Download APES Fall Midterm (Chapters 1-5)

APESFallMidterm(Chapters1-5)ReviewQuestions
1. Whyisitimportanttounderstandourinteractionswiththeenvironment?Whatwill
studyingenvironmentalscienceenableyoutodo?
2. Discussthedifferencesbetweenamanipulativeandanaturalexperiment.
3. Apharmaceuticalcompanywishestostudyapossiblenewheadachemedicine.Theyare
doinghumantrialswith1000volunteerswhoexperiencefrequentheadaches.Describe
whattheywouldneedtodotosetuptheirstudy.
4. Explainthemeaningof‘sustainability.’Describetwoexamplesofthesustainableuseof
resources.
5. TheecologicalfootprintoftheaveragepersoninIndiais0.9;theecologicalfootprintof
theaverageAmericancitizenis7.2.Define‘ecologicalfootprint.’Explainthefactorsthat
makeourecologicalfootprintsomuchhigher.
6. Brieflyexplaintheconceptofplatetectonicsandwhyitisimportantforthestudyof
geography.
7. Describetherockcycle,explaininghowthethreemajortypesofrockformandbreak
down.
8. Describemasswasting.
9. Describethedifferencebetweenconvergent,divergent,andtransformplateboundaries.
WhichofthethreedescribesCalifornia’sSanAndreasfault?
10. Compareanddiscussthefirstandsecondlawsofthermodynamics.
11. Nameanddescribethemajorfactorsthatdetermineapopulation’sgrowthrate.
12. Describethedifferencesbetweenpopulationsofr-selectedandK-selectedorganisms.
Giveanexampleofeach.
13. AspeciesofbirdhadanoriginalrangecoveringtheentireeasternhalfoftheUnitedStates
fromNewEnglanddowntoFlorida,westtotheRockyMountains.Duringaperiodof
glaciation,theeasternpartoftherangewascutofffromthewesternpartfor2000years.
Thentheglaciersmeltedandthebirds'originalrangewasreestablished.Duringthe
separation,thewesternbirdsevolvedaslightlydifferentsongandadarkerwingcolor.
Ornithologistsarenowstudyingthisspeciestodeterminewhetherspeciationhastaken
place.Whatevidencewilltheylookforintheirstudy?
14. Apopulationofquaillivesinanareaofprairiegrasslands.Ingoodyears,apairofquail
canhavefourclutchesofyoung,withasmanyas12to14eggsineachclutch.Despitethis,
thepopulationsizeremainsstableoverthelongterm.Discussthepopulationstructure,
itspotentialforgrowth,anditspossiblelimitingfactors,usingatleastfouroftheterms
youlearnedinthischapter.
15. Isacarryingcapacityafixedentity?Discusstheroleofhumansinregulatingcarrying
capacityforthehumanspeciesandinalteringthecarryingcapacityforotherspecies.
16. Definebiodiversity.Giveatleasttworeasonswhyitisimportanttomaintainit.
17. Listthethreemajortrophiccategoriesinafoodweb.Whattypesoforganismsarefound
ineachlevel?Wherearetheautotrophsandheterotrophsfoundinafoodweb?Discuss
thesignificanceofeachlevelfortheintegralfunctioningofthefoodweb.
18. Whatecologicaltraitsdosuccessfulinvasivespeciespossess?Howdothesetraitsinteract
tomakecontrollingthemdifficult?
19. Discussthetwofactorsthataremostimportantinthedistributionofbiomes.Chooseone
biomeandexplainhowthesetwofactorsimpactthespecificplantsandanimalsfoundin
thisbiome.
20. Brieflydescribewhatismeantbythetermspioneerspeciesandprimarysuccession.
Identifythegeneralcharacteristicsofpioneerspecies,giveexamplesofpioneerspecies,
anddescribetheirroleinprimarysuccession.
21. DescribehowwolvesinthegreaterYellowstoneecosystemareakeystonespecies.
Explainthemeaningoftheterm‘trophiccascade’inthiscontext.
22. Discussthedifferencesbetweenintraspecificandinterspecificcompetition.
23. Compareandcontrastpositiveandnegativefeedbackloops.Giveanexampleofeachand
howcommoneachisinnaturalsystems.
24. Explainandgiveexamplesforthefollowingstatement:
Energyflowsinonedirectionthroughecosystems,whereasmatteris recycled.
25. Describetheprocessofeutrophicationandexplainhowithastohypoxicdeadzonesin
waterwayssuchastheChesapeakeBay.
26. Humanactivityhasaffectedeveryaspectofthenitrogencycle.Listthewaysthathumans
havealterednitrogencontentstartingwithhownitrogenbecomesavailabletoproducers,
whereitgoes,andwhatimpactsithas.Whataretheecologicalconcernsregardingthe
dramaticchangespeoplehavemadeintheglobalnitrogencycle?
27. Explainthemeaningoftheterms“source,”“sink,”and“flux”withreferencetothe
phosphoruscycle.