Bio 415 Final Exam Review

Bio 415 Final Exam Review Tuesday, Dec 5, 8:00-9:45

Ch. 11- Population Growth Equations (241-252) Growth in absence of constraints (geometric, exponential growth vs. logistic growth) Carrying capacity, Overshoots, Allee Effect, Minimum Viable Population size Density-dependent vs. density-independent regulation catastrophes as a part of normal population regulation reindeer populations on Pribilof Islands

Chapter 12- Life History Patterns and consequences (259-270) General rules in Ecology (suites of traits or characteristics) Rapoport’s rule- range size and latitude Danmuth’s rule- density and body size Bergman’s and Allen’s rule- body size and latitude Metabolic rate and body size; Reproductive rate and body size Principle of Allocation/Trade-offs- some traits can co-occur, some can’t/Darwinian demons Different but equivalent strategies- hooks vs jacks and territorial vs floaters Egg size vs. egg number in fish vs. dispersal vs. speciation (Figs. 12.3-12.5) How does this relationship influence other aspects of fish ecology? How does body size drive diversification within a genus? (Figs. 12.7-12.8) Seed size vs. seed number in plants vs. dispersal mode vs. speciation? How does this relationship influence other aspects of plant ecology? How do seed size and dispersal mode influence diversification? -r-selected vs. K-selected organisms (Table 12.1) How do cottonwoods and olives compare? Are invasive species more likely to be r-selected or K-selected?

Chapter 16- Species Abundance and Diversity (355-367) How do we measure biodiversity? Species richness and evenness Quantitative measures of species diversity Shannon-Wiener Index (Table 16.1) Simpson’s Index Rank-Abundance curves (Figs 16.6-16.8) Are there general patterns for variation in biodiversity? Latitudinal gradient, altitudinal gradient, coastal gradient, islands, area, …. What determines community structure/biodiversity? (357-367) Why are there more species in the tropics? Understand the logic behind each hypothesis Understand the evidence for/against each hypothesis History Habitat complexity/Tangled bank Hypothesis Climate/Molecular evolution Productivity Climatic variability Competition- Elton’s expt Intermediate Disturbance- boulder rolling expt Be able to explain the logic and predictions of these hypotheses Be able to describe experiments and data that have been used to test these hypotheses. Why does biodiversity matter? Basic intro to leaf pack project Two main questions with invasive species How are they so successful (mechanisms)? Drought tolerance, allelochemicals, shade tolerance, plasticity,… What are their consequences? Displacement of natives (direct) Trophic cascades (indirect)- producers, consumers, decomposers Nutrient cycling, decomposition of leaf litter How are RO leaves decomposed compared to CW leaves? More slowly because of allelochemicals and cellulose More quickly because of high N content Basic experimental design- independent variable, replicates, dependent variables,…

Read paper posted to cobalt BEFORE the test and be able to answer questions about the paper Main question and hypotheses Independent variable and dependent variables Conclusion- is there an effect of exotic leaf litter, and, if so, what is the effect?