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    APES 2009 RKV Chapter 7 Community Ecology Review Questions

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    APES2000
    This document contains review questions about community ecology from a textbook chapter. It covers topics such as [1] keystone species and their importance, [2] characteristics of community structure, [3] species diversity, richness, and evenness, [4] species interactions such as competition, predation, and mutualism, [5] succession and disturbance. The questions are meant to help students master key concepts and terminology in community ecology.

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    APES 2009 RKV Chapter 7 Community Ecology Review Questions

    Uploaded by

    APES2000
    1K views4 pages
    This document contains review questions about community ecology from a textbook chapter. It covers topics such as [1] keystone species and their importance, [2] characteristics of community structure, [3] species diversity, richness, and evenness, [4] species interactions such as competition, predation, and mutualism, [5] succession and disturbance. The questions are meant to help students master key concepts and terminology in community ecology.

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    This document contains review questions about community ecology from a textbook chapter. It covers topics such as [1] keystone species and their importance, [2] characteristics of community structure, [3] species diversity, richness, and evenness, [4] species interactions such as competition, predation, and mutualism, [5] succession and disturbance. The questions are meant to help students master key concepts and terminology in community ecology.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    1K views4 pages

    APES 2009 RKV Chapter 7 Community Ecology Review Questions

    Uploaded by

    APES2000
    This document contains review questions about community ecology from a textbook chapter. It covers topics such as [1] keystone species and their importance, [2] characteristics of community structure, [3] species diversity, richness, and evenness, [4] species interactions such as competition, predation, and mutualism, [5] succession and disturbance. The questions are meant to help students master key concepts and terminology in community ecology.

    Copyright:

    Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
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    1

    APES 2009 RKV Chapter 7 Community Ecology Review Questions

    Living in the Environment: Principles, Connections, and Solutions, 15th Ed


    1. Master the boldfaced terms in this chapter.
    2. Describe the ecological and economic importance of the American alligator.
    Why is it characterized as a keystone species?

    3. List four characteristics of the structure of a community or ecosystem.


    Distinguish among species diversity, species richness, and species evenness.

    4. What are the four most species-rich environments? How does increasing
    species richness generally affect species evenness?

    5. What two factors determine the species diversity found on an isolated


    ecosystem such as an island? What is the theory of island biogeography?
    How do the size of an island and its distance from a mainland affect its
    species diversity?

    6. Distinguish among native, nonnative, indicator, and keystone species, and


    give an example of each.
    2

    7. Why are birds good indicator species? Explain why amphibians are
    considered indicator species, and list reasons for the current declines in many
    of their populations.

    8. Describe the keystone ecological roles of bees, alligators, and some shark
    species. What can happen in an ecosystem that loses a keystone species?

    9. Define and give an example of a foundation species.

    10.What is interspecific competition? What are four possible consequences when


    the niches of two species competing in the same area overlap to a large
    degree?

    11.Define and give two examples of resource partitioning. How does it allow
    species to avoid overlap of their fundamental niches?
    3

    12.What is predation? Describe the predator-prey relationship, and give two


    examples of this type of species interaction. Why are sharks important
    species?

    13.Give two examples of how predators increase their chances of finding prey by
    pursuit and then give two examples of how they do the same thing by
    ambush.

    14.List six ways (adaptations) used by prey to avoid their predators, and give an
    example of each type.

    15.Define and give two examples of parasitism, and explain how it differs from
    predation. What is the ecological importance of parasitism?

    16.Define and give two examples of each of mutualism and commensalism.


    4

    17.Distinguish between primary succession and secondary succession.


    Distinguish among pioneer (or early successional) species, midsuccessional
    plant species, and late successional plant species.

    18. Give three examples of environmental disturbances, and explain how they can affect succession.
    How can some disturbances be beneficial to ecosystems? What is the intermediate disturbance
    hypothesis?

    19.Describe the view of succession that has replaced the equilibrium, or


    balance-of-nature view that once was dominant in the field of ecology.

    20. Distinguish among inertia, constancy, and resilience, and explain how they help maintain stability
    in an ecosystem.

    21.Does high species diversity always increase ecosystem stability? Explain.

    22.Why do ecologists argue for using extreme caution in making decisions about
    whether to disturb communities and ecosystems?

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