Chapter 50 An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere

Chapter 50 An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere 1. Define ecology: Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and the environment 2. Give an example of a question that is both an evolutionary and ecological? 3. Define and give an example of the following: Biotic factors - Abiotic factors 4. Subfields of Ecology Biological Level Short Definition Types of ecological questions studied at this biological level Organism Population Community Ecosystem Ecosystem arrays (Landscape ecology) Biosphere 5. What is the difference between the terms ecology and environmentalism? 6. Who was Rachel Carson and what was her major contribution to both ecology and environmentalism? Interactions between organisms and the environment limit the distribution of species 7. What is biogeography? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 1

8. Explain how the following affect the distribution of organisms. For each give an example. Dispersal Natural Range Expansion c. Species Transplants 9. Give an example of how behavior and habitat selection affect the distribution of a species. 10. Describe an example of how a species distribution is limited by biotic factors. 11. Explain how the following abiotic factors affect the distribution of organisms: Temperature Water c. Sunlight d. Wind e. Rocks and Soil 12. Define climate. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 2

Global Climate Patterns 13. Briefly describe how the following affect global climate patterns. Latitude The Earth s tilt c. Global air circulation (a drawing is probably useful) d. Global wind patterns Regional Climate Patterns 14. Briefly describe how the following affect regional climate patterns. Bodies of water Mountains c. Seasonality Microclimate 15. What is microclimate? 16. Give two examples of microclimates within the same habitat. Long-term climate change 17. Explain how long-term climate change can affect the distribution of organisms. 18. Give an example. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 3

Abiotic and biotic factors influence the structure and dynamics of aquatic biomes. 19. What defines a marine biome (as opposed to a freshwater biome)? 20. What % of the Earth s surface is covered by oceans? 21. Copy figure 50.16. Label and define the following on the diagram: photic zone, aphotic zone, intertidal zone, neritic zone, oceanic zone, benthic zone, pelagic zone, and abyssal zone. 22. Which zone contains the highest concentration of life and why? 23. What are the main differences between oligotrophic and eutrophic lakes? 24. What is the fate of many oligotrophic lakes? 25. Explain the ecological importance of wetlands. 26. Explain the ecological importance of estuaries. 27. Which marine zone has the highest biodiversity? 28. What is unique about deep-sea vent communities? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 4

Climate largely determines the distribution and structure of terrestrial biomes 29. How come two different biomes may have the same mean temperature and annual precipitation? 30. Fill in the following table regarding terrestrial biomes and their climates, flora and faun Biome Main climatic features Characteristic flora Indicative fauna Tropical forest Savanna Desert Chaparral Temperate grassland Temperate broadleaf (deciduous) forest Coniferous Forest (Taiga) Tundra 31. Define: canopy permafrost c. arctic d. alpine - AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 5

1. What is behavioral ecology? Chapter 51 Behavioral Ecology Behavioral ecologists distinguish between proximate and ultimate causes of behavior 2. What is behavior? 3. Give two examples of animal behavior. 4. What is the difference between ultimate and proximate causation? 5. Give examples of both levels of causation. Proximate Ultimate 6. Why study behavior in an evolutionary context? 7. What is ethology? 8. What is a fixed action pattern? 9. What is the sign stimulus or releaser? 10. Give an example of an FAP. 11. Describe the process of imprinting. Give an example. 12. What is the sensitive period? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 6

Many behaviors have a strong genetic component Movements 13. What is kinesis? Give an example. 14. What is taxis? Give an example. 15. Describe the study that supported the hypothesis that migration is a largely genetic behavior. Communication 16. Give examples of different types of signals animals can use to communicate with each other. 17. What are pheromones? 18. Give an example of how an animal uses pheromones. 19. Give an example of how a species uses auditory communication. Environment, interacting with an animal s genetic makeup, influences the development of behaviors 20. Give an example of how mate choice was influenced by diet. 21. What is learning? Give an example. 22. What is habituation? Give an example. 23. Define associative learning. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 7

