CHAPTER 4 TEST
PART ONE: TESTING YOUR COMPREHENSION (p.105 in text)
Write thoughtful, complete sentence responses to the following 10 questions. Each question will be grade as 3, 2, 1 or 0 points. Write in the spaces provided. If extra space is needed, you may use separate lined paper.
1. How does competition lead to a realized niche? How does it promote resource partitioning?
2. Contrast the several types of exploitive species interactions. How do predation, parasitism and herbivory differ?
3. Give examples of symbiotic and non-symbiotic mutualisms. Describe at least one way in which mutualisms affect your daily life.
4. Compare and contrast trophic levels, food chains, and food webs. How are these concepts related, and how do they differ?
5. What is meant by a keytone species, and what types of organisms are most often considered keystone species?
6. Explain primary succession. How does it differ from secondary succession? Give examples of each.
7. Name three changes to the Great Lakes communities that have occurred since the invasion of the zebra mussel.
8. What is restoration ecology? Why is it an important scientific pursuit in today’s world?
9. What factors strongly influence the type of biome that forms in a particular place on land? What factors determine the type of aquatic system that may form in a given location?
10. Below are climate diagrams for tropical rainforest and for desert. Label each part of the diagram. How do the two diagrams differ? Describe all the types of information an ecologist could glean from such diagrams.
PART TWO - SEEKING SOLUTIONS
Choose two out of the three questions below and write an essay response. Your responses will be written on separate lined paper. Staple to the back before submitting. Up to five points may be earned for the first two, and up to eight points for the third.
An essay should include:
a) introductory paragraph that will draw the reader in
b) one or more supporting paragraphs – supporting detail and examples
c) concluding paragraph or closing summary – restate main topic
1. Why do scientists consider invasive species to be a problem? What makes a species “invasive,” and what ecological effects can invasive species have?
2. From year to year, biomes are stable entities, and our map of world biomes appears to be a permanent record of patterns across the planet. But are the locations and identities of biomes permanent, or could they change over time? Provide reasons for your answers.
3. A federal agency has put you in charge of devising responses to the zebra mussel invasion. Based on what you know from this chapter, how would you seek to control this species’ spread and reduce its impacts? What strategies would you consider pursuing immediately, and for which strategies would you commission further scientific research? For each of your ideas name one benefit or advantage, and identify one obstacle it might face in being implemented. What additional steps might you suggest to deal with the unfolding quagga mussel invasion?