Download Chapter 4 Reading Guide

Chapter 4 Reading Guide – Ecosystems and Living Organisms
We continue with our review of ecosystems with Chapter 4. As before, read the chapter and
answer the following questions.
1. How are evolution and adaptation similar? How are they different?
2. What were Darwin's four observations about natural selection?
3. Define community.
4. What are the three roles organisms play in a community?
5. Define coevolution. Give an example.
6. Describe the three main types of interactions among species in a community.
7. What is succession?
8. How do primary and secondary succession differ?
9. What is a pioneer community?
10. How do plants and animals defend against predation?
11. Compare and contrast symbiosis, mutualism, commensalism, and parasitism.
12. What is an epiphyte?
13. What is a pathogen?
14. What are mycorrhizae?
15. Define competition. How do intraspecific competition and interspecific competition differ?
16. What is included in an ecological description?
17. Define ecological niche. How is this different from habitat?
18. Compare and contrast fundamental niche with realized niche.
19. Define limiting factor. Give three examples of limiting factors.
20. No two species can indefinitely occupy the same niche in the same community because of
competitive exclusion. Why? What is competitive exclusion and what is its role?
21. Define resource partitioning. Give an example (or two).
22. How does a keystone species function in a community?
23. What is an ecotone? Why does one expect greater species diversity there?
24. What factors reduce species diversity?
25. Describe the effect species diversity has on community stability.