You are running a human assisted reproduction clinic and providing state-of-the-art genetic diagnostic services. A married couple who already had a child with cystic fibrosis approach you because they wish to have another child, but only if they can be assured that the child will not have cystic fibrosis. You genotype the woman and discover that she is a heterozygote for Del508, the most common mutation causing cystic fibrosis. You suggest that the couple consider first polar body testing, in which several unfertilized oocytes (each with its first polar body) are retrieved from the woman, the first polar bodies are removed, and PCR tests are conducted on DNA from each of the first polar bodies. The couple agrees, and you obtain the following results:

 

the observation that the polar bodies for oocytes #1 and #5 test positive for both Del508 and the wild type sequence, because

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12966

#Unit 10. Ecological Principles

You are planning a dive in a lake, and are eager to observe not many underwater organisms but be able to observe them both close up and far away. You would do well to choose

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12967

#Unit 10. Ecological Principles

Which of the following is the best explanation for why net primary productivity in terrestrial ecosystems tends to increase toward the tropics?

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12968

#Unit 10. Ecological Principles

Most terrestrial ecosystems have a pyramidal structure of where biomass of producers > primary consumers > secondary consumers > tertiary consumers. However, some aquatic ecosystems have an inverted pyramidal structure where the standing biomass of producers < primary consumers. An explanation for this is:

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12969

#Unit 10. Ecological Principles

In which of the following habitats would one expect to find the highest diversity of vascular plants? 

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12970

#Unit 10. Ecological Principles

In deep-sea hydrothermal vents near the Galapagos Islands, bacteria obtain energy by oxidizing hydrogen sulphide released from the vents. Giant tube worms, which lack mouths and digestive systems, harbour the bacteria in their tissues and use them as a source of organic molecules. Clams obtain energy by filtering bacteria directly from the water, and numerous crabs and octopi feed on the clams. In this unique ecosystem, the bactena are playing the role of

TLS Online TPP Program

#Question id: 12971

#Unit 10. Ecological Principles

One group of ecologists has suggested that producers are limited by competition for resources, primary consumers (herbivores) are limited by predation, and secondary consumers (carnivores) are limited by food. If this were true, at which of the following trophic levels would one expect to find substantial evidence for competitive exclusion?