BIOL 2 CUMULATIVE FINAL

driven by geologic processes and by photosynthesis and the respiration of plants and animals

describe the major events in the global cycling of carbon

liquid water evaporates into water vapor, condenses to form clouds & precipitates back to earth in the form of rain/snow

describe the major events in the global cycling of water

nitrogen fixation, nitrification, ammonification, & denitrification

describe the major events in the global cycling of nitrogen

weathering, absorption by plants, consumption by animals, decomposition, leaching/runoff, & sedimentation

describe the major events in the global cycling of phosphorus cycle

photosynthesis pulls carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere/allows for the continuous cycling of carbon between its organic and inorganic forms

explain how the coupling of photosynthesis & respiration result in the cycling of carbon

burning fossil fuels, changing land use, and using limestone to make concrete all transfer significant quantities of carbon into the atmosphere

explain how human activities impact climate change by disrupting the global carbon cycle

too much nitrogen and phosphorus in water can cause algae to grow too fast

explain the problems when excess phosphorus & nitrogen make their way into ecosystems

energy decreases as it moves up trophic levels because energy is lost as metabolic heat when the organisms from one trophic level are consumed by organisms from the next level

explain the change in available energy at progressively higher trophic levels

the top has the least amount of energy

explain why there is typically less biomass and fewer individuals & species at the top of a food chain than at the bottom

they show the relative amounts of various parameters (such as number of organisms, energy, and biomass) across trophic levels

explain the concept of “ecological pyramids“

gross is the total which material is produced & net is the rate at which material is accumulated in excess os respiration

explain the difference between gross and net primary productivity

efficiency with which organism converts what it has eaten into its own biomass (the energy transferred)

explain the concept of ecological efficiency

short term atmospheric conditions (ex: sunny with clear skies)

what is weather & give an example

the weather of a specific region averaged over a long period of time (ex: tropical climate characterized by consistently warm temperatures, high humidity, and abundant rainfall throughout the year, as found in the Amazon Rainforest)

what is climate & give an example

air deflects to the right in the northern hemisphere & air deflects to the left in the southern hemisphere (curved paths)

describe how the Coriolis Effect deflects moving parcels of air in the northern & southern hemispheres

the earth’s tilted axis causes the seasons

why do the Northern & Southern Hemispheres have opposite seasonal patterns?

they regulate global climate, helping to counteract the uneven distribution of solar radiation reaching Earth's surface

how do ocean currents affect climate?

mountainous areas tend to have more extreme weather because it acts as a barrier to air movements and moisture.

explain the effects of topography (mountains) on climate

the higher the altitude, the colder the climate becomes

explain the effects of altitude on climate

aquatic, grassland, forest, desert, & tundra biomes

evaluate the position of biomes on the Whittaker diagram

climate determine plant growth & the number/variety of other organisms in a terrestrial biome

what is the relationship between climate and biome distribution

causation (mechanistic), development, adaptive function, & evolutionary history

what are Tinbergen’s 4 questions that should drive studies of animal behavior

a trade-off exits between the energy provided by larger prey, and the time and energy required for their capture and handling.

how does foraging involve trade-offs between nutrients acquired and the costs of energy required & risk?

Males often evolve traits and displays that advertise their ability to provide direct and indirect benefits, and females evolve preferences for these traits

explain how differences in the reproductive strategies of males & females can foster sexual selection for certain characteristics in males

determines who reproduces by competition with who to mate with

what is sexual selection?

polygamy

a mating system with 2 basic types are polygyny (males mate with multiple females) & polyandry (females mate with multiple males)

costs: increases competition with each other; benefits: foraging efficiency & reduced risk of predation

explain the costs & benefits of living in groups

benefits: increase the colony's chance of survival by promoting and safeguarding reproduction above all else

explain how altruism could’ve evolved & its benefits to the individual & group

altruism increases in a group when its members are more closely related to each other

relate the concepts of inclusive fitness & kin selection to altruism

altruism occurring among organisms who share a given percentage of genes enables those genes to be passed on to subsequent generations

how can individual & inclusive fitness between individuals of different relatedness promote altruistic behavior?

group of individuals of the same species within a given area that have the potential to interbreed & interact with each other

what is a population?

individuals in patches = uneven amount of distribution of nutrients/resources in the environment (wolves)

describe conditions that may result in clumped dispersion of individuals in a population

individuals are evenly spaced out = competition (penguins)

describe conditions that may result in uniform dispersion of individuals in a population

independent of other individuals (dandelions)

describe conditions that may result in random dispersion of individuals in a population

average growth rate over an interval of time; J-shaped

what is exponential population growth equations & the resulting growth curve?

carrying capacity; S-shaped

what is logistic population growth equations & the resulting growth curve?

explain how carrying capacity affects exponential growth

density-dependent growth regulation of populations

birth rate decreases when a population increases

density-independent growth regulation of populations

death rate increases when a population increases

Type I

live until they’re old/die & usually have few offspring; low death rates during early & middle life and increases death rates in older age groups (ex: humans)

Type II

constant death rate over lifespan (ex: fish/sea life)

Type III

either die off at a young age/if they survive they’ll live a long time then die, usually have many offspring; high death rate for young & lower death rate for survivors

trade-off: usually the animal with more children will die sooner than the animal with less children bc the animal with more children is using more energy to reproduce, support, & take care of itself

how can limited resources & trade-offs affect life histories?

