Honors Biology

Term II

Unit Seven: Study Guide

 Population Ecology (45)

 Community Interactions (46)
 Ecosystems (47)
 The Biosphere (48)
 Behavioral Ecology (49)

Review Questions - Chapter 45 “Population Ecology” (Ignore page references)

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1. Be able to define: ecology, demographics, population, habitat, population size,
population density, population distribution, age structure, and reproductive base.
[pp.685-686]

2. In a population, the pre-reproductive ages and the reproductive ages together are
counted as the __________ __________. [p.686]
3. List and describe the three patterns of dispersion illustrated by populations in a
habitat. [p.686]

4. Describe the "capture-recapture method" used by ecologists. [p.687]

5. Distinguish immigration from emigration; define migration. [p.688]

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6. Define zero population growth and describe how achieving it would affect
population size. [p.688]

7. In the equation G = rN, as long as r holds constant, any population will show
__________ growth. [pp.688-689]
8. Calculate a population growth rate (G); use values for birth, death, and number of
individuals (N) that seem appropriate. [pp.688-689]

9. State how increasing the death rate of a population affects its doubling time.
[p.689]

10. __________ __________ is the maximum rate of increase per individual under
ideal conditions. [p.689]
11. The __________ rate of increase in population growth depends on the age at
which each individual reproduces, and how many offspring are produced. [p.689]

12. List several examples of limiting factors and explain how they influence
population curves. [p.690]

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13. Explain the phrase "overshot the carrying capacity," as applied to a population of
organisms in an environment. [pp.690-691]

14. Understand the meaning of the logistic growth equation and know how to
calculate values of G by using the logistic growth equation. Understand the
meaning of rmax and K. [pp.690-691]

15. Contrast the conditions that promote J-shaped growth curves with those that
promote S-shaped curves in populations. [pp.690-691]

16. Define density-dependent control of populations; cite one example. [p.691]

17. Define density-independent factors and list two examples; indicate how such
factors affect populations. [p.691]

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18. Most species have a __________ __________ pattern in that its individuals
exhibit particular morphological, physiological, and behavioral traits that are
adaptive to different conditions at different times in the life cycle. [p.692]
19. Life insurance companies and ecologists track a __________, a group of
individuals from the time of birth until the last one dies. [p.692]
20. Understand the significance and use of life tables; be able to list and interpret the
three survivorship curves. [p.692]

21. Explain how the construction of life tables and survivorship curves can be useful
to humans in managing the distribution of scarce resources. [pp.692-693]

22. Guppy populations targeted by killifish tend to be larger, less streamlined, and
more brightly colored and guppy populations targeted by pike-cichlids tend to be
smaller, more streamlined, and duller in color patterning. Other life history pattern
differences exist between the two groups. After consideration of the research
results obtained by Reznick and Endler, provide an explanation for these
differences. [p.693]

23. Be able to list three possible reasons that growth of the human population is out of
control. [p.694]

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 24. Most governments are trying to lower birth rates by __________ __________
programs. [p.696]
25. Define total fertility rate. [p.696]

26. What is the significance of the cohort of 78 million baby boomers? [p.696]

27. More than a third of the world population is now in the broad __________ base.
[p.696]
28. List and describe the four stages of the demographic transition model. [p.698]

29. Differences in population growth among countries correlate with levels of

__________ development. [p.698]
30. Be able to generally compare the implications of the resource consumptions of
India and the United States. [p.699]
31. In the final analysis, no amount of __________ intervention can repeal the
ultimate laws governing population growth, as imposed by the __________ __
32. ________ of the environment.

