Download Chapter 7 Reading Questions:

Chapter 7 Reading Questions:
1. What is the significance of gator holes?
2. Why are alligators keystone species?
21. Explain why predation is actually beneficial to a
population of prey species.
22. Describe 5 ways predators can increase their
chances of catching prey.
3. Explain what habitat fragmentation is and describe two
affects fragmentation has on community structure.
23. Describe 5 ways prey species avoid predators.
4. How do biological communities vary from each other?
24. What is a bioprospector?
5. What is species richness and which biomes are
typically species rich?
25. What are two ways of evaluating the potential
danger of an unknown species?
6. Describe several important identifying properties of
biological communities.
26. What medicine did ants discover before humans?
27. Explain what mimicry is and give an example.
7. Describe 4 characteristics that describe communities.
8. What was the objective of the Mac Arthur & Wilson
Island Study?
9. How can we use the species equilibrium model to help
protect wildlife?
28. Explain what mutualism is and describe three
examples.
29. Explain what gut inhabitant mutualism is and give
two examples.
30. Explain commensalisms and give two examples.
10. Explain what an indicator species is and give three
examples.
31. Explain what an epiphyte is.
11. Why are frogs especially vulnerable?
32. Describe the two types of ecological succession.
12. List the harmful factors that affect frogs.
33. Why does pioneering succession take so long?
13. Why should we care if some amphibian species
become extinct?
34. List several pioneering species.
14. Explain what a keystone species is and describe three
examples.
15. Describe the role that sharks play in their aquatic
ecosystem and why they are important.
35. What ecological services do pioneer species
perform?
36. Explain how secondary succession differs from
primary succession.
37. Explain the intermediate disturbance hypothesis.
16. Explain what a foundation species is and give three
examples.
17. What is the most common interaction between
organisms?
18. Explain what interspecific competition is and give
two examples.
19. How do organisms deal with intense competition
for resources?
20. Explain the purpose of resources partitioning and
describe two examples.
38. Explain how ecologist views of ecological
succession have changed.
39. Describe three aspects that determine the stability
of a living system.
40. Explain why diverse communities tend to produce
more biomass than simple communities.