APES Study Guide for 1st Semester Final

Unit 1: Chapters 1, 2 (sections 1, 4 and 5) and 3 (sections 1-4)

Terms to know:

Sustainability

Sustainable Yield

GDP, per capita GDP

Developed nations/developing nations

Tragedy of the Commons (examples)

Open access resource

Renewable/nonrenewable

Point source/ nonpoint source pollutants

Anthropogenic

Biodegradable/ nondegradable

Entropy

Positive and Negative Feedback Loops

Synergy

Time delays

Tipping points

Prokaryotic/eukaryotic

Abiotic/biotic

Range of tolerance

Limiting factors

Trophic level

Autotroph/heterotroph

Biomagnification

NPP and GPP

Concepts:

  • Be able to solve problems using dimensional analysis (review on website)
  • Be able to state and explain the 1st Law of Thermodynamics (Law of Conservation of energy).
  • Be able to state and explain the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics. Understand the implications of the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics on the transfer of energy in a food chain (why food chains form energy pyramids and how this relates to biomagnification, energy implications of eating higher on the food chain etc.)
  • Understand the basic processes of the water cycle including infiltration, percolation and transpiration. Also know the following nutrient cycles: nitrogen, carbon, sulfur and phosphorus. Know the importance of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil and in root nodules of certain plants.

Evolution and Biodiversity: Chapter 4 and 9

Terms to know:

Mutation

Natural selection

Artificial selection/selective breeding

Adaptation

Gene flow

Genetic drift

Divergent evolution

Speciation

Selective pressure

Convergent evolution

Coevolution

Niche vs. habitat

Generalist vs. specialist species

Endemic species

Invasive (non-native, exotic, alien) species

Keystone species

Indicator species

Resource partitioning (evolutionary process)

Symbiotic relationships

-Mutualism, Commensalism and Parasitism

Primary vs. secondary succession

Species diversity: species richness and evenness

Concepts:

  • Be able to explain the requirement for natural selection: variability in the population due to mutations,heritability of trait, differential reproduction (differences in survival and or reproductive success due to favorable/unfavorable traits).
  • Be able to explain the types of natural selection: directional, stabilizing and diversifying including how each of these affect the normal distribution of allele frequency (allele= form of gene).
  • Be able to explain the advantages and disadvantages of generalist species and specialist species.
  • Be able to give characteristics of extinction-prone species.
  • Be able to explain the general trend after a disturbance from an immature ecosystem (early succession) to a mature ecosystem (late succession): (Figs. p. 116 and 117)

Toxicology: Chapter 17 sections 3-5

Terms to know:

Mutagens

Carcinogens

Teratogens

Endocrine disruptor

LD-50

TC-50

Threshold level

Ppm and ppb

Concepts to know:

  • Be able to explain what a serial dilution is and be able to calculate the concentration of serial 10 fold dilutions.
  • Be able to interpret dose-response curves and determine the LD-50 or TC-50 from the graph as well as threshold (if any).
  • Be able to explain the common sources/usesof the following toxins: BPA, dioxin, lead, cadmium, mercury, phthalates, formaldehyde, PCB and DDT. Know that PCB and DDT are currently banned in the US but are very persistent chemicals.
  • Know the most common metric prefixes (including micro and nano)and be able to determine concentrations that are ppm (1 mg/kg or 1 mg/L water) and ppb (1µg/kg or 1µg/ L water).

Population Dynamics: Chapters 5.3 and 6

Terms to know:

Population size and density

Dispersion (random, uniform, clumped), Fig. 5-10

Age structure

Age groups (pre-reproductive, reproductive, post-reproductive)

Biotic potential

Intrinsic rate of growth (r)

Logistic Growth

Carrying capacity (K)

Environmental resistance,

Population cycles (irruptive, irregular, stable, cyclic)

Habitat fragmentation

Habitat corridors

Immigration/Emigration

Zero Population Growth

Replacement level fertility

Total fertility rate

Concepts to know:

  • Understand how scientists estimate the size of large populations and know how to solve a mark-and-recapture population estimate.
  • Know the population dispersion types and which is most common
  • Understand exponential growth and the relationship to intrinsic growth rate and biotic potential
  • Know the shape of a logistic growth and be able to identify carrying capacity. (Fig. p. 112)
  • Know factors that affect the carrying capacity, including revolutions in human evolution
  • What happens when species exceed their carrying capacity?
  • Be able to explain what r-strategists vs. K-strategists and identify examples of each. Know the advantages and disadvantages to each strategy.
  • Survivorship curves for K and r-strategists
  • Know the most populous countries/continents and fastest growing countries/continents
  • Know how to calculate growth rate problems- given that birth and death rates are typically given per 1000 and growth rates are as a percentage.
  • Know factors that affect US fertility— (what makes us different from other developed countries?)
  • Know factors that affect life expectancy and birth, fertility, infant mortality, and death rates
  • Differences in birth rates between developed and developing countries
  • Be able to interpret age structure diagrams: what they look like for different types of population growth (Figs. p. 131)
  • Understand the demographic Transition Model (preindustrial, transitional, industrial, postindustrial stages): birth vs. death rates for each of the 4 stages and why(Fig. p. 134)
  • Ways governments can control/affect/reduce population growth
  • Know the formula for the rule of 70, and know how to use this formula to calculate the doubling time of a population.

Climate, Weather, and Biomes: Chapter 7

Terms to Know:

Troposphere

Climate

Weather

Water vapor capacity

Specific Heat

Convection cells (Hadley, Ferrell)

Coriolis Effect

Regional winds (westerlies, trade winds)

Rain shadow

Ocean Conveyor, Thermohaline circulation

Upwelling

El Niño

La Niña

Concepts to Know:

  • Difference between climate and weather

  • Cause of seasons: relationship between Earth’s tilt and position relative to the sun
  • Differential heating of land vs. water: relationship to specific heat of water, and effect of this differential heating on heating of air above land and water
  • Relationship between high and low pressure areas and amount of precipitation. (Fig. p. 143)
  • Effect of temperature on water vapor capacity and how increasing altitude reduces air’s ability to hold water vapor because air usuallycools as it rises
  • Be able to explain convection cells. Know the driving force of the Hadley cell. Know general latitude locations of rising and sinking air. Be able to identify low pressure and high pressure zones created by convection cells. Relate this pattern with the location of rainforests and deserts. (Fig. p. 144)
  • Coriolis Effect: deflection in each hemisphere
  • Global wind pattern on Earth: Interaction of convection cell air movement and Coriolis Effect
  • Ocean conveyor belt: driving force of current at pole and Gulf Stream portion of current pattern
  • Upwelling: causes and effects on weather and marine ecosystems
  • El Niñodefinition and effects