AP Biology: Donor Source Climate Matching Practice Questions
Practice evaluating how restoration teams can compare donor sources for a changing climate-refugia network. These original AP Biology questions use climate matching, phenotypic plasticity, migration load, source mixing, common-garden evidence, and explicit decision thresholds without treating any single intervention as guaranteed to work.
Free original practice questions for study purposes. Open Exam Prep is an independent study resource and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by the makers of AP Exams.
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Answer the questions below — you get instant feedback and a full explanation for each.
1. A team is selecting seeds for a warming restoration site. Which comparison best represents climate matching?
Explanation. Climate matching compares environmental conditions experienced by possible donor populations with conditions expected at the recipient site. Geographic distance may matter, but it is not by itself evidence that a donor is environmentally matched.
2. Why can phenotypic plasticity complicate interpretation of plant height differences between two donor populations?
Explanation. Phenotypic plasticity is a change in an organism's traits in response to environmental conditions. Field differences may therefore reflect soil, water, or temperature as well as inherited differences, so a controlled comparison is useful.
3. Which result from a common-garden experiment most strongly supports a genetic contribution to drought tolerance?
Explanation. A common garden holds key growing conditions similar for all sources. Consistent survival differences under the same treatment support an inherited contribution, although replication and other traits should still be considered.
4. What is migration load in a climate-matching decision?
Explanation. Migration load can occur when gene flow introduces alleles that lower fitness in the recipient environment. It is a risk to evaluate, not proof that all movement among populations is harmful.
5. A manager proposes source mixing by collecting modest seed samples from several climate-matched populations. What is the main potential advantage of this approach?
Explanation. Source mixing may preserve variation and reduce dependence on one donor population. Its benefits and risks still need testing because sources can differ in adaptation, relatedness, and disease exposure.
6. Which preplanned decision threshold is most useful before expanding a donor-source trial?
Explanation. A decision threshold defines in advance what evidence justifies a larger action. Requiring replicated performance and checking reproduction helps avoid treating a chance short-term difference as decisive evidence.
7. A donor population is geographically distant but has temperature and rainfall patterns close to those projected for the recipient site. What is the most appropriate inference?
Explanation. Climate similarity can identify a candidate donor, especially under projected change. It does not establish fitness because soils, biotic interactions, extreme events, and genetic factors may also affect performance.
8. Which design best tests whether donor performance changes across microclimates within a refugia network?
Explanation. Replicating donor sources across defined microsites tests whether donor effects depend on local conditions. Randomization and matched measurements make it easier to separate microclimate effects from preexisting site differences.
9. Why should managers compare projected climate ranges rather than only historical averages when choosing a donor source?
Explanation. Historical conditions provide context, but restoration decisions may need to account for plausible future temperatures, moisture, and extremes. Comparing ranges and uncertainty is more informative than assuming the past remains unchanged.
10. Which observation would be the clearest warning that a mixed-source planting might carry a migration-load cost?
Explanation. Lower reproductive performance in the same recipient environment is relevant evidence of a possible migration-load cost. Repeated comparisons with controls are needed before assigning a cause or changing the program.
11. What role does a dispersal kernel play when deciding whether to move seeds among refugia patches?
Explanation. A dispersal kernel describes the probability of movement over distance. Combining it with landscape and demographic data can show where natural exchange may be too limited, while not proving that assisted movement will be beneficial.
12. After two years, one donor source has higher survival but lower flowering than the local source. Which conclusion is most scientifically careful?
Explanation. Fitness can involve survival, growth, flowering, seed production, and recruitment. Opposing results across stages require continued measurement and a transparent decision threshold rather than a broad conclusion from one outcome.
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FAQ
What is climate matching in restoration?
Climate matching compares the environmental conditions of potential donor populations with current and projected conditions at a recipient site. It helps select candidates for testing rather than guaranteeing a successful transfer.
Why use a common-garden experiment?
A common garden grows sources under comparable conditions, helping distinguish inherited differences from phenotypic plasticity caused by different original environments.
How should donor-source decisions be made?
Use multiple lines of evidence: climate projections, common-garden and field comparisons, demographic outcomes, uncertainty, and a preplanned decision threshold for scaling or revising the intervention.