BIO 321: Ecology, Review 1 KEY, Dr. Chris Paradise, Fall 2004
Instructions: This review is worth 100 points (10% of course grade) and will be due on Wednesday, 9/22/04 in class. Late reviews will not be accepted. You may not consult any references or any other person while working on this review. Your signature at the bottom of the last page signifies that the work is yours alone, was completed in three hours or less, and is pledged under the Honor Code. When you begin you will have a maximum of three hours to complete the review.
Confine your answers to the space below each question. Print legibly! Alternatively, the review may be done on the computer. You may type your answers to each question, and attach the printout to the review. For each question or part to a question, limit your answers to one concise paragraph, unless otherwise specified. Lengthy answers will be penalized the same as handwritten answers that spill out over the space given.
1. FILL IN THE BLANK (2 pts each = 16 pts)
a. The prevailing winds within the temperate zone, south of the equator, are from the ____.
b. ____ is caused by movement of ocean currents away from shore, and brings cold, ____water from ocean depths.
c. The prevailing winds in the Northern tropical zone circulate _____.
d. On the sides of large mountains opposite the direction of prevailing winds (the leeward side), we often find ____ biomes. This is caused by the ____ effect – as air moves up over the mountains on the windward side it cools.
e. In the Whitaker biome distribution scheme, the two variables that best determine what biome occurs where are _____ and ______.
2. Answer the following questions on the themes of this course, using a specific example of fire ecology from one of the papers we read on that subject (10 pts).
a. What is the ecosystem you chose?
b. Describe briefly the fire regime (frequency and intensity) in that ecosystem and how fire relates to two themes of the course.
c. Describe briefly how humans have altered the fire regime in your chosen ecosystem.
d. Which would be a more accurate perception to apply to this ecosystem – balance of nature or dynamic equilibrium? Why?
3. Describe briefly how the pattern of solar radiation and solar energy on Earth relates to
a. atmospheric air circulation patterns (4 pts).
b. the pattern of biome distribution (4 pts).
c. ocean currents (4 pts).
4. You’re an ecologist interested in how food webs may be disrupted by global climate change. You have decided to simulate ponds using cattle tanks. The treatments are normal and high CO2 (additional CO2 bubbled into the water), fully crossed with average and 2oC warmer water (achieved by using submersible heating elements), for a total of 4 (four) treatment combinations. You have just received a sizeable grant from the National Science Foundation, so you have unlimited funds to perform the experiment (money is no object). OUTLINE how you would set up this experiment. Include all experimental design parameters and constraints (e.g., numbers of replicates, assignment of tanks, etc.) (10 pts).
5. Is there a scientific consensus on the role tropical forests play in climate regulation in the face of global climate change? Why or why not? (8 pts)
6. Examine the Walter climate diagrams below. For each biome, predict whether you would expect to see a preponderance of C3, C4, or CAM plants. The name of the biome is not important (6 pts).
7. Dromedary camels can exist in the desert for a considerable period of time, with neither food nor water. OUTLINE how natural selection works to produce the suite of adaptations that camels possess for desert survival. Include major selective forces and constraints to adaptations (e.g., why do camels need to drink water at all?). (8 pts).
8. Answer the following questions on abiotic factors and adaptations (9 pts).
a. LIST two factors that affect the LOCAL distribution of plants and animals?
b. What is one way in which spatial variation in abiotic factors might relate to the field experiment on Eupatorium and wild carrot?
c. Why have most organisms adapted to a saltwater existence been eliminated from the Aral Sea in the past 10-20 years?
9. Consider the article by Schindler et al. (2003) on Pacific salmon. Draw an energy flow schematic of a Pacific coastal freshwater ecosystem that includes salmon in two different life stages. In the schematic, point out two connections that have been affected by habitat alteration or overfishing (10 pts).
10. Outline of an essay (10 points). Select ONE of the two questions below, a or b. Use the back side of this page to answer. Do not write an essay; simply make an outline of how you would organize an essay on this topic, using specific examples. This will form the basis of your first writing assignment.
a. Several physical and biological laws, concepts, or principles determine or affect the number of trophic levels found in any ecosystem. OUTLINE these laws, concepts, and principles in terms of 1) productivity and energy flow, 2) abiotic factors that constrain productivity or energy flow, & 3) adaptations to overcome those constraints.
b. Consider the factors that set up an ENSO event and the resulting impacts of this phenomenon. Prepare an OUTLINE of this phenomenon. Include conditions used to predict such an event and some of the local and global impacts of an ENSO. Also consider impacts to weather patterns, food webs, and human economies.
