Ecology - Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5 Reading Guide
Chapter 2 – Pages 29 – 33 Energy: An Introduction
1. Give an example of an energy conversion.
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9.
State the two laws of thermodynamics (energy) and give an example of the 2 nd law.
Explain how plants contain potential energy that we animals convert to kinetic energy.
What is the base of the food web in a hydrothermal vent ecosystem?
Explain the term “entropy” in terms of energy quality. Give an example of low and high quality energy?
What is meant by “energy conversion efficiency”?
Write the chemical formulas for photosynthesis and respiration.
Identify two ways that plants affect levels of carbon dioxide.
Answer questions 1 – 4 “Calculating Ecological Footprints” on pages 48 - 49
Chapter 3 Evolution, Biodiversity and Population Ecology
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Explain the three ways selection can act on a population: directional, stabilizing, and disruptive.
Environmental change can drive both evolution and extinction. Explain.
Distinguish the terms niche and habitat.
Why is habitat loss the number one cause of loss of biodiversity on Earth today?
Would specialists or generalists do better in a human-dominated environment? Why?
Why are S-curves more common than exponential growth curves?
Describe one density-dependent and one density-independent limiting factors that would affect the populations
of mosquitos.
8. When considering biotic potential you look at an organism’s ability to reproduce. Name an r-selected selected
species and a K-selected species. How do their reproductive strategies differ?
9. Draw a picture of and tell which environmental conditions favor the following patterns of dispersion:
a. Uniform
c. Clumped/clustered
b. Random
10. Draw a graph (and label with Type I, II, or III) that shows the survivorship of an organism that has:
a. high parental care
b. Low parental care
11. The population of grizzly bears in Yellowstone was estimated to be 500 bears, growing at 6% a year. 47 bears
were estimated to have died last year. Assuming no migration, how many bears cubs were born last year. Show
your work.
Chapter 4 Pages – Species Interactions and Community Ecology 76- top of 96
1.
2.
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4.
Explain two ways mentioned in the text that help species avoid competitive exclusion.
Explain the difference in intraspecific and interspecific competition.
Describe and give an example for 5 types of symbiotic relationships.
Discuss the coevolution of two species (your choice) that interact as predator and prey in a ecological
community.
5. In Figure 4.5, why is the population of lynx always smaller than the population of hare?
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7.
Describe the difference between a food chain and a food web. What is the original source of energy for a food chain?
Explain, using the 2nd law of thermodynamics, why only a small fraction of energy at each trophic level is transferred
up to the next trophic level? Where does the rest of the energy go?
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9.
What is the difference in a pyramid of biomass and a pyramid of numbers?
How does the pyramid of biomass illustrate why eating at lower trophic levels decreases a person’s ecological footprint?
10. Explain why the population of littoral (the shallow areas near the shoreline) fish in the Great Lakes increased
after zebra mussels were introduced, and why the population of open water fish decreased.
11. It appears that orca populations are declining in the Puget Sound, WA. Explain a logical prediction that this
decline in orcas will have on kelp populations. Use the term “keystone species” in your answer.
12. What is meant by the terms “resistance” and resilience” in relation to ecosystem disturbances?
13. Why are lichens successful pioneer species following glacier melt?
14. Catastrophic wildfires burn much hotter and longer than smaller fires. Explain why forest communities recover
more slowly from catastrophic wildfires than they do from smaller fires.
Chapter 5 Ecosystems Page 115 – top of page 117
1.
Explain the difference between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity.
2. What is the unit for measuring NPP
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4.
5.
What are the top 3 ecosystems having highest net primary productivity?
What are the top 3 ecosystems having lowest net primary productivity?
In the world’s oceans, where is the highest net primary productivity found?
2, 3, 4, and 5 Vocabulary to Know!!!!
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natural selection
adaptation
evolution
resource
succession
primary succession
pioneer community
secondary succession
climax community
keystone species
symbiosis
mutualism
parasitism
amensalism
coevolution
herbivory
species richness
ecotone
edge effect
geographical isolation
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Populations
Species
Community
Ecosystem
Closed system
Open system
First law of
thermodynamics
Second law of
thermodynamics
Entropy
Photosynthesis
Cellular respiration
Hydrothermal vent
Chemosynthesis
Energy flow
Producers
Autotrophs
Consumers
Heterotrophs
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rhizobium
zooanthellae
mycorrhizae
environmental
stressors
epiphytes
parasite
host
habitat fragmentation
pathogen
predation
predator
prey
warning coloration
competition
31. intraspecific
competition
32. interspecific
competition
33. ecological niche
34. habitat
35. fundamental niche
36. realized niche
37. limiting factor
38. range of tolerance
39. competitive exclusion
(Gause’s rule)
40. species coexistence
41. resource partitioning
42. character displacement
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50.
community phase shift
invasive species
restoration ecology
ecological restoration
51. species richness
52. biotic
53. abiotic
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Biosphere
Energy
Kilojoules (kJ)
Kilocalories (kcal
Primary consumers
Herbivores
Secondary consumers
Tertiary consumers
Carnivores
Omnivores
Decomposers
Detritivores
Detritus
Tropic level
Food chain
Food web
62. Potential energy
63. Kinetic energy
Ecosystem
Community
population
organism
habitat
niche
Gross primary
productivity
97. Net primary
productivity
98. Secondary
productivity
99. specialist
100. generalist
101. Resistance
102. resilience
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96.
APES Guided Reading – Chapter 2, 3, and 4