BIOL 208 Exam Questions With Complete Solutions
1. cohort life tables Correct Answers - identify individuals born
at the same time and keep records from birth: comparison by
generations
- impossible to track for extremely mobile animals + animals
with a long life span
- data easy to interpret
1. provisioning Correct Answers - the delivery/production of
products we need
- food, energy, water, minerals, medical compounds
2. regulating Correct Answers - services provided that regulate
our environment
- decomposition, water purification, CO2 sequestration, pest
control, flood prevention
2. static life table Correct Answers - record age at death of large
number of individuals over narrow window in time: tables are
constructed using one-time observations
- require accurate estimate of age at death
3. age distribution Correct Answers - calculate differences in
proportion of individuals in each age class
- assumes differences in numbers from one age class to next is
due to mortality
- also assumes population size is stable
3. supporting Correct Answers - the provision of ecosystem
processes needed to support life and all other ecosystem services
,- primary production, nutrient cycling, soil formation
4 classes of social interaction Correct Answers - cooperation:
both donor and recipient benefit
- altruism: recipient benefits, donor doesn't
- selfishness: donor benefits, recipient doesn't
- spite: neither donor or recipient benefits
4. cultural Correct Answers - "non-material" benefits that enrich
the human experience
- spiritual/religious, recreation, aesthetic, and heritage
5 elements of biomass (93%-97%) Correct Answers - carbon
- oxygen
- hydrogen
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
abiotic factors Correct Answers - water
-light
- temperature
- air
absence of super predators Correct Answers - energy losses
limit number of trophic levels in ecosystems
adaptation vs. acclimation Correct Answers - acclimation:
physiological changes in response to changes in the environment
(temperature, pH, humidity, etc.); generally reversible as
conditions change
,- adaptation: an evolutionary process that changes anatomy,
physiology or behaviour on a genetic level; not reversible
adiabatic lapse rate Correct Answers - in dryer climates,
temperature decreases 10C/km
- in more humid environments, temperature decreases by 6C/km
- due to amount of water in air; water is good at retaining heat
age distribution Correct Answers - reflects its history of
survival, reproduction, and growth potential
- by studying the history of a population through describing its
age distribution, population ecologists can make predictions
about its future
agricultural footprint Correct Answers - dominant human uses
are croplands and pastures (cover ~40% of the Earth's surface)
- fertilizer use has increased 700% in last 40 years
- 85% of freshwater used by humans goes to agriculture - 10%
of all global freshwater reserves
- 7-11 million km^2 of forest has been cleared in the last 300
years; most of the native prairies of the world, North America
included, have been developed
albedo Correct Answers - reflectivity of a landscape
allochthonous inputs Correct Answers - organic matter derived
or created in a community external to the one it is deposited in
allometry Correct Answers - study of scaling between body size
and various biological functions including: shape, anatomy,
physiology and behaviour
, - shows a non-linear relationship
alpha Correct Answers - competition coefficient: magnitude of
the negative effects of individuals of one species on individuals
of a second species
altruism and kin selection Correct Answers - coefficient of
relationship: the probability that the alleles at a given locus will
be identical by descent among two individuals in the population
- altruistic behaviour is expected if: (cost/benefit) < coefficient
of relationship
altruism Correct Answers - an act that benefits the recipient but
harms the donor
- kin selection: selection in which individuals increase their
inclusive fitness by helping increase the survival and
reproduction of relatives (kin) that are not offspring
anadromous and catadromous fish Correct Answers - acclimate
to the salinity of their new environment via physiological
adaptations
- cope w/ changes to salinity through shifting secretion cells
from taking in salt to excreting salt or vice versa
aquatic biomes Correct Answers - characterized by water and
the way it moves, as well as chemical composition
- marine: oceans and seas
- freshwater: lakes, rivers, wetlands
aquatic biomes to know Correct Answers - lakes (lentic)
