Question

There are various levels of ecology that can be used to study organisms and their interactions with the environment. What type of ecologist would be likely to compare the numbers of Northern Sawwhet Owls that migrate through the Midwest as compared to the Northeast?

		Organismal Ecologist
		Population Ecologist
		Community Ecologist
		Ecosystems Ecologist
		Physiological Ecologist

During migration, large flocks of shorebirds form in areas with high food density. Food is abundant and evenly distributed, yet shorebirds are found in a clumped arrangement. What can explain the tendency to form groups instead of spreading out more evenly?

		An individual spends less time scanning for predators when in a group than when by itself, allowing more time for foraging
		Predators are less likely to attack large groups of shorebirds
		Predators are more successful in attacks on larger groups due to increased vigilance by combined group members as compared to individuals foraging alone
		Foraging time decreases if a flock moves through an area systematically, depleting one area before moving into another area as a group

Answer 1

a)answer:-option B

Population ecologist

Ecologists study the growth of the population,fluctuations in population size,spread of the population or it can be any other interactions with the population.Here population ecologists study different groups of populations that are not located in the same area,immigrated population,emigrated population and all migrations.So here it is the population ecologist who compare the numbers of sawwhet owls that migrate through midwest as compared to the northeast.

b)answer:-option A

An individual spends less time scanning for predators when in a group than when by itself,allowing more time for foraging.

Here large flocks of shorebirds form in area with high food density.A flock is a gathering of a group of same species animals in order to forage or travel with one another.Flocking is important in safety from predation and foraging benefits.By having a flock with multiple species present,the defence against predation increases.When they are living in a large flock they can attack the predator with a more force.It is seeing that birds living in a flock may perform information sharing habit,ie the entire flock would search for food and the first to find a resource will alarm the flock,so that the entire group will get that benefit.