Name: _________________________
AP Environmental Science
Species Interactions
09 October 2013
Chapter 04 – pp 76-83
1. Read the Central Case Study: Black and White, and Spread All Over” Zebra Mussels Invade the Great
Lakes. Which of the following statements about zebra mussels is FALSE?
a. Zebra mussels likely arrived in North America in the ballast water of ships.
b. Larval zebra mussels are well adapted for long distance dispersal, potentially drifting in currents for weeks.
c. Zebra mussels have had little economic effect on the industries surrounding the Great Lakes.
d. Phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish populations are usually depleted in areas where zebra mussels thrive.
e. Bottom-dwelling or bottom feeding species tend to benefit in the short term from zebra mussel invasions.
2. What is the difference between intraspecific competition and interspecific competition? Which has a greater
effect on the composition of a community?
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3. How does resource partitioning minimize the competition between species with overlapping fundamental
niches?
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4. __________________ ___________________ occurs when competing species come to diverge in their
physical characteristics because of the evolution of traits best suited to the range of resources they use.
5. Draw lines to match the term in Column B with its definition in Column A and its characterization in
Column C. Note some characterizations may be used more than once or not at all.
Column A
Column B
Column C
a. A relationship in which individuals of one species hunt, capture,
kill, and consume individuals of another species
• parasitism •
+/+
b. Relationship in which one species benefits while another
associated species is relatively unaffected.
• commensalism •
+/-
c. A relationship in which one organism depends on another, called
the host, for nourishment or some other benefit while
simultaneously harming the host.
• predation •
+/0
d. Relationship in which two or more species benefit from their
usually close interaction with one another.
• herbivory •
-/-
e. Occurs when animals feed on the tissues of plants
• mutualism •
-/0
6. __________________ is a long term reciprocal process in which two (or more) types of organisms
repeatedly respond through natural selection to the other’s adaptations.
7. List FOUR ways that plants have to defend themselves against herbivory.
a. ____________________________________________________________________________________
b. ____________________________________________________________________________________
c. ____________________________________________________________________________________
d. ____________________________________________________________________________________
8. Describe an example of mutualism.
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9. Why is amensalism difficult to confirm in nature?
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