- rivers and streams (lotic)
1. cohort life tables Correct Answers - identify individuals born
at the same time and keep records from birth: comparison by
generations
- impossible to track for extremely mobile animals + animals
with a long life span
- data easy to interpret
1. provisioning Correct Answers - the delivery/production of
products we need
- food, energy, water, minerals, medical compounds
2. regulating Correct Answers - services provided that regulate
our environment
- decomposition, water purification, CO2 sequestration, pest
control, flood prevention
2. static life table Correct Answers - record age at death of large
number of individuals over narrow window in time: tables are
constructed using one-time observations
- require accurate estimate of age at death
3. age distribution Correct Answers - calculate differences in
proportion of individuals in each age class
- assumes differences in numbers from one age class to next is
due to mortality
- also assumes population size is stable
3. supporting Correct Answers - the provision of ecosystem
processes needed to support life and all other ecosystem services
,- primary production, nutrient cycling, soil formation
4 classes of social interaction Correct Answers - cooperation:
both donor and recipient benefit
- altruism: recipient benefits, donor doesn't
- selfishness: donor benefits, recipient doesn't
- spite: neither donor or recipient benefits
4. cultural Correct Answers - "non-material" benefits that enrich
the human experience
- spiritual/religious, recreation, aesthetic, and heritage
5 elements of biomass (93%-97%) Correct Answers - carbon
- oxygen
- hydrogen
- nitrogen
- phosphorus
abiotic factors Correct Answers - water
-light
- temperature
- air
absence of super predators Correct Answers - energy losses
limit number of trophic levels in ecosystems
adaptation vs. acclimation Correct Answers - acclimation:
physiological changes in response to changes in the environment
(temperature, pH, humidity, etc.); generally reversible as
conditions change
,- adaptation: an evolutionary process that changes anatomy,
physiology or behaviour on a genetic level; not reversible
adiabatic lapse rate Correct Answers - in dryer climates,
temperature decreases 10C/km
- in more humid environments, temperature decreases by 6C/km
- due to amount of water in air; water is good at retaining heat
age distribution Correct Answers - reflects its history of
survival, reproduction, and growth potential
- by studying the history of a population through describing its
age distribution, population ecologists can make predictions
about its future
agricultural footprint Correct Answers - dominant human uses
are croplands and pastures (cover ~40% of the Earth's surface)
- fertilizer use has increased 700% in last 40 years
- 85% of freshwater used by humans goes to agriculture - 10%
of all global freshwater reserves
- 7-11 million km^2 of forest has been cleared in the last 300
years; most of the native prairies of the world, North America
included, have been developed
albedo Correct Answers - reflectivity of a landscape
allochthonous inputs Correct Answers - organic matter derived
or created in a community external to the one it is deposited in
allometry Correct Answers - study of scaling between body size
and various biological functions including: shape, anatomy,
physiology and behaviour
, - shows a non-linear relationship
alpha Correct Answers - competition coefficient: magnitude of
the negative effects of individuals of one species on individuals
of a second species
altruism and kin selection Correct Answers - coefficient of
relationship: the probability that the alleles at a given locus will
be identical by descent among two individuals in the population
- altruistic behaviour is expected if: (cost/benefit) < coefficient
of relationship
altruism Correct Answers - an act that benefits the recipient but
harms the donor
- kin selection: selection in which individuals increase their
inclusive fitness by helping increase the survival and
reproduction of relatives (kin) that are not offspring
anadromous and catadromous fish Correct Answers - acclimate
to the salinity of their new environment via physiological
adaptations
- cope w/ changes to salinity through shifting secretion cells
from taking in salt to excreting salt or vice versa
aquatic biomes Correct Answers - characterized by water and
the way it moves, as well as chemical composition
- marine: oceans and seas
- freshwater: lakes, rivers, wetlands
aquatic biomes to know Correct Answers - lakes (lentic)
- rivers and streams (lotic)
