very few large animal dispersers, but the number of small animal dispersers has not changed. There are also very few insect pollinators in this forest. Which one or more of the following inferences about trees in the forest can be drawn from these changes in seed dispersers and pollinators?
In a grassland (P), there are 8 plant species with a similar number of individuals of each species. In another grassland (Q), there are 12 species with uneven abundances. Which one of the following statements about the Shannon’s diversity index of P and Q is correct?
Fungus S infects elm trees and fungus T infects chestnut trees, and both kill their hosts within a year of infection. A forest with equal density of elm and chestnut trees is colonized by both pathogenic fungi. A 100 years later, the elm tree population has declined and the chestnut trees have become extinct. Which one of the following mechanisms would NOT contribute to this outcome?

Figure F shows how predation rate changes with increasing prey density.
Which one of the figures represents the per capita death rate of prey under the conditions of F?
 

Which one or more of the following functions do insects directly perform in ecosystems?
Fish schools in coral reefs can comprise multiple species that swim and forage together. Which one or more of the following options describe(s) potential fitness benefit(s) to individuals in a mixed-species group?
Mayflies lay eggs in water. Their nymphs (immature life stage) are aquatic and adults are terrestrial. Some mayflies perceive dry, paved parking lots as waterbodies and lay eggs there that do not survive. In this situation, which one or more of these statements is/are correct?

Match the following geographic regions to the mammals that are native to those regions.


 

In this figure, the rectangle (P) depicts the range of temperature and rainfall in which a plant species can survive and propagate. The circle (Q) demarcates the range of temperature and rainfall in which this plant species is actually found. Which one of the following statements about P and Q is accurate for this plant species?


 

Local communities are comprised of a subset of species from the regional species pool. Which one of the following processes is LEAST likely to cause species composition of local communities to differ from one another?
The species richness of trees increases from North to South in the Western Ghats, and from South to North in the Andes. Which one of the following can be an explanation for these patterns?
High water temperatures can cause coral bleaching, which often leads to coral death. In coral reefs that experience repeated bleaching, there can be substantial algal growth on dead coral, eventually leading to an algal dominated ecosystem. Such a transformation is known as
Across trophic levels, energy flows from producers to primary consumers, and from primary consumers to secondary consumers. Which one of the following options best represents the percentage of energy that is transferred from producers to secondary consumers?
Certain species of ibex and weevils depend on the same food source. A study finds that the removal of ibex results in an increase in the number of weevils, but the removal of weevils does not affect the ibex. Which one of the following options best describes this interaction?
Fly larvae of a species feed simultaneously on a shared rotting fruit. If the density of fly larvae is high, then all the larvae grow up to be smaller sized adults than if the larval density were low. Which one of the following processes best describes this observation?
One hypothesis for why the tropics have far greater species richness than higher latitudes is that the tropics are relatively aseasonal. Low seasonality can encourage high species richness through which one or more of the following mechanisms?
In the foodweb diagrams shown, R represents the primary producer, C1 and C2 represent intermediate consumers, and P represents the top predator. Which one or more of these diagrams show(s) intraguild predation? \includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{59a.png}
Female \textit{Anopheles mosquitoes bite humans to get blood. Researchers performed an experiment to study whether female mosquitoes use temperature or scent, or both, when locating human hosts. They presented female mosquitoes with membranes kept at different temperatures. Some membranes had human scent applied to them. The response to each treatment was measured as the percentage of females that landed on the membrane (50 females for each treatment). The table shows the treatments and the corresponding responses.}
You are a plant ecologist studying a plant in the genus \textit{Veronica. You notice that, at open rocky sites, \textit{Veronica} grows as a creeper spreading low to the ground, whereas in grasslands, the stem stands upright. You collect seeds from multiple populations in each habitat type and grow them under uniform conditions in a greenhouse. You find that all the plants grown in the greenhouse have stems that stand upright. Which one or more of the following explanations best support(s) your observations?}
Match the mollusc taxa to their respective orders as shown in the table.
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{50a.png}
Two bird species, \(A\) and \(B\), are found on a single mountainside. \(A\) is a low-elevation species, found between 500 m and 1500 m Above Sea Level (ASL), while \(B\) is a high-elevation species, found between 1000 m and 2000 m ASL. At 1250 m ASL, species \(A\) and \(B\) have very different bill morphologies, but the bill morphology of species \(A\) at 500 m is very similar to the bill morphology of species \(B\) at 2000 m ASL. Which one or more of the following explain(s) the difference in bill morphology at 1250 m ASL?
The graphs shown represent the relationship between population size (\(N\)) and population growth rate \(\frac{dN}{dt}\). Which one of the following growth curves represents a density-dependent population that experiences a strong Allee effect?
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{44.png}
Consider the graph shown, where \(S\) is species richness and \(A\) is area. \(S\) and \(A\) are log-transformed and the slope is not equal to 1.
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{46.png}
The relationship between untransformed \(S\) and \(A\) follows a/an:
The graph shows bird species richness in a large contiguous forest patch and a small adjacent forest fragment, before and soon after the large contiguous forest patch was replaced by an oil palm plantation.
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{48.png}
Which one of the following options best explains the pattern shown?