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STUDY GUIDE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY 105
QUIZ 2
The 50 point exam will be composed of 25 multiple choice, True/False, and matching type
questions. Understand the following concepts and be able to answer the following questions:
Climate & Biomes
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How do Earth/Sun dynamics determine the location & characteristics of a biome (e.g., Earth’s
shape, tilt, rotation, Coriolis Effect? (Don’t forget warm air rises, cool air falls, cold air doesn’t
hold moisture as well as warm air).
How does Earth’s topography, & the distribution of land & oceans, effect world biomes?
What causes seasons (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter)?
What is a rain shadow? How does the topography of mountains contribute to rainfall patterns
in some deserts? What is the difference between the windward & leeward side of mountains?
Know the major biome types, what makes them unique, what constitute limiting factors for
each, and how characteristic plant and animal communities adapt to a particular biome.
Many desert and shrubland (Chaparral, Mediterranean) plant communities are adapted to
periodic fires. What adaptations do these plants have to help them survive fire?
Know the general characteristics and differences among freshwater (rivers & lakes), estuarine
(swamps & salt marshes), and marine ecosystems (pelagic, benthic, littoral/intertidal) including
some characteristic plant (algae) and animal communities.
What are some of the threats to marine & wetland habitats and the species that call them home.
What is habitat restoration?
Darwin, Galapagos Islands, & Natural Selection
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Who was Charles Darwin & what are his contributions to the study of evolution & natural
selection?
In 1831 Darwin sailed on the HMS Beagle. What was his job, what was the ship’s mission,
what famous island did he visit & study?
What are endemic species?
Darwin noticed that plants/animals on the Galapagos Islands were unique, but resembled
species on the mainland of South America. In what ways did the mainland species immigrate
(colonize) to the Galapagos?
Why are Galapagos Tortoises so much larger than other tortoise species?
What is the main difference among Darwin’s finches? How did this difference help to decrease
competition? What are they competing for primarily?
What is the definition of Evolution?
What is natural selection (decent with modification)? Understand how 2 of Darwin’s
observations (Individual variation and Overproduction & a struggle for existence) led to his
conclusion of Unequal reproductive success. What is the result of unequal reproductive
success in a population of the same species? What makes some individuals more successful?
What is the result of natural selection (Hint: definition of evolution)?
What are the 4 mechanisms of evolution?
What role do mutations & adaptation play in natural selection & how organisms evolved with
the passage of time?
What is the definition of a species? How do new species arise?