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

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.}

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}

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}

A terrestrial species P is found in both India and West Africa and nowhere else, while a marine species Q is found in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. The two species have similar generation times. An ecologist builds haplotype networks based on DNA sequences from these species, where each circle represents one haplotype and each dash (--) represents a mutation. Which one of the following inferences is best supported by the haplotype networks shown?
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{51a.png}

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 the rank-abundance relationships for species in three communities, \(P\), \(Q\), and \(R\). \includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{47.png}
Which one of the following statements is true with respect to the evenness of the three communities?

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?

Given below is a table with ecological observations and processes. \begin{center} \begin{tabular}{|l|l|} \hline Ecological observations & Processes
\hline P) Bright spotted pigmentation in guppy males in low predation habitats & I) Kin selection
Q) Vampire bats share blood meals & II) Sexual selection
R) Cooperative breeding in African weaver birds & III) Reciprocal altruism
\hline \end{tabular} \end{center} Select the option that best matches each ecological observation with its corresponding process.

Which one of the options given best matches vector to disease? \begin{center} \begin{tabular}{|l|l|} \hline Vector & Disease
\hline I. Fleas & P. Kyasanur Forest Disease
II. Ticks & Q. Dengue
III. Mosquitoes & R. Plague
\hline \end{tabular} \end{center}

Optimal foraging theory predicts whether a foraging animal will be risk-prone, risk-averse or risk-insensitive depending on a utility function that describes the value of each additional food item to the animal. Risk-prone foraging is expected when the utility increases disproportionately with each additional food item encountered. Which one of the graphs shown depicts a scenario where risk-prone foraging would be expected?
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{42a.png}

Two species of fruit bats (Species 1 and Species 2) eat fruits of varying sizes. The curves shown represent the ecological niche for these two species. If the curves for both species were to completely overlap, which one or more of the statements given would be correct?
\includegraphics[width=0.5\linewidth]{image.png}