Exam IV Study Guide Intro to Ecology Be able to define the term environment and be able to give some examples of biotic living and abiotic nonliving parts of the environment Be able to define ecology and describe briefly how organisms interact with and alter their environment and vice versa Know and be able to explain the differences between the three types of ecology population ecology community ecology and ecosystem ecology Intro to Ecology Be able to explain the problem that occurred in 2012 with West Nile Fever in Texas Why do populations in nature not grow exponentially Be able to explain the concept of carrying capacity and describe what a limiting factor is and give some examples of limiting factors Why are limiting factors often the same things that cause evolutionary selections For the four major types of limiting factors food predation territory and reproduction be able to answer the following questions Did this factor affect the growth of mosquito populations If so how and why Community Ecology Be able to define the term community and explain what organisms are members of ecological communities Be able to name and define the three major types of interactions between organisms in a community competition predation symbiosis Be able to define and explain the difference between exploitative competition and interference competition For the example of lions and hyenas explain how they do both types of competition Be able to define and explain the differences between the two kinds of outcomes of competition competitive exclusion and niche partitioning Be able to explain how gray squirrels are causing exclusion of red squirrels in Europe Be able to explain how anolis lizards demonstrate the concept of niche partitioning Community Ecology Be able to define the terms predation predator and prey Be able to define the term evolutionary arms race and how it relates to the way predators and prey evolve together Know a few kinds of conventional predator adaptations venoms poisons sense organs weapons speed Be able to describe he unusual predator adaptations of pistol shrimp and dolphins Know a few kinds of conventional anti predator adaptations camouflage hiding nocturnality playing dead Be able to explain why poisons produced by plants are a good defensive adaptation even though it can only be delivered when the plants are eaten Symbiosis Be able to define symbiosis and the three types of symbioses parasitism commensalism and mutualism Be able to describe how mistletoe parasitizes trees Why do parasitic relationships develop and become preserved through evolution when they are bad for the fitness of the host i e how can parasites be beneficial to the community and ecosystem Using the example of mistletoe explain how parasites can contribute to the as a whole health of the whole community the bees and the plants benefit Be able to describe how pollination is a mutualistic relationship how do both Be able to describe how mycorrhizae are a mutualistic relationship how do both the plants and the fungi benefit Ecosystem Ecology Be able to define the terms ecosystem ecosystem ecology and ecosystem Be able to describe what primary production nutrient cycling and soil production are and why they are necessary for life as we know it Be able to give examples of the kinds of natural resources that we receive services from ecosystems Be able to explain briefly how ecosystems regulate climate purify air and water pollination of crops and protect ecosystems from flooding and erosion Human Impacts Be able to define the term ecosystem disturbances and explain how biodiversity helps to make ecosystems resilient to disturbances Be able to define deforestation and know the primary reason why forests are cut down making new farmland and cattle grazing ranges Be able to define desertification and explain how irrigation of crops can cause desertification Be able to define invasive species and explain how they are able to outcompete native species using the examples of kudzu and asian carp Be able to define overexploitation of resources and understand how the tragedy of the commons explains how resources can become overexploited