Species

Question 1

What special adaptations do alpine flowers have?

Answer 1

short height, waxy leaves, hairy stems, bright colour, perennials

Question 2

What special adaptations do alpine shrubs have?

Answer 2

short stunted growth, not deciduous

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of hibernating?

Answer 3

decreased food availability afterwards, need to store adequate body fat during a short summer

Question 4

What are the advantages of hibernating?

Answer 4

burrow in protected area, need less food, use less energy

Question 5

What are the advantages of migrating?

Answer 5

there is food at the other end

Question 6

What are the disadvantages of migrating?

Answer 6

requires lots of energy, human disruption, unknown food/habitat sources at the other end, predators, unfamiliar territory

Question 7

What is adaptation?

Answer 7

a trait that improves an organism’s chances of surviving and reproducing relative to others

Question 8

What are the 5 things that adaptation results from?

Answer 8

Variation, mutation, genetic drift, isolation, natural selection

Question 9

What is natural selection?

Answer 9

the process of non-random reproduction of individuals which results in the elimination of non-desirable traits from a population

Question 10

Adaptation vs acclimation

Answer 10

Acclimation is something that improves function but cannot be passed on to offspring. Adaptation is something that improves function and is a result of genetic change

Question 11

What are the limitations to natural selection?

Answer 11

picks only the best AVAILABLE alternative, it is a compromise to given problems

Question 12

What is species?

Answer 12

a collection of individuals which have the potential of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring

Question 13

What are the 3 mechanisms that allow species to stay reproductively isolated?

Answer 13

Ecological, behavioural and mechanical

Question 14

What is ecological mechanism that allows species to stay reproductively isolated?

Answer 14

different habitats or seasonally isolated

Question 15

What is mechanical mechanism that allows species to stay reproductively isolated?

Answer 15

physical differences, sterile

Question 16

What is a cline?

Answer 16

gradual variation along a ecological gradient/slope

Question 17

What is a ecotype?

Answer 17

specialized adaptations to local environments

Question 18

What is a ecosystem?

Answer 18

a community of organisms interacting with each other in their physical and chemical environment

Question 19

Give 5 examples of biotic elements

Answer 19

plants, animals, invertebrates, fungi, bacteria

Question 20

Give 5 examples of abiotic elements

Answer 20

air, water, rock, soil, energy from the sun

Question 21

What is biodiversity?

Answer 21

variety of different organisms in a ecosystem

Question 22

Increased biodiversity is related to what

Answer 22

environmental stability

Question 23

What are the 4 ways to describe biotic elements?

Answer 23

species list, arrangement of vegetation, biomass measurements, population estimates

Question 24

What are the 6 ways to describe abiotic elements?

Answer 24

climate, air quality, water quality, geological components, soil factors, energy from the sun

Question 25

What are ecological processes?

Answer 25

patterns of change of any biotic or abiotic element

Question 26

What are 5 examples of biotic processes?

Answer 26

photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, pollination, changes in population over time

Question 27

What are 3 examples of abiotic processes?

Answer 27

change of seasons, rate of erosion, rate of ozone depletion

Question 28

Resource availability can influence what

Answer 28

plant diversity

Question 29

low nutrient availability does what to plants?

Answer 29

reduces growth rates, supports a lower density and biomass of vegetation

Question 30

When nutrients are low, competition is concentrated where?

Answer 30

below ground, big roots are needed, high diversity results

Question 31

When nutrients are high, competition is concentrated where?

Answer 31

above ground, big plants are needed, low diversity results

Question 32

What is homeostasis?

Answer 32

the ability of an organism to maintain constant internal conditions in the varying external environment

Question 33

What is the law of tolerance?

Answer 33

the range of min and max conditions in which an organism can survive

Question 34

What are homeotherms?

Answer 34

"warm blooded" organisms whose body temperature remain constant throughout the day

Question 35

What are poikilotherms?

Answer 35

"cold-blooded" organisms whose body temperature varies throughout the day

Question 36

How do homeotherms deal with the cold?

Answer 36

shivering, dormancy, hibernation, burning of fat, small appendages

Question 37

How do homeotherms deal with the heat?

Answer 37

sweating, panting, large appendages

Question 38

How do poikilotherms deal with the cold?

Answer 38

little shivering, chemical anti-freeze, seek sun, nocturnal, migrate, huddle together, hibernation

Question 39

How do poikilotherms deal with the heat?

Answer 39

shade, moving to a different environment, raising/lowering bodies, burrowing

Question 40

What advantage do homeotherms have over poikilotherms?

Answer 40

generate heat using food for fuel, can survive in a wider variety of environments

Question 41

What are 5 insulative strategies in homeotherms?

Answer 41

fur, feathers, fat, blubber, change of coat

Question 42

Since plants cannot internally regulate temperature, what are the 5 things they depend on?

Answer 42

reflecting off of leaves and bark, orientation of leaves, size and shape of leaves, hardening and acclimatization, dormancy

Question 43

How does a poikilohydric plant respond to moisture change?

Answer 43

the water status of the plant matches the atmospheric moisture conditions

Question 44

What are the 3 types of colouration?

Answer 44

cryptic, warning, mimicry

Question 45

What is cryptic colouration?

Answer 45

camouflage

Question 46

What is warning colouration?

Answer 46

bright coloured animals to advertise that they are poisonous

Question 47

What is mimicry colouration?

Answer 47

the warning colouration of a poisonous species is copied by other species