Download unit 2 study guide: the living world

UNIT 2 STUDY GUIDE: THE LIVING WORLD
Ch 4 FRQ Differentiate between chemical and biological evolution. What is natural
selection’s role in biological evolution (Darwin’s 5)? What might be the impacts
of man’s technology on the course of evolution?
1) Scientist know a great deal about the history of life on Earth and evolution.
What is the single most significant source of the information.
2) Did Darwin emphasize individual change or population change?
3) What causes the genetic variation in populations?
4) Why is variation so important for natural selection to occur?
5) What is coevolution?
6) Compare and contrast fundamental niche versus realized niche.
7) Compare the size of the niches between generalist and specialist species.
8) What is the effect of geographic isolation on speciation rates?
9) Compare and contrast background extinction and mass extinction.
10) What is genetic engineering? What are the concerns about it? Benefits?
11) What is biopharming?
Ch 5 FRQ What have been Man’s impacts on each of the major terrestrial biomes?
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Compare & contrast climate and weather.
What are the most important factors in determining a region’s climate?
What influences global air circulation?
What do ocean currents do for the Earth?
What gases are considered greenhouse gases?
What effect do latitude and altitude have on biome distribution?
Where on Earth (in terms of latitude) do we find deserts (3 places)?
What adaptations do desert plants have for surviving without water for long
periods of time?
9) Grasslands are generally found on what areas of continents?
10) Homo sapiens first originated on what continent?
11) Rank the biomes from greatest diversity to least diversity.
12) What are the 3 names that are associated with the biome that has primarily
conifer trees.
13) What significant contributions do mountains make to continental ecosystems
Ch 6 FRQ How have agriculture, global warming, controlling rivers with levees, and
fishing affected freshwater and marine aquatic biodiversity?
1) What are the 3 main zones of a river and characterizes each?
2) What human activities are increasing the loss of inland wetlands and
mangrove swamps?
3) What ecological services do coral reefs perform?
4) What happens to coral reefs that are pushed into a zone of intolerance for
such factors as temperature and pollution levels?
5) Compare and contrast nekton, plankton (phyto- & zoo-), and benthos.
6) What are the life zones of lakes and oceans? What are their characteristics?
7) Where would you find the greatest net primary productivity in the ocean?
Why? Lowest NPP? Why?
8) What are the ecological services provided by a mangrove forest?
9) What abiotic factors are unique to the intertidal zone?
10) What part of the earth makes the largest contribution of NPP and thus
oxygen? Why?
11) What are some major impacts that humans have had on marine
ecosystems?
12) Compare and contrast eutrophic and oligotrophic lakes.
13) What ecological services are performed by inland wetlands?
14) What have humans done that have impacted freshwater systems the most?
15) What factor is the single most important factor for determining what
organisms live in an aquatic system?
16) It’s weird, but deep dwelling fish are very susceptible to depletion by overfishing? Why?
17) Why are coral reefs so vulnerable to extinction?
18) What is a watershed?
Ch 7 FRQ Of what significance to a community are indicator species, keystone
species, early succession species (pioneer species), Predatory species, and
invasive species.
1) What is the significance of each of the following types of species to an
ecosystem? Native species, Invasive species, Foundation species, Keystone
species, & Indicator species
2) What is unique to each of the following relationships? Predation,
Commensalism,Mutualism, Parasitism, Competition
3) What ecological services are provided to an ecosystem by alligators?
4) What is habitat fragmentation so detrimental to species within an ecosystem?
5) Contrast species richness, species evenness, and species diversity.
6) What is it about amphibians that make them so vulnerable to extinction in the
near future?
7) Why is it so important for scientists to identify the keystone species of an
ecosystem?
8) What is it that bioprospectors do?
9) Compare and contrast primary and secondary succession?
10) Differentiate the ecological terms: stability, constancy, inertia, resilience
11) What is the relationship between biodiversity of an ecosystem and it NPP?
Why?
12) What is the relationship between the amount of niche overlap and degree of
competition? Why?