Study questions
The following
questions are intended as a guide to help you focus your studying. You
must, however, do more than memorize the answers to each of these questions.
You need to understand the material and be able to discuss the concepts
in your own words. Use active study techniques as much as possible (i.e.,
you must do more than just read over your answers many times). I also recommend
that you take advantage of the learning resources at the end of each chapter
in the textbook, including the associated exercises on the textbook website
(www.essentialbiology.com).
back to Study Aids
Chapter
19: Communities and Ecosystems
1. Be able to list and discuss the emergent properties of communities
2. Biotic (living) factors affect community structure in the
form of species interactions. Be able to define and give examples of species
interactions that shape communities (i.e., interspecific competition, predator-prey
interactions, and symbiotic relationships.)
3. Interspecific competition can have ecological effects and evolutionary effects
on communities. Explain, and give examples of these effects.
4. Be able to define and give examples of the following concepts: niche, fundamental
niche, realized niche, competitive exclusion principle, coevolution, parasitism,
commensalism, mutualism, resource partitioning, character displacement.
5. Be able to give examples of plant and animal defenses against predation.
6. What is ecological succession? What sort of event initiates ecological succession?
Give examples. How is a climax community different than earlier successional
stages?
7. Be able to distinguish between and give examples of primary and secondary
succession.
8. Energy flow and chemical cycling within ecosystems are governed by the trophic
structure of the ecosystem. Be able to define and give examples of the following
trophic levels within an ecosystem: producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers,
tertiary consumers, detritivores.
9. Trace the flow of energy through an ecosystem. Describe how it changes form
as it goes from one trophic level to the next. Explain why, on average, only
about 10 percent of the energy available at one trophic level is passed on to
the next trophic level. What does this mean about the potential size of food
webs? Explain.
10. Be able to describe the main components and processes within the following
chemical cycles: water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus. How have humans upset
the balance of these cycles?