Review Questions - Chapter 46 “Community Interactions”

(Ignore page references)

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1. The type of place where you normally find a maple is its __________. [p.720]
2. List five factors that shape the structure of a biological community. [p.720]

3. An organism’s __________ is the sum of activities and relationships in which it

engages to secure and use the resources necessary for its survival and
reproduction. [p.720]
4. Contrast the terms fundamental niche and realized niche. [p.720]

5. The interaction of a bird’s nest and a tree is known as __________. [p.720]

6. In forms of __________, each of the participating species reaps benefits from the
interaction. [p.720]
7. In __________ competition, disadvantages flow both ways between species.
[p.720]
8. __________ and __________ are interactions that directly benefit one species and
directly hurt the other. [p.720]
9. Commensalism, mutualism, and parasitism are all forms of __________, which
means "living together." [p.720]
10. Define and cite an example of obligatory mutualism. [p.721]

11. Define intraspecific competition and interspecific competition. [p.722]

12. Describe a study that demonstrates laboratory evidence supporting the

competitive exclusion concept. [p.722]

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13. Define a keystone species and cite one example. [pp.722-723]

14. Cite one example of resource partitioning. [p.723]

15. A predator gets food from other living organisms, its __________. [p.724]
16. Explain the three-level interaction found between lynx, snowshoe hare, and plant
populations. [pp.724-725]

17. __________ take up residence in or on other living organisms--their hosts--and

feed on specific host tissues for part of the life cycle. [p.724]

18. Many of the adaptations of predators (or parasites) and their victims arose through
__________. [p.724]
19. What are the general body locations of ectoparasites and endoparasites? [p.725]

20. List the types of organisms classified as microparasites and those classified as
macroparasites. [p.725]
21. Cowbirds are classified as __________ parasites. [p.725]

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22. Be able to discuss advantages and disadvantages of using parasites as biological
controls. [p.725]

23. Be able to completely define and give examples of the following prey defenses:
warning coloration, mimicry, moment-of-truth defenses, and camouflage.
[pp.726-727]

24. Describe two examples of how predators counter prey defenses with their own
marvelous adaptations. [p.727]

25. Define ecological succession. [p.728]

26. A __________ community is a stable, self-perpetuating array of species in

equilibrium with one another and their habitat. [p.728]
27. Distinguish between primary and secondary succession. [p.728]

28. By the __________-__________ model, a community is adapted to a total pattern

of environmental factors. [p.728]

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29. Describe how fire disturbances positively affect a community of giant sequoias.
[p.729]

30. Distinguish between natural and active restoration. [p.729]

31. Community __________ is an outcome of forces that have come into uneasy
balance. [p.730]
32. Explain how the introduction of exotic species can be disastrous. List five specific
examples of species introductions into the United States that have had adverse
results. [pp.730-731]

33. List three factors that underlie the existing patterns of biodiversity. [p.732]

34. Describe the distance effect and the area effect. [p.733]

35. Estimate qualitatively the differences in species diversity and abundance of

organisms likely to exist on two islands with the following characteristics: Island
A has an area of 6,000 square miles, and Island B has an area of 60 square miles;

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 both islands lie at 10° N latitude and are equidistant from the same source area of
colonizers.

Review Questions – Ecosystems (47)

1. List the principal trophic levels in an ecosystem of your choice; state the source of
energy for each trophic level and give one or two examples of organisms
associated with each trophic level. [pp.738-739]

2. A(n) __________ is an array of organisms and their physical environment, all

interacting through a flow of energy and a cycling of materials. [p.738]
3. Explain why nutrients can be completely recycled but energy cannot. [p.738]

4. Members of an ecosystem fit somewhere in a hierarchy of energy transfers

(feeding relationships) called __________ levels. [p.739]
5. Distinguish between food chains and food webs. [p.739]

6. In most cases, __________ that producers initially captured passes through no

more than four or five trophic levels. [p.740]

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7. Compare grazing food webs with detrital food webs. Present an example of each.
[p.741]

8. Through __________ modeling, crucial bits of information about different

ecosystem components are identified and used to build computer models for
predicting outcomes of ecosystem disturbances. [p.742]
9. Describe how DDT damages ecosystems; discuss biological magnification.
[p.742]

10. Distinguish between primary productivity, gross primary productivity, and the net
amount. [p.743]

11. Understand how materials and energy enter, pass through, and exit an ecosystem.
[p.743]

12. Ecological pyramids that are based on __________ are determined by the weight
of all the members of each trophic level; __________ pyramids reflect the energy
losses at each transfer to a different trophic level. [p.743]
13. Explain what studies at Silver Springs, Florida, watershed have taught us about
energy flow. [p.744]

