List the 3 reasons why we should care about species like the southern sea otters of California.
Interspecific competition is the most common interaction among species. If species’ niche overlap, what must competing species do? (The book lists 4 options.)
Refer to Figure 5-2. Explain how resource partitioning is beneficial to the different species of warbler.
List some adaptations that predator species have evolved for capturing prey.
List some adaptations that prey species have evolved to avoid being captured.
What are the two rules that biologist Edward O. Wilson gives us to evaluate the possible danger of unknown animal species?
Explain how between predator-prey relationships can lead to coevolution.
Parasitism:
Mutualism:
Commensalism:
Differentiate between primary ecological succession and secondary ecological succession.
Facilitation:
Inhibition:
Tolerance:
True or False. Scientists now believe that climax communities (i.e., late-successional ecosystems are stable, unchanging communities.)
Explain your answer to the question above.
Two aspects of sustainability in living systems are inertia (persistence) and resilience.
Explain how tropical rainforests can have high inertia, but low resilience while grasslands have low inertia, but high resilience.
Dispersion patterns for populations include clumped, uniform, or random (see Figure 5-14 for examples.) Why do most populations live in clumps?
Rewrite the following sentences with the correct terms filled in: "Populations grow due to ________________ and _________________. Populations decrease due to ________________ and ________________."
Range of tolerance:
Limiting factors:
Population density:
What are the two extremes when it comes to reproductive patterns?
Write 1-2 short paragraphs explaining the following vocabulary/concepts: J-shaped curves, S-shaped curves, carrying capacity, overshoot and population crashes.
Why can’t populations grow indefinitely?