semelparity

reproduces one huge batch of offspring & then dies

iteroparity

produces several smaller batches of offspring distributed over time

r-selected species

species with a capacity for a high rate of population increase; density-dependent selection, it selects for life history traits that are sensitive to population density

K-selected species

reproduce later in life & have a small number of offspring with fairly long life spans; density-independent selection, it selects for life history traits that maximize reproduction

metapopulation

a group of subpopulations of a species living on patches of habitat connected by an exchange of individuals

source habits

a local demographic surplus arises in good quality habitats

sink habits

a local demographic deficit occurs in habitats of poor quality

community ecology

all the populations of all the different species found in a given place at a given time

dominant species

species that have the highest abundance/biomass within a particular community/ecosystem

keystone species

species that have a disproportionately large impact on their environment relative to their abundance

invasive species

species that are introduced to a new habitat/ecosystem, often by human activities, & have negative impacts on the environment, economy, or human health

ecological niche

a specific role of a species within an ecosystem, including its use of resources, and relationships with other species

fundamental niche

the requirements needed by a species to survive & reproduce under ideal conditions

realized niche

a set of conditions actually used by a given animal, after interactions with other species have been taken into account

competitive exclusion

if two species are competing for a limited resource, the species that uses the resource more efficiently will eventually eliminate the other locally

resource partitioning

similar species develop ways to partition/divide resources in order to coexist

character displacement

trait evolution stemming from selection to lessen resource competition between species & acts on traits associated with resource use; two similar species inhabit the same environment

interspecific competition

competition between individuals of different species (ex:woodpeckers & squirrels compete for nesting sites in the same holes in trees)

intraspecific competition

competition between members of the same species (ex: two oak trees growing too close together, fighting for sunlight & nutrients OR two male deer competing for mates)

predators decrease numbers of prey; lack of dood resources in turn decrease predator abundance & lack of predation pressure allows prey populations to rebound

explain why predator & prey population can cycle over time

detection and prey-capture prowess (heightened sensory, speed, agility, fangs, claws), poison (venom), & mimicry (camoflage)

describe mechanisms (adaptations) species use to avoid predation

primary succession

newly exposed/formed rock is colonized by living things

secondary succession

an area that was previously occupied by living things is disturbed, then re-colonized following the disturbance

to represent the common ancestors of those descendants

what are the importance of nodes on a phylogenetic tree in determining evolutionary relationships

monophyletic group

a group of organisms that share a common ancestor

paraphyletic group

includes a single ancestor and some of its descendants

polyphyletic group

includes organisms with mixed evolutionary origin but doesn’t include their most recent common ancestor

homologous characters

similarity due to shared ancestry

analogous characters

similarity due to convergent evolution or evolutionary reversal

ancestral characters

belongs to everyone in the group

derived characters

new trait that appears on the tree

they create evidence for historical relationships & their associated hierarchical structure (a marker for the most recent common ancestor of the monophyletic group consisting of a set of taxa)

what is the role of synapomorphies (derived characters) in constructing a phylogenetic tree?

Provides more details because there are more characters that can vary among the species

explain the utility of molecular data in constructing a phylogenetic tree

all other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that requires the fewest evolutionary changes

explain the principle of parsimony regarding phylogenetic trees

explain the importance of nodes on a phylogenetic tree in determining evolutionary relationships

they represent the common ancestors of those descendants

includes all the groups we are interested in figuring out relationships

ingroup

a group of organisms that don’t belong to those being studied

outgroup

contains an ancestor and all of its descendants

monophyletic group

contains a common ancestor and only some of the descendants of that ancestor

paraphyletic group

do not share a common ancestor

polyphyletic group

save function & evolutionary origin

homologous characters

similar function but different evolutionary origin

analogous characters

belongs to everyone in the group

ancestral characters

new trait that evolved within a smaller group of organisms

derived characters

what is the role of synapomorphies (derived characters) in constructing a phylogenetic tree

they provide evidence of evolutionary relationships & help determine which groups share a common ancestor

explain the utility of molecular data in constructing a phylogenetic tree

they compare the sequences of their evolutionary related genes/proteins

explain the principle of parsimony regarding phylogenetic trees

2 hypotheses about vertebrate relationships

what is the importance of sex in maintaining genetic diversity?

allows for the mixing & combination of genes from 2 individuals, creating new genetic combinations in offspring (it does not always increase variation)

zygotic meiosis

haplontic life cycle

gametic meiosis

diplontic life cycle

sporic meiosis

haplodiplontic life cycle (alternation of generations)

explain why protists are a paraphyletic grouping of organisms

it doesn’t contain all descendants of its most recent common ancestor

what are the different modes of locomotion & nutritional strategies of protists

flagella, cilia, & pseudopodia

explain why protists, algae, and protozoa form paraphyletic groups within the eukaryotes

the representative taxa don’t contain all the descendants of their stem species

explain the importance of surface area-to-volume ratio in cell size

to ensure that the exchange of resources & waste occurs quickly enough for the cell to survive

single celled micro-organisms with a defined nucleus, mitochondria, and other organelles

unicellular

Composed of multiple cells that are similar to one another, often found in algae

• Colonial organisms

simple multicellular