Honors Biology Reading Guide Chapter 37: Communities and Ecosystems

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Chapter 37: Communities and Ecosystems

37.1 A community includes all the organisms inhabiting a particular area

1. What is a community? List 6 organisms that would be found in our schoolyard community.

2. How do ecologists define the boundaries of a community?

3. Why is community ecology necessary?

37.2 Interspecific interactions are fundamental to community structure

4. This section will look at interspecific interactions. Be clear on the meaning of the prefix! To begin, distinguish between intraspecific competition and interspecific competition. Give an example of each.

Type of Explanation Example competition Intraspecific Competition

Interspecific Competition

1 5. How do ecologists go about classifying the type of interspecific interactions within a community? Provide an example from the introduction to the chapter on hippos and the type of effect.

6. Describe the effect of the interspecific interaction mutualism.

7. Describe the interspecific interaction of predation and its effect.

8. What type of interaction is herbivory?

37.3 Competition may occur when a shared resource is limited

9. Define ecological niche.

10. When does interspecific competition occur?

11. What affect does competition do to the carrying capacity of a population?

12. What affect does interspecific competition have on all populations involved in the competition?

37.4 Mutualism benefits both partners

13. What affect does mutualism have on a population?

14. Give a brief description of mutualistic interaction between 2 populations.

2 37.5 Predation leads to diverse adaptations in prey species

15. What affect does predation have on the populations involved?

16. Predation is a term you probably already know. Can you give examples of some predator-prey combinations as listed below?

Predator Prey Example Animal Animal

Animal Plant

Fungus Animal

Bacteria Animal

Fungus Plant

17. Predation causes a variety of adaptations by prey to avoid being detected and/or eaten. List 3 adaptions that prey have developed for protection against predators.

37.6 Herbivory leads to diverse adaptations in plants

18. What affect does herbivory have on the populations involved?

19. Herbivory causes a variety of adaptations by plants to avoid being eaten. List 3 adaptions that plants have developed for protection against herbivores.

20. Due to the interactions between herbivores and plants, plants have evolved a variety of adaptations to prevent being eaten. Like wise, herbivores have also evolved a variety of adaptations to overcome a plants defense mechanisms. Describe the concept of coevolution.

3 21. Explain how coevolution occurs.

22. Provide one example of coevolution between two populations.

Your text uses +/-/0 symbols to indicate how interspecific interactions affect survival and reproduction of the two species. Use this notation for each of these interactions.

Type of Interaction +/+, +/-, -/-, +/0 Predation Mutualism Interspecific competition Herbivory

37.8 Trophic structure is a key factor in community dynamics

23. Explain what a trophic structure is.

24. What is the sequence of food transfer up a trophic level called?

25. What organism make up the foundation/bottom of a food chain?

26. Provide an example of an organism at each level of a food chain (producer through quaternary)

27. What role do detrivores and decomposers have within a food chain?

37.9 Food chains interconnect, forming food webs

28. Explain what a food web is.

4 37.12 Disturbance is a prominent feature of most communities

29. Ecological succession is the change in species that occupy an area after a disturbance. What is the difference between primary succession and secondary succession?

37.14 Ecosystem ecology emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling

30. What is the difference between energy flow and chemical cycling in an ecosystem?

31. Provide and example of energy flow within an ecosystem.

32. Provide an example of chemical flow within an ecosystem.

37.16 Energy supply limits the length of food chains

33. Explain why there is a loss of energy in each transfer in a food chain.

34. What amount of available energy in each trophic level actually gets transferred to the next trophic level?

5 37.19 The carbon cycle depends on photosynthesis and respiration

35. Explain the carbon cycle by completing the following diagram. For each step give a brief description of what is happening.

6 37.21 The nitrogen cycle depends on bacteria

36. Why is nitrogen essential to all living things?

37. What are the 2 abiotic reservoirs of nitrogen?

38. What is the problem with the atmospheric reservoir of nitrogen and how is this problem overcome?

39. Explain the nitrogen cycle by completing the following diagram. For each step give a brief description of what is happening.

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