I apologize for the oversight! You're absolutely right to ask for a
more comprehensive version of the study guide based on all the
questions you've provided. It seems like a few questions may
have been missed. I'll now make sure to include every
question from the list you provided in a more complete study
guide format.
Here is the complete, comprehensive study guide
with all the questions you listed:
BSC 196 – Spring 2025 Study Guide I.
Climate, Weather, and Biomes 1. What is the
difference between climate and weather?
- Weather refers to short-term atmospheric conditions (e.g.,
temperature, precipitation), while climate refers to long-term
trends and averages of weather conditions over time.
2. How does solar energy influence global temperature,
precipitation, and wind patterns?
- Solar energy heats Earth’s surface unevenly, causing air to
rise and create global wind patterns. These patterns influence
temperature and precipitation, contributing to climate zones.
3. What causes the seasons on Earth?
- Seasons are caused by the tilt of Earth’s axis as it orbits
around the Sun, leading to variations in sunlight at different times
of the year.
4. How do the tilt of the Earth and the movement of the
Earth around the Sun determine seasonal variation in light and
temperature across different latitudes?
- The tilt causes different latitudes to receive more or less
direct sunlight at different times of the year, leading to
variations in temperature and daylight hours.
5. How is climate affected by the presence of
lakes/oceans and different ocean currents?
- Oceans moderate climate by absorbing and releasing heat.
Ocean currents can warm or cool coastal areas depending on their
origin (e.g., warm currents like the Gulf Stream).
6. How do mountains influence the climate of nearby regions?
- Mountains create rain shadows: moist air rises on the
windward side, cooling and precipitating, while the leeward side
becomes drier.
7. What is a climograph and how do you read and
interpret it?
- A climograph shows temperature and precipitation patterns for
a location over time, typically represented with temperature as a
line graph and precipitation as a bar graph.
8. What are the two major climatic factors that
determine the distribution of terrestrial biomes?
- Temperature and precipitation are the key factors that shape
terrestrial biomes.
9. What are the major terrestrial and aquatic biomes and
some of their distinguishing characteristics?
- Terrestrial biomes: Tundra, Boreal Forest, Temperate Forest,
Tropical Forest, Savanna, Grassland, Desert.
- Aquatic
biomes: Freshwater (lakes, rivers) and Marine (oceans, coral
reefs).
II. Population Dynamics and Growth 10.
What are the primary factors that determine the density of a population?
- Birth rates, death rates, immigration, and emigration all
determine population density.
11. How is the mark-recapture technique used to measure density?
- In this method, individuals are captured, marked, and
released. A second sample is then captured, and the proportion of
marked individuals is used to estimate the population size.
12. What are the three major patterns of dispersion
found within populations?
- Clumped: Individuals are found in groups (e.g., schools of
fish).
- Uniform: Individuals are evenly spaced (e.g.,
territorial animals).
- Random: Individuals are spaced
unpredictably (e.g., plants with wind-dispersed seeds).
13. What do survivorship curves show? What are the three
major types of survivorship curves?
- Survivorship curves show the proportion of individuals
surviving at each age. Types:
- Type I: High survival in
early life (e.g., humans).
- Type II: Constant
mortality (e.g., birds).
- Type III: High mortality in
early life (e.g., fish).
14. Under what conditions will exponential growth of a
population occur?
- Exponential growth happens when resources are unlimited and
environmental conditions do not limit the population.
15. What is the exponential model of population growth?
- The exponential model follows the equation dN/dt = rN, where
r is the rate of growth and N is the population size.
16. How do exponential and logistic population growth differ?
- Exponential growth occurs under ideal conditions with
unlimited resources, whereas logistic growth accounts for
environmental limits (carrying capacity, K) and slows as the
population nears K.
17. What is the logistic model of population growth?
- The logistic model is represented as dN/dt = rN(K - N)/K,
where K is the carrying capacity, and the growth rate slows as the
population approaches this capacity.
III. Life History and Reproduction 18.
What comprises the life history of an organism?
- Traits such as age at first reproduction, frequency of
reproduction, number of offspring, and life span.
19. What is meant by a life-history trade-off?
- A trade-off involves balancing between investment in
reproduction and survival (e.g., having many offspring with less
care vs. fewer offspring with more parental investment).
20. What are the two major patterns of reproduction (parity)?
- Semelparity: Reproduction in one large event (e.g.,
salmon).
- Iteroparity: Reproduction in multiple events over
time (e.g., humans).
21. What are the distinguishing characteristics of
K-selected and r-selected species?
- K-selected species: Large body size, long lifespan, slow
growth, fewer offspring, high parental care (e.g., elephants).
- r-selected species: Small body size, rapid growth, many
offspring, minimal parental care (e.g., insects).
IV. Interactions in Communities 22.
What are the major types of interspecific interactions found
within communities?
- Competition (-/-)
- Predation (+/-)
- Mutualism
(+/+)
- Commensalism (+/0)
- Amensalism (0/-)
23. What is an ecological niche?
- The niche is the role a species plays in its ecosystem,
including its habitat, interactions, and resource usage.
24. How is a species’ fundamental niche distinguished
from a realized niche?
- The fundamental niche is the full potential range of
conditions a species can occupy, while the realized niche is the
actual range the species occupies due to competition and other
factors.
25. What is character displacement and why does it occur?
- Character displacement occurs when two species evolve
distinct traits to reduce competition when they share a habitat,
leading to resource partitioning.
V. Community Structure and Succession
26. What are the two fundamental features of community structure?
- Species composition and species diversity.
27. What are foundation species, keystone species, and
ecosystem engineers?
- Foundation species create or maintain habitats (e.g., coral
reefs).
- Keystone species have a disproportionately large
impact on community structure (e.g., wolves in Yellowstone).
- Ecosystem engineers modify habitats (e.g., beavers).
28. How do the bottom-up and top-down models of
community organization differ?
- Bottom-up: Community structure is controlled by primary
producers (e.g., plants).
- Top-down: Predators control
community structure through trophic cascades (e.g., top predators
control herbivore populations).
29. What is ecological succession?
- Ecological succession is the process by which an ecosystem
develops and changes over time.
30. How do primary and secondary succession differ?
- Primary succession occurs in an area with no soil (e.g.,
after volcanic eruptions), while secondary succession occurs in
areas where soil is already present (e.g., after forest
fires).
31. What is facilitation in ecological succession?
- Facilitation occurs when one species modifies the environment
in a way that benefits other species.
VI. Environmental Issues and Human Impact
32. H