Download Chapter 9 Community Processes: Species Interactions and

Chapter 7: Community Ecology: 15th edition
Identify the following. Be as specific as possible, and include names, dates, and
relevant facts as appropriate. Be sure to explain the significance of the term. Use
your own words.
Case Study: American Alligator
Question 1: The American alligator is seen as a keystone species
because “it helps maintain the structure and function of the communities where it
is found.” Research another organism that is a keystone species and describe its
importance in a community.
7.1 The Ecological Niche
a) Species richness vs Species eveness
Question 2: We have 2 national parks surrounded by urban development.
One is a large park and the other is much smaller. Which park is likely to
have the highest species richness? Why?
7.2 Some General Types of Species
b) Native species vs Nonnative Species and their Problems
c) Indicator Species
Question 3: Amphibians are disappearing from this Earth. The book
describes numerous reasons why this happening. Pick three of the
reasons for the disappearance and describe how each of these problems
could be resolved.
Question 4: Shark fins are extremely valuable and apparantly really tasty
(some of my students report). What are the ecological effects of killing
sharks? As a society, do you feel we should continue to use shark fins?
Explain with scientific evidence.
7.3 Species Interactions: Competition and Predation
d) Resource partitioning
Questions 5: Currently, scientists are identifying chemicals that are
created from plants and animals for use as medicine and pesticides. Do
you believe this is ethical? Give 2 pieces of evidence to support your
statement.
7.4 Species Interactions: Parasitism, Mutualism and Commensalism
e) Mycorrhizae
Question 6: Describe one symbiosis that you have with another species.
What type of symbiosis is it? Why?
7.5 Ecosystem Structure and Ecological Succession
f) Primary vs Secondary Ecological Succession
g) Pioneer Species
Question 7: Firefighters with the U.S. Forest Service routinely perform
prescribed burns; they light a forest fire (on purpose) to lessen the
amount of fuel in the forest and to maintain ecological stability. Describe
what type of succession is being demonstrated. Then, describe how
environmentally and economically this event affects us.
7.6 Ecological Stability
h) Resilience
i) Equilibrium
Question 8: Use the second law of thermodynamics to help explain why
predators are generally less abundant than their prey. Are predator-prey
relationships ever in equilibrium? Discuss.