14. In __________ cycles, the nutrient is transferred from the environment to

organisms, then back to the environment—which serves as a large reservoir for it.
[p.745]

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15. Be able to discuss water movements through the hydrologic cycle. [p.746]

16. Describe the geochemical and ecosystem phase of the phosphorus cycle. [p.747]

17. __________ is the name for nutrient enrichment of an ecosystem that is naturally
low in nutrients. [p.747]
18. The carbon cycle traces carbon movement from reservoirs in the __________ and
oceans, through organisms, then back to reservoirs. [pp.748-749]
19. Certain gases cause heat to build up in the lower atmosphere, a warming action
known as the __________ effect. [p.750]
20. As to causes and effects, list the outcomes that might occur if the lower
atmosphere’s temperature spikes higher by 2.5 to 10.4 degrees in this century.
[pp.750-751]

21. A major element found in all proteins and nucleic acids moves in an atmospheric
cycle called the __________ cycle. [pp.752-753]
22. Define the chemical events that occur during nitrogen fixation, decomposition and
ammonification, and nitrification. [pp.752-753]

23. Be able to discuss various aspects of the human impact on the nitrogen cycle.

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Review Questions – “The Biosphere” (48)

(Ignore page numbers)

1. __________ is the study of the distribution of organisms, past and present, and of
diverse processes that underlie the distribution patterns. [p.757]
2. The __________ is the sum total of all places in which organisms live. [p.757]
3. __________ starts with incoming rays from the sun. [p.758]
4. State the reason that most forms of life depend on the ozone layer. [p.758]
5. __________ energy drives Earth’s great weather systems. [p.758]
6. Be able to describe the causes of global air circulation patterns. [pp.758-759]

7. Describe how the tilt of the Earth’s axis affects annual variation in the amount of
incoming solar radiation. [p.759]

8. Mountains, valleys, and other land formations influence __________ climates.

[p.761]
9. Describe the cause of the rain shadow effect. [p.761]

10. Air __________ patterns, ocean __________, and landforms interact in ways that
influence regional temperatures and moisture levels; they also influence
distribution and dominant features of ecosystems. [p.761]
11. Broadly, there are six distinct land realms, the __________ realms that were
named by W. Sclater and Alfred Wallace. [p.763]
12. Realms are divided into __________. [p.763]
13. __________ are mixtures of mineral particles and variable amounts of
decomposing organic material. [p.764]

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14. Be able to list the major biomes and briefly characterize them in terms of climate,
topography, and organisms. [pp.765-771]

15. The wholesale conversion of grasslands and other productive biomes to desertlike
wastelands is known as __________. [p.765]
16. A __________ is a standing body of freshwater with littoral, limnetic, and
profundal zones. [p.772]
17. Define phytoplankton, and zooplankton. [p.772]

18. Describe the spring and fall overturn in a lake in terms of causal conditions and
physical outcomes. [pp.772-773]

19. __________ refers to nutrient enrichment of a lake or some other body of water.
[p.773]
20. __________ lakes are often deep, poor in nutrients, and low in primary
productivity; __________ lakes are often shallow, rich in nutrients, and high in
primary productivity. [p.773]
21. Describe a stream ecosystem. [p.773]

22. Be able to fully describe the benthic and pelagic provinces of the ocean. [p.774]

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23. Within the pelagic province, all the water above the continental shelves is the
__________ zone; the __________ zone is the water of the ocean basin. [p.774]
24. As much as 70 percent of the ocean’s primary productivity may be the
contribution of __________. [p.774]
25. Describe the unusual hydrothermal vent ecosystems. [pp.774-775]

26. Be able to descriptively distinguish between estuaries and the intertidal zones.
[pp.776-777]

27. State the significance of ocean upwelling and downwelling. [p.777]

28. Describe conditions of ENSO occurrence and how this phenomenon interrelates
ocean surface temperatures, the atmosphere, and the land.

