Exam No. 1

Here are some exams from previous years for your use in preparing for this years exams. Note the format of the different types of questions as they are typical of the types of questions I'll ask this year.

WLF 448 ......Fall 1996 .........EXAM No. 1
(100 points total)

Short answer - Fill in the blanks: Place your answer in the space provided:

1. (7 pts.) What steps would you take in performing a study to determine whether or not logging old growth forests in headwater streams occupied by bull trout causes declines in the populations of these trout?

2. (6 pts.) The manager of a wildlife refuge has used CAPTURE to estimate the size of the muskrat population on the refuge. CAPTURE tells her that model M(h) best fits her data. Knowing this, she can/cannot (circle one) correctly interpret the results of the Test for Closure. The Test for Closure tests the null hypothesis that the population is closed. What is the alternative hypothesis?

The p-value for this test is .00213. From this result, is the population closed? Interpret the test result.

3. (8 pts.) Name 4 common errors in study design and illustrate each with an example.

4. (9 pts.) List 3 ways that we can attain knowledge and give an example of how you would use each to determine whether Lower Granite Dam reduces survival of Clearwater River steelhead smolts.

5. (4 pts.) If Cushing had to define a unit stock for a neotropical bird species such as western tanager, how would he do it?

6. (3 pts.) How do we know that space is a resource for red grouse?

7. (3 pts.) What key criterion did Lancia, Nichols and Pollock feel determines whether or not a population index is useful to us in managing and studying a particular population?

8. (4 pts.) What four characteristics did Krebs say identify a population?

9. (6 pts.) What approach did Romesburg (1981) argue is necessary to gain reliable knowledge in wildlife (and fisheries) today? Describe it briefly.

Why is it necessary?

10. (8 pts.) If you were placed in charge of the management of the declining population of big horn sheep in Hell's Canyon, how would you delimit the population?

WLF 448 Fall 1995 Exam No. 1 (100 points total)

Matching: Match the most appropriate terms from the column on the right with the terms in the left column by placing the appropriate letter in the blank provided. Use a letter only once.
(11 points)

1. JOLLY-SEBER_______________ A. closed population mark- recapture

^
2. Mt _________________________B. f (o)

....^
3. u = m /M_____________________C. population process

4. TRANSECT _________________D. sightability model

5. SPOT-MAPPING _____________E. trap-happy

6. CAPTURE ___________________F. null model

7. IMMIGRATION ______________G. rate of exploitation

8. P = exp(u)____________________ H. Poisson variable
..........1 + exp(u)

9. Mo__________________________ I. Chapman

10. Mb _________________________J. open population

11. N = (M + 1)(n + 1) _____________K. weather changes
....................m + 1
________________________________L. open model

________________________________M. total count

Multiple Choice Questions: Choose the single best answer to each question and circle the letter in front of it (20 points total, 2 points each).

1. A mark-recapture estimate of population size will be affected by animals losing their marks as follows:

a. too low
b. too high
c. wrong but sometimes too high and other times too low
d. unaffected

2. The process of inferring from what happened in a few cases to what will happen in all cases is termed:

a. induction
b. deduction
c. retroduction
d. extroduction

3. Using a valid, verified index of population size we can:

a. look at the relative increase or decrease in population size between years.
b. evaluate the magnitude of difference in size of two populations.
c. describe the density of a given population.
d. compare the density of two populations.

4. When sampling from a population, we would like to choose a random sample. Why is a random sample preferable to other sampling schemes?

a. it gives a more precise estimate of population parameters.
b. it produces unbiased estimates for the population
c. it allows the biologist to choose the sample units he feels represent the population most accurately
d. it is one of the easier sampling schemes to implement.

5. Which is not an ethical way to improve a line transect density estimate?

a. remove 3-4% of the farthest observations
b. measure distances more accurately
c. run longer lines
d. truncate at different places to determine which has the narrowest confidence interval

6. In line transect estimation, how do you know if the predicted detection curve provides an adequate fit to the observed data?

a. the curve has a shoulder.
b. the curve declines smoothly.
c. Chi-square tests are not significant
d. all of the above

7. In the Schnabel method, population size is estimated by:

....^
a. Ni = niMi
..............mi
.....^
b. Ni = niMi /
.........( mi) + 1
.....^
c. Ni = niMi /
...........( mi) + 1
.....^
d. Ni = Zi Ri + mi /
.................ri

8. The ideal unit stock has:

a. a single breeding ground.
b. a single migration route.
c. a single feeding ground.
d. none of the above.

9. Which of the following are measures of precision (circle the best answer):

a. variance
b. mean
c. coefficient of variation
d. correlation coefficient
e. answer "a" and "d"
f. answer "a" and "c"
g. none of the above

10. Which of the following is required to use the Fourier series estimator of density in line- transects?

a. sighting distance
b. sighting angle
c. right angle distance
d. all of the above

True - False. Write True or False in front of the question. If the question is not completely true, it is false. For each question that is false, change it to make it true (10 points total, 2 points each).

1. The number of fish observed per mile of snorkeling is a method of estimating absolute abundance.

2. In line transect methods we assume that animals may move from their initial location before we see them but they may not move afterwards.

3. The population processes determining the size of a population are birth and death.

4. Ratti and Garton defined an accurate estimate as one that is unbiased.

5. Pseudoreplication will increase our sample size in expensive field studies.

Short Answer - fill in the blanks: Place your answer in the space provided

1. (6 pts) What approach did Romesburg (1981) argue is necessary to gain reliable knowledge in wildlife (and fisheries) today?

Why is it necessary?

2. (9 pts) Describe 3 ways to obtain knowledge and give an example of each.

3. (7 pts) What general steps would you take to determine the cause of a die-off bighorn sheep in areas along the Middle Fork of the Salmon River in the River-of-No-Return wilderness.

4. (4 pts) Why is the test for closure considered to be a weak test if behavior is identified as a factor causing variation in capture probabilities?

5. (2 pts) If you are interested in plotting a survivorship curve, what variable do you plot on the x-axis and what variable do you plot on the y-axis?

6. (6 pts) The manager of a wildlife refuge has used CAPTURE to estimate the size of the muskrat population on the refuge. CAPTURE tells her that model M(h) best fits her data. Knowing this, she can / cannot (circle one) correctly interpret the results of the Test for Closure. The Test for Closure tests the null hypothesis that the population is closed. What is the alternate hypothesis?

The p-value for this test is .00213. From this result, is the population closed? Interpret the test result.

7. (4 pts) What four characteristics did Krebs say identify a population?

8. (22 pts) For each of the following specify whether line transect methods would be appropriate for estimating abundance and why or why not. Place an A for Appropriate or an I for Inappropriate after each:

Population A or I Why?
(1 pt ea) (1 pt ea)

Highly visible species

Chickadees which are
curious and investigate

A bird species in dense
shrub habitat 7 ft in
height

Deer carcasses

Salmon carcasses

Gopher snakes

Elephants

Coopers hawks (a fast
flying raptor of
forested sites)

Grey partridge groups

Snags

Whale pods

9. (8 pts) If you were placed in charge of the management of a declining population of sea otters on the coast of Washington, how would you delimit the population?