Study Guide for Honors Biology test: Chapters 18-20
This test will consist of multiple choice and short answer questions. There will be diagrams and charts of information to interpret.
Chapter 18 — An Introduction to Ecology and t he Biosphere
You should be able to:
· Define ecology and its interconnected parts.
· Describe and give examples of biotic and abiotic factors that affect organisms in an ecosystem.
· Differentiate habitat, population, community and ecosystem.
Chapter 19 — Population Ecology
You should be able to:
· Compare Type I, Type II and Type III survivorship curves, relating them to opportunistic (r-selected) or equilibrial (K-selected) life histories.
· Explain the effect of the following on population growth—birth rate (fertility), death rate (mortality), immigration and emigration.
· Describe a logistic growth curve and the factors within and around a population that lead to any point on the curve, including the exponential (J-curve) and S-curve portions.
· Describe the factors (density-dependent and density-independent) that affect the carrying capacity of the environment.
· Differentiate intra-specific and inter-specific competition.
· Define endangered and threatened species designations and the reason for labeling species as such.
· Define invasive species and explain its growth pattern and typical harm to new ecosystems.
· Describe the typical growth pattern of a generalized human population (demographic transition) and factors that affect the transition.
· Explain how age structure diagrams can help predict changes in a population and in socio-economic conditions.
· Explain how technological advances have affected the size and growth rate of human populations throughout history.
Chapter 20 — Communities and Ecosystems
You should be able to:
· Define and explain the value of biodiversity.
· List threats to biodiversity locally and worldwide.
· Define ecological niche and explain how the concept ties to the competitive exclusion principle.
· Define and describe symbioses such as mutualism and parasitism.
· Define and list examples of producers, primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary consumers, plus decomposers.
· Compare the processes of primary and secondary succession, including factors that guide the formation of a climax community.
· Explain how biomagnification concentrates toxins in the highest trophic levels.
· Describe the source and cycling of nutrients and energy in a stable ecosystem.
· Explain the result of 10% energy efficiency between trophic levels in terms of food chain length.