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Review Questions - Chapter 49 “Behavioral Ecology”

(Ignore page numbers)

1. What explains the fact that coastal and inland garter snakes of the same species
have different food preferences? [p.704]

2. Describe the intermediate response obtained in Stevan Arnold’s experiment with

coastal and inland garter snakes. [p.704]

3. Steven Arnold found evidence of the __________ basis of behavior by studying

feeding preferences of coastal and inland populations of garter snakes. [p.704]
4. Describe the origin and formation of a song system. [pp.704-705]

5. Define sign stimuli. [p.705]

6. Describe and cite an example of a fixed action pattern. [p.705]

7. When animals incorporate and process information gained from specific

experiences and then use the information to vary or change responses to stimuli, it
is __________ behavior. [p.706]

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8. Define each of the following categories of learned behavior and give one example
of each: imprinting, classical conditioning, operant conditioning, habituation,
spatial or latent learning, and insight learning. [p.706]

9. What is meant by reproductive success? [p.707]

10. __________ behavior is any behavior that promotes the propagation of an

individual’s genes and tends to occur at increased frequency in successive
generations. [p.707]
11. __________ behavior refers to the cooperative, interdependent relationships
among individuals of the species. [p.707]
12. Distinguish between selfish behavior and altruistic behavior. [p.707]

13. A(n) __________ is an area that one or more individuals defend against
competitors. [p.707]
14. Examples of __________ signals are chemical, visual, acoustical, and tactile.
[p.708]
15. Define the roles of signalers and signal receivers. [p.708]

16. Distinguish between signaling and priming pheromones, and cite an example of
each. [p.708]

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17. A(n) __________ signal is illustrated by a zebra with laid-back ears and a gaping
mouth. [p.708]
18. Describe one example of a threat display. [pp.708-709]

19. Ritualization is often developed to an amazing degree in __________ displays

between potential mates. [p.709]
20. An example of a(n) __________ signal is the physical contact of bees in a hive
maintaining physical contact during the dance of a returning foraging bee. [p.709]
21. When soldier termites detect ant scents meant for other ants and kill ants on cue,
the termites are said to be __________ __________ of a signal meant for
individuals of a different species. [p.709]
22. Assassin bugs covered with termite scent are able to use deception to hunt termite
victims more easily and as such are acting as __________ signalers. [p.709]
23. Natural selection tends to favor communication signals that promote __________
success. [p.709]
24. Competition among members of one sex for access to mates and selection of
mates are the result of a microevolutionary process called __________
__________. [p.710]
25. Be able to discuss mate selection processes by female hangingflies and the female
sage grouse. [p.710]

26. List the costs and benefits of parenting in the example of adult Caspian terns.
[p.711]

27. Explain the "cost-benefit approach" that evolutionary biologists utilize to find
answers to the questions about social life. [p.712]

28. Studies of Australian sawfly caterpillars indicate __________ predator avoidance.

[p.712]

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29. Define selfish herd; cite an example. [p.712]

30. Members of baboon troops recognize a __________ __________ in which some

individuals have adopted a subordinate status with respect to the others. [pp.712-
713]
31. List disadvantages to sociality. [p.713]

32. Hamilton’s theory of __________ selection relates to caring for nondescendant

relatives and how this favors genes associated with helpful behavior. [p.714]
33. With __________ behavior, an individual behaves in a self-sacrificing way that
helps others but decreases its own chance of reproductive success. [p.714]
34. Be able to discuss the self-sacrificing behavior of honeybees. [p.714]

35. Explain how DNA fingerprinting was used to establish that self-sacrificing mole-
rats help to perpetuate a very high proportion of genes (alleles) that they carry—
even though they are not the reproducing mole-rats. [p.714]

36. It is possible to test evolutionary hypotheses regarding the __________ value of

human behaviors; discuss human adoption practices in this context. [p.715]
37. "__________" means only that a specified trait has proved beneficial in the
transmission of the genes of an individual that are responsible for that trait.

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