24. What is classical conditioning? 25. Give an example of classical conditioning. 26. What is operant conditioning? 27. Give an example of operant conditioning. 28. What is cognition and why are biologists interested in studying it in other species? 29. Explain how birds learn their species-specific song. Behavioral traits can evolve by natural selection 30. Give two examples of behavioral traits that show variation in natural populations. 31. What is the evolutionary significance of this variation? 32. Describe the experiment that established a genetic basis for bird migration. Natural selection favors behaviors that increase survival and reproductive success Foraging Behavior 33. Describe optimal foraging theory. 34. What is a foraging benefit? 35. What are two examples of foraging costs? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 8

36. Give an example of how an animal s behavior tries to minimize the cost of foraging. Mating Behavior 37. Define the following terms: promiscuous - monogamous c. polygamous i. polygyny ii. polyandry - 38. What are the relationships among: type of fertilization (internal or external), certainty of paternity, and the sharing of parental care? Illustrate with examples. 39. Explain how sexual selection can lead to the evolution of sexually dimorphic species. 40. What is agonistic behavior? 41. What are the two bases for mate choice? 42. Briefly describe game theory and use it to explain the behaviors of a species. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 9

The concept of inclusive fitness can account for most altruistic social behavior 43. What is altruism? 44. Give an example of altruism. 45. Explain kin selection. 46. Explain one altruistic behavior that supports the theory of kin selection. 47. What is reciprocal altruism? Which types of organisms are most likely to engage in it and why? 48. What is social learning and how is it related to culture? 49. Give two examples of social learning. 50. What is sociobiology? 51. Why does the topic of sociobiology spark debate? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 10

Chapter 52 Population Ecology Dynamic biological processes influence population density, dispersion, and demography 1. Define population: 2. What is density in biology? 3. Define dispersion. 4. List the three types of dispersion patterns, give examples of species that demonstrate these patterns, and briefly explain why they have the pattern. c. 5. Define demography and give an example of one statistic that would be of interest to a demographer. 6. Look at Table 52.1. State two observations from the data in this table. 7. What are survivorship curves? 8. Copy the graph in Figure 52.5. Label each survivorship curve and briefly describe what each curve reflects about each species. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 11

9. Look at Table 52.2. Draw two conclusions from the data in this table. Life history traits are products of natural selection 10. What three variables define an organism s life history? c. 11. Describe the two extremes of life history patterns. 12. What factors would favor a semelparous ( big bang ) life history? 13. What factors would favor an iteroparous (repeated reproduction) life history? 14. Explain what is meant by trade-offs when discussing life histories. Give an example. The exponential model describes population growth in an idealized, unlimited environment 15. What is the difference between zero population growth and exponential population growth? 16. Under what circumstances does a population show exponential growth? The logistic growth model includes carrying capacity 17. What is carrying capacity? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 12

18. How are the assumptions of the exponential growth model and logistic growth model different? 19. Draw a logistic growth curve. Label the following parts of the curve: exponential growth, logistic growth, and carrying capacity. 20. Circle the correct responses in the table below. Characteristic r-selected K-selected # of offspring / Many or Few Many or Few reproductive cycle # of reproductive Many or Few Many or Few cycles / lifetime Age at first Younger or Older Younger or Older reproduction Lifespan Longer or Longer or Shorter Shorter Maturation time Faster or Slower Faster or Slower Mortality Rate Higher or Lower Higher or Lower Parental care Much or Little Much or Little Size of offspring or eggs Large or Small Large or Small 21. Which type of species probably lives closest to carrying capacity (r- or K- selected)? 22. Which type of species probably fluctuates around the carrying capacity? 23. Which type of species would be better able to live in an environment that is regularly disturbed? Why? Populations are regulated by a complex interaction of biotic and abiotic influences 24. What are the two main types of questions that can be asked about regulation of population growth? 25. What is meant by density independent factors? Give an example. 26. What is meant by density dependent factors? Give an example. 27. Explain the relationship between density dependent regulation and negative feedback. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 13

28. Briefly describe how each of the following density dependent factors can affect population regulation. Competition for Resources Territoriality c. Health d. Predation e. Toxic wastes f. Intrinsic factors 29. Describe the population cycles of lynx and snowshoe hares. Human population growth has slowed after centuries of exponential increase 30. Sketch a graph of human population growth (include numbers and dates). 31. Why are the predictions about a population bomb being softened? 32. What is meant by demographic transition? 33. Why is demographic transition considered to be a positive step for a country to take? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 14

