APES Ecology Study Guide
1. Know what biodiversity is and the 3 components that contribute to biodiversity.
2. Know how natural selection works and what types of factors can limit natural selection events.
3. Know characteristics of both r-selected and k-selected species use for survival. Also, be able to explain in which types of strategies would work the best in certain environmental situations. (ex. After major disturbances to the ecosystem that left less resources)
4. Be able to recognized characteristics of species from a survivorship curve.
5. Known how speciation works and be able to explain both types of isolation.
6. Know what extinct, endemic, keystone, endangered, and invasive species are be able to give or recognize examples of each.
7. Know the two main types of extinction.
8. Know about the passenger pigeon’s history.
9. Know the two types of biological extinction.
10. Know why sea otters and gray wolves are considered keystone species.
11. Know characteristics of invasive species.
12. Know the levels of diversity.
13. Know how to calculate Simpson’s index for Biodiversity (formula will be provided).
14. Know about leaf litter and anything to do with the lab we did.
15. Know what interspecific competition is, two different mechanisms for dealing with it, and the possible outcomes that can result.
16. Know what symbiosis is, the three types, and examples of each.
17. Know the examples of brood parasitism.
18. Know the characteristics of populations.
19. Know how to calculate population change (size).
20. Know and be able to recognize the three types of dispersion. Be able to recognize characteristics of populations the live in different dispersion patterns. (ex. Territorial species tend to use spaced.)
21. Know the three groups of age structure diagrams.
22. Be able to make assumptions about populations based on their age structure & shape of pyramids.
23. Know exponential & logistic growth patterns & reasons for these types of growth.
24. Know what limiting factors are & the two types.
25. Know how to calculate the time it takes populations to double.
26. Know what carry capacity is and what causes a populations to reach it.
27. Know the two types of ecological succession, factors that lead to succession events, and climax communities that result.