Download AP Environmental Science: Benchmark 3 Study Guide

AP Environmental Science: Benchmark 3 Study Guide
II. The Living World
A. Ecosystem Structure
(Biological populations and communities; ecological niches; interinteractions among species; keystone species; species diversity and actions
edge effects; major terrestrial and aquatic biomes)
o Terms you need to know: biomes, aquatic life zones, keystone species,
indicator species, indigenous or endemic species, invasive or alien species,
niche habitat, population, community, competition, camouflage, mimicry,
limiting factors, resource partitioning, competitive exclusion
o Know the difference between the following terms
 Intraspecific competition and interspecific competition
 Realized niche and fundamental niche
 Generalist species and specialist species
 r-selected species and K- selected species
 mutualism, commensalism, parasitism, ammensalism and
predation
 biotic and abiotic components of the environment
o Other things to know
 Ecotone: overlapping boundaries of adjacent habitats
 Habitat fragmentation: human disruption of a habitat that makes it
difficult or impossible for an population to move throughout it’s
original habitat (i.e. road or subdivision built in the habitat)
 Law of Tolerance: the existence, abundance, and distribution of
species depends on the tolerance level of each species to both
physical and chemical factors
 Gause’s principle: no two species can fill the same niche at the
same time
o List the major biomes, where they occur in the world, the average
precipitation and temperature as well as general information on each
biome
o List major Aquatic biomes and describe functions of each. Don’t forget
wetlands, estuaries, lake zones or ocean zones
B. Energy Flow
(Photosynthesis and cellular respiration; food webs and trophic levels;
ecological pyramids)
o Terms you need to know: autotroph, heterotroph, producer, consumer:
primary, secondary and tertiary, detritivore, trophic level, food chain,
bioaccumulation, biomagnification
o Know the difference between the following:
 Photosynthesis and cellular respiration: including general formulas
and process
 Autotroph and heterotroph
 Herbivore, carnivore detritivore
 Gross Primary Productivity, Net Primary Productivity
o Know how to calculate Gross Primary Productivity given the Net Primary
Productivity and Respiration
o Define the first and second laws of thermodynamics and how they relate to
energy transfer in ecosystems
o What is the 10% rule in energy transfer in ecosystems
o Be able to predict how population changes would affect a food chain or a
food web
C. Ecosystem Diversity
(Biodiversity; natural selection; evolution; ecosystem services)
o Terms you need to know: mutation, natural selection, gene pool, genetic
drift, fitness, speciation, evolutionary divergence
o Know the difference between the following:
 Microevolution and macroevolution
 Allopatric and sympatric speciation
 Stabilizing selection, disruptive selection and directional selection
o What factors go into determining the biodiversity of an area?
o What is genetic diversity? What does it mean for a population to have a
high genetic diversity?
o How common are beneficial mutations as compared to harmful mutations?
o Know how the specificity of an organisms niche relates to its ability to
survive environmental changes
D. Natural Ecosystem Change
(Climate shifts; species movement; ecological succession)
o Terms you need to know: indigenous species, ecological succession,
pioneer species, climax community, habitat fragmentation, stability
o Know the difference between the following
 Primary and secondary succession
 Top-down control and bottom-up control
o Know which types of organisms are the likely pioneer species for each
type of ecological succession
E. Natural Biogeochemical Cycles
(Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, water, conservation of matter)
o Terms you need to know: reservoir, groundwater, transpiration, respiration,
photsynthesis, nitrogen fixation, nitrification, assimilation,
ammonification, denitrification, combustion, eutrophication, nitrate, nitrite
o For each of the biogeochemical cycles (hydrologic, Carbon, Oxygen,
Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Sulfur) know the sinks for each. In what form
does it occur in the atmosphere, how is it assimilated into living things,
how does it change form in the cycle, how does human intervention affect
the cycle?