34. Look at the age-structure pyramids in Figure 52.25. Approximately what percent of the population in the United States is between the ages of 15 and 19? What can you predict about the future population growth of Afghanistan and why? c. What accounts for the bulge in the middle of the U.S. age structure? d. What is happening to Italy s population? 21. What is the life expectancy in the following regions: Afghanistan United States c. Japan d. Rwanda 22. If we use ecological capacity as a measure, where is the United States population with regard to carrying capacity? Explain. 23. Describe ways in which humans have increased the Earth s carrying capacity regarding our species. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 15

Chapter 53 Community Ecology 1. Define community A community s interactions include competition, predation, herbivory, symbiosis, and disease 2. What is the difference between interspecific and intraspecific interactions? 3. Give an example of interspecific competition. 4. What is the competitive exclusion principle? 5. Restate the competitive exclusion principle using the term niche. 6. What leads to character displacement? Give an example. 7. Predation has lead to the evolution of many defenses by prey. For each of the coloration defenses listed below, define it and give an example of its occurrence. Cryptic coloration Aposematic coloration c. Batesian mimicry d. Mϋllerian mimicry 8. Some predators also use mimicry, give an example of this. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 16

9. Herbivory is a type of predation where a plant is the prey. These plants have also evolved a suite of defenses against their ruthless predators. List three examples of defenses. c. 10. Define symbiosis 11. For each of the following types of parasites, define it and give an example: Endoparasites Ectoparasites c. Parasitoids 12. Define pathogens: 13. List two characteristics that distinguish parasites and pathogens. 14. Define mutualism. 15. Give examples of mutualism that include the following groups of species: Animal animal: Plant animal c. Bacteria plant d. Bacteria animal e. Fungus plant f. Fungus protist 16. Define commensalism and give an example of its occurrence. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 17

Dominant and keystone species exert strong controls on community structure 17. Define and give an example of each of the following terms Primary producer - Primary consumer c. Secondary consumer d. Tertiary consumer e. Quaternary consumer 18. How does the energetic hypothesis explain why food chains are relatively short? Species with a large impact 19. What is a dominant species? 20. What enables a species to become dominant? 21. What is an invasive species? 22. Using evolutionary theory, explain why some invasive species handily become the dominant species. 23. What is a keystone species? 24. Give an example of a keystone species and what happens to the community when the keystone species is removed. 25. What is an engineer (or foundation) species? 26. Give an example of an engineer and its effect on its habitat. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 18

Disturbance influences species diversity and composition 27. Define disturbance. 28. Give 3 examples of disturbance. c. 29. What is the intermediate disturbance hypothesis? 30. Why is human disturbance almost always harmful to the biodiversity of an area? 31. What is ecological succession? 32. Primary succession Definition: First types of organisms to colonize: c. Example: d. How long does it take to establish a community s prevalent plant species? 33. Secondary succession Definition: First types of organisms to colonize: c. Example: Biogeographic factors affect community biodiversity 34. What two factors are most correlated with a community s biodiversity? 35. How is biodiversity correlated with the polar-equatorial gradient? 36. What factors seem to be important in explaining the polar-equatorial gradient? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 19

37. How is biodiversity correlated with area (species-area curve)? 38. What factors seem to be important in explaining the relationship between area and biodiversity? Island Biogeography 39. What would be an example of habitat islands in New Mexico? 40. What is the equilibrium number? 41. What is the effect of island size on island biodiversity? 42. What is the effect of distance from the mainland on island biodiversity? 1. What is an ecosystem? Chapter 54 Ecosystems Ecosystem ecology emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling 2. What is one of the implications of the second law of thermodynamics on ecosystems? 3. What is a trophic level? Trophic Level Role in ecosystem Example organism Decomposers / detritivores Tertiary consumers Secondary consumers Primary consumers Primary producers AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 20

