Download T1 study questions - University of Colorado Boulder

Study Questions for Test 1, EBIO 2040-­‐010, Fall 2014; (Additional questions will be added) Use your notes, the web notes, and book to figure out the answers-­ please DO NOT ask these questions verbatim at the review session or in emails What is the difference between weather and climate? Why is temporal and spatial variation in climate important to ecology; how does it influence organisms? What is the underlying cause for the global patterns of temperature, winds, and precipitation? What is “albedo” and how does it influence energy balance? What component of energy balance is related to wind speed and boundary layer? On average, what contributes the largest energy gain at the surface of Earth over the course of a year? On average, what contributes the largest energy flux from the surface of Earth over the course of a year? What 2 factors determine why solar radiation is lower per unit area at high latitudes relative to the equator? What is the “intertropical convergence zone?” What climate zone is associated with the Hadley cell? the Ferrell cell? The polar cell? What are the characteristics of a maritime climate? … a continental climate? Why are air temperatures cooler in the mountains? What is the “rain shadow effect?” What are the 3 main ways that vegetation can influence regional climate? What climatic change marks the change of the seasons in the tropics? … in the temperate zone? Describe the changes that occur in water temperature and density over the course of a year in temperate and polar lakes. How does this seasonal change in temperature influence oxygen and nutrients in the lakes? 1 Is the influence of ENSO found just in the region adjacent to the southern Pacific Ocean where it occurs, or is it more widespread? What is the leading hypothesis why regular glacial/interglacial cycles that have occurred over the past 3 million years? What is salinization, and what conditions enhance its occurrence? How would salinization influence the soil water potential, and therefore the availability of water to plants and soil microorganisms? Does the acidity of soils change naturally? If so, how? What biome has the largest seasonal change in mean monthly temperature? What temperate biome is characterized by wet winters, and dry summers? What biome best corresponds with the montane zone found in the mountains just west of Boulder? What nearshore marine biological zone would you expect in tropical climates that would be replaced by salt marshes in temperate climates? What environmental forces influence the zonation of organisms in rocky intertidal zones? What temperature threshold, associated with a phase change in water, is often a major constraint on the distribution of organisms in terrestrial and freshwater habitats? Why are the geographic ranges of organisms usually smaller than predicted based on their tolerances of the physical environment (e.g. climate)? How do acclimatization and adaptation differ? individual vs population.... genetic vs plastic response... Why do enzyme mediated physiological processes drop off rapidly at high temperatures? What happens to cell membranes at cool/ cold temperatures? What heat exchange mechanisms determine whether an organism's temperature is increasing or decreasing? Is wind more effective in removing heat from large leaves, or small leaves? Why...? 2 How can plants influence heat exchange by albedo? ... convection?.... evaporative cooling? Can microorganisms (including non-­‐motile single celled plants and animals) control their temperatures by influencing their heat exchange? How does energy balance differ between ectotherms versus endotherms? What are some of the possible compromises associated with using behavior (e.g. mobility) for thermoregulation in ectotherms? How does the size of an organism influence its ability to exchange heat energy with its external environment? What taxonomic groups of animals are ectotherms? .... endotherms? Do ectotherms or endotherms have higher metabolic rates and a greater demand for food? why? Which animal would exhibit a higher change in its metabolic rate as temperature decreases, a naked mole rat (yes, they lack much fur) or a deer mouse (assume they are the same size)? What is "torpor?" What group of endotherms use torpor, and why? What is "water potential," and how does it influence water movement between organisms and their environment? What adaptations in plants and animals restrict the loss of water from their tissues to the environment? Do solutes move freely across biological membranes? How is this important to adaptation to environments with changing salinity? How do terrestrial plants lose most of their water? How do they control their water loss from leaves? If an animal is hyperosmotic relative to its environment, will it tend to gain, or lose water? ... gain, or lose solutes? How do desert rodents such as kangaroo rats obtain most of their water? What is the source of energy for photosynthesis? .... chemosynthesis? What happens during the light-­‐driven reaction of photosynthesis? .... carbon reactions? Do they occur at the same time in all plants? 3 What enzyme involved in the carbon reactions of photosynthesis catalyzes both uptake of carbon dioxide and oxygen? Why is this significant for the adaptation of different photosynthetic pathways? Can plants acclimatize to different light levels (i.e. change from high to low or low to high light)? If so, how? What are the differences between C3, C4, and CAM photosynthesis? What environmental conditions are thought to have resulted in the evolution of the C4 and CAM pathways? How does the ratio of different chemicals in heterotrophs’ food sources relate to the quality of the food? What nutrients in particular are often used to indicate benefit for consumers? Why are plants and fungi considered poor quality food sources? What is "bioremediation?" How is this related to adaptation of heterotrophic microbes to variation in food resources? What are the basic assumptions underlying optimal foraging theory? Does optimal foraging strategy predict animals will select the most abundant food item, regardless of size? Why or why not? What is meant by the "giving up time," and how does it relate to the overall density of food in a forager's habitat? What is a population? How can populations vary in space (how are they dispersed) and time (how do they move about)? Why is the study of a species' geographic distribution related to its population dynamics? How is the size of a population often estimated? Under what circumstances might we be concerned about whether a population is made up of multiple ramets versus no ramets? What factors determine the distribution and abundances of populations? What is "biocontrol" in the context of controlling invasive species? What does the successful use of biocontrols tell us about the possible role of biotic interactions in the geographic distribution of populations? 4 How can historical events (at a geological scale; i.e. very long time periods) influence the dispersal of species populations? What hints do population dispersions provide about processes that influence population dynamics? What are the basic demographic properties of populations that influence their dynamics? What is the best metric for determining population stability (i.e. potential for extinction and overpopulation)? Why is it useful to know the demographic properties of different age cohorts within a population, versus just knowing the overall population growth rate? How might this be useful for managing populations for conservation and eradication? If a population’s average birth rate across all cohorts exceeds its death rate, what mathematical function(s) does the population growth rate follow? What are some density dependent factors that lower the rate of population growth? .... density independent factors...? Which is more stochastic (unpredictable) in its effect on population growth, density dependent, or density independent factors? Why? What is the carrying capacity in the context of population dynamics? What can cause changes in the carrying capacity to change from year-­‐to-­‐year? Which would keep populations closer to the carrying capacity, density dependent or density independent factors? What terms in the logistic equation operate estimate density dependent control on population growth? 5