Ecology Essay Assignment
AP Biology, 2011
I): Introduction to ecology and the biosphere (chapter 50).
Answer two of these questions:
1) Explain how biotic factors and abiotic factors affect the distribution of organisms
2) Aquatic biomes occupy the largest part of the biosphere. Describe at least six of the major aquatic
biomes on earth. You may use bullet points in your answer.
3) Give and example of a purposefully introduced species and an accidently introduced species that
have become pests in North America
II) Behavioral biology (Chapter 51)
Answer two of these questions:
1) Many animals breed in the spring or early summer. What are the probable proximate and ultimate
causes of this behavior?
2) Explain the basis for the distinction between male competition and female choice in courtship
behavior.
3) What is the ultimate cause of altruistic behavior among kin?
III) Population ecology (Chapter 52)
Answer two of these questions:
1) What is the relationship between a population and a species?
2) What trend characterizes a nation that is in demographic transition?
3) Draw and label the exponential and logistic growth curves on the same axes and show the
equations associated with each curve; label the carrying capacity population on your graph.
IV) Community ecology (Chapter 53)
Answer two of these questions:
1) Describe 4 types of inter-specific interactions. You may make a chart.
2) Briefly describe the two hypotheses that are put forward to explain the limits on the length of a
food chain.
3) Explain the distinction between habitat and niche.
V) Ecosystems (Chapter 54)
Answer two of these questions:
1) Explain trophic efficiency using the concept of the three ecological pyramids. You should make
drawings to illustrate your answer.
2) How does the addition of excessive mineral nutrients to a lake result in the loss of most fish in that
lake?
3) Why is the transfer of energy in an ecosystem called energy flow and not the energy cycle?
VI) Conservation biology (Chapter 55)
Answer two of these questions:
1) Briefly explain the three levels of biodiversity.
2) What happened in 1890 in New York’s Central park relative to introduced species? What
are/were the consequences.
3) What is bioremediation and how does it work?