4. What pivotal role do detritivores play in an ecosystem? 5. What % of light energy that reaches photosynthetic organisms is converted into chemical energy? 6. Explain the equation: NPP = GPP Rs 7. What two ecosystems provide the highest percentage of the Earth s net primary production (see figure 54.4)? 8. What is a limiting nutrient? 9. What are the most common limiting nutrients? 10. Why are areas of oceanic upwelling so productive? Energy transfer between trophic levels is usually less than 20% efficient 11. What is secondary productivity? 12. What is trophic efficiency? 13. On average, what percentage of energy transfers from one trophic level to the next? 14. List the three types of pyramids that can be used to illustrate an ecosystem s trophic efficiency? c. Biological and geochemical processes move nutrients between organic and inorganic parts of the ecosystem 15. What is a biogeochemical cycle? 16. Answer the questions and make a flowchart of the four chemical cycles. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 21

Water Cycle 17. Why is water so important to life? Carbon Cycle 20. Why is carbon so important to life? 21. Which organisms fix carbon? 18. Which combination of characteristics makes water most useful to organisms? (salt/fresh/liquid/frozen/gas) 22. Where is the biggest store of carbon that organisms can utilize? 19. What % of the Earth s water is oceanic? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 22

Nitrogen Cycle 23. Why is nitrogen so important to life? Phosphorous Cycle 26. Why is phosphorous so important to life? 24. Where is most of the nitrogen on the planet? 27. Where is most of the phosphorous on the planet? 25. What organisms fix nitrogen? 28. What organisms bring phosphorous into the biosphere? The human population is disrupting chemical cycles throughout the biosphere 29. What is the effect of agriculture on the nitrogen cycle? Acid precipitation 30. What causes acid precipitation? 31. What are the negative consequences of acid precipitation on the environment? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 23

32. What have humans done to mitigate acid precipitation? Biological magnification 33. What is biological magnification? 34. Give an example of a toxin that was biologically magnified and the effects of this magnification. Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide 35. What has caused the increase in atmospheric CO 2? 36. Scientific studies strongly support the hypothesis that increased CO 2 concentrations in the atmosphere is causing it to warm up (Figure 54.24 shows a correlation between these numbers). On a global scale, what effects would global warming have on humans? Global warming would certainly lead to the extinction of many species. i. Species in which part of the planet would be affected the most, and why? ii. Why don t these species evolve their way out of the problem? c. What have humans done to mitigate global warming? Ozone depletion 37. Which human activities have been implicated in the depletion of the ozone layer? 38. How might ozone depletion affect human health? 39. What have humans done to mitigate ozone depletion? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 24

Chapter 55 Conservation Biology and Restoration Ecology The biodiversity crisis 1. Compare conservation biology and restoration ecology. 2. How do the current rates of global extinction compare to the mass extinction that occurred at the end of the Cretaceous (K-T extinction)? Human activities threaten Earth s biodiversity 3. Why are biologists concerned about the genetic diversity of a species? 4. Define endangered species. 5. Species diversity is in great decline. Describe the status of the following: Bird species - Mammal species - c. Plant species - d. Freshwater fishes - e. Amphibian species - 6. List three arguments for why humans should care about the loss of biodiversity. c. AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 25

7. Fill in the following table regarding the four major threats to biodiversity. Major Threat to State the severity of this threat (give Biodiversity #s when possible) Example Population conservation focuses on population size, genetic diversity, and critical habitat 8. Describe what is meant by the extinction vortex. 9. What is meant by a minimum viable population? Landscape and regional conservation aim to sustain entire biotas 10. Some species thrive at the edge/border of a habitat, whereas others thrive only deep within a particular habitat. How do these groups of species fair as habitats (e.g. tropical forest) become fragmented by human use? 11. What are movement corridors and what are they intended to provide? 12. What factors do conservation biologists try to take into account when choosing where to place a nature reserve? AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 26

Restoration ecology attempts to restore degraded ecosystems to a more natural state 13. What is bioremediation? 14. Describe two projects being undertaken to restore and area s ecology 15. What is sustainable development? 16. Discuss how Costa Rica is doing in its attempts at sustainable development. 17. Read the last page (p. 1229). Not only is it interesting, it provides closure, and it s probably the only time you will read the last page of a textbook in your entire life! AP Biology Unit 8 Study Guide page 27