Unit II Study Guide Questions

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Unit II Study Guide Questions

• Biomes and Biodiversity, Behavioral Ecology, and
  Human Impact on the Environment

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Please Note

• This study guide is a work-in-progress, and
  accordingly, it is not complete.
• It should not be considered a substitute for a
  comprehensive preparation for the test on unit
  II.

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Question 1

• 1. define biogeography.

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Answer 1

• define biogeography.
• The study of the distribution of organisms and
  the processes that underlie distribution patterns.

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Question 2

• 2. What are three factors that affect the
  distribution of an organism(s).

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Answer 2

• 2. What are three factors that affect the
  distribution of an organism(s).
• Geologic history
• Topography
• Climate
• Species interactions

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Question 3

• 3. Define climate.

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Answer 3

• 3. Define climate.
• Average weather condition in a region

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Question 4

• 4. Name four factors that determine climate.

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Answer 4

• 4. Name four factors that determine climate.
• amount of incoming solar radiation
• prevailing winds
• elevation
• precipitation

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Question 5

• 5. Why is it warmer in Atlanta in the summer
  rather than in the winter when the earth is
  actually closer to the sun in the winter?

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Answer 5

• 5. Why is it warmer in Atlanta in the summer
  rather than in the winter when the earth is
  actually closer to the sun in the winter?
• The northern hemisphere is tilted toward the sun
  during the summer while during the winter, the
  opposite is true.

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Question 6

• 6. What are two affects of ocean currents on
  ecosystems?

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Answer 6

• 6. What are two affects of ocean currents on
  ecosystems?
• Upper waters move in currents that distribute
  nutrients and affect regional climates.

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Question 7

• 7. Define rain shadow.

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Answer 7

• 7. Define rain shadow.
• Air rises on the windward side, loses moisture
  before passing over the mountain thus
  establishing a dry zone leeward of the
  mountain(s).

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Question 8

• 8. Compare and contrast monsoons and coastal
  breezes.

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Answer 8

• 8. Compare and contrast monsoons and coastal
  breezes.
• Monsoons are seasonal patterns in wind and rain
  which are associated with warm oceans and
  adjacent continents.
• Coastal breezes vary during the day and are
  present most days regardless of the season. The
  air moves in the direction of the warmer area
  (ocean or land).

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Question 9

• 9. Define biome.

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Answer 9

• 9. Define biome.
• Regions of land characterized by habitat
  conditions and community structure.

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Question 10

• 10. What are hotspots? Who defines them and how
  many are there?

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Answer 10

• 10. What are hotspots? Who defines them and how
  many are there?
• Conservation International defines hotspots as
  "regions that harbor a great diversity of endemic
  species and, at the same time, have been
  significantly impacted and altered by human
  activities.
• 24 hotspots

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Question 11

• 11. Name three biorealms.

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Answer 11

• 11. Name three biorealms.
• Nearctic, Neotropical, Afrotropical, Palaearctic,
  Indomalayan, Oceanian, Australian, and Antarctic

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Question 12

• 12. How is a desert defined?

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Answer 12

• 12. How is a desert defined?
• Less than 10 centimeters annual rainfall, high
  level of evaporation

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Question 13

• 13. Where are deserts usually found?

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Answer 13

• 13. Where are deserts usually found?
• Tend to occur at 30 degrees north and south and
  in rain shadows

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Question 14

• 14. Compare and contrast taiga and tundra.

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Answer 14

• 14. Compare and contrast taiga and tundra.
• Taigas are located at the southern edge of
  tundra. Where a tundra is treeless, taigas have a
  few trees dispersed throughout the grass and moss.

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Question 1

• 1. Observable coordinated responses to stimuli is
  the essence of _____ ______.

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Answer 1

• 1. Observable coordinated responses to stimuli is
  the essence of animal behavior.

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Question 2

• 2. _____ ______originates with genes that direct
  the formation of tissues and organs of the animal
  body.

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Answer 2

• 2. Animal behavior originates with genes that
  direct the formation of tissues and organs of the
  animal body.

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Question 3

• 3. If animal behavior has a basis in the genes,
  would animal behavior be subject to micro
  evolutionary processes? Explain your answer.

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Answer 3

• 3. If animal behavior has a basis in the genes,
  would animal behavior be subject to micro
  evolutionary processes? Explain your answer.
• Answers will vary.

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Question 4

• 4. Define adaptive behavior.

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Answer 4

• 4. Define adaptive behavior.
• Behavior that promotes propagation of an
  individuals genes
• Its frequency will be maintained or increase in
  successive generations

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Question 5

• 5. What does a comparative study of pidgins
  revel concerning human behavior?

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Answer 5

• 5. What does a comparative study of pidgins
  revel concerning human behavior?
• Pidgins have several universal syntactical
  components. This suggests a genetic basis for
  language acquisition.

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Question 6

• 6. Define selfish behavior.

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Answer 6

• 6. Define selfish behavior.
• Selfish behavior promotes an individuals genes
  at the expense of others.

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Question 7

• 7. Define altruistic behavior.

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Answer 7

• 7. Define altruistic behavior.
• Altruistic behavior helps others at the expense
  of the altruist may be adaptive under certain
  circumstances

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Question 8

• 8. Identify three modes of signals.

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Answer 8

• 8. Identify three modes of signals.
• Pheromones Tactile signals
• Visual signals
• Acoustical signals

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Question 9

• 9. What are some advantages of social living?

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Answer 9

• 9. What are some advantages of social living?
• Improved detection of predators many eyes
• Improved repulsion of predators

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Question 10

• 10. Contrast male and female reproductive
  concerns.

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Answer 10

• 10. Contrast male and female reproductive
  concerns.
• Produce energetically inexpensive sperm
• Often provide no parental care
• Often maximize reproductive success by mating
  with as many females as possible
• (female opposite of these)

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Question 11

• 11. What is the advantage of parenting behavior?

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Answer 11

• 11. What is the advantage of parenting behavior?
• Enhancing the survival of offspring can increase
  parents reproductive success

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Question 12

• 12.How is altruism related to indirect selection?

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Answer 12

• 12.How is altruism related to indirect
  selection?
• Altruists pass on genes indirectly by helping
  relatives who have copies of those genes to
  survive and reproduce.

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Question 13

• 13. IS football an adaptive activity? Explain.

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Answer 13

• 13. IS football an adaptive activity? Explain.
• Answers will vary..

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Question 14

• 14. When can adoption be considered adaptive?

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Answer 14

• 14. When can adoption be considered adaptive?
• When a relative is adopted (indirect selection).

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Question 15

• 15. What is redirected behavior?

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Answer 15

• 15. What is redirected behavior?
• Certain behaviors that are normally directed
  toward relatives may sometimes be directed toward
  nonrelatives
• In this case, the redirected behavior is
  nonadaptive

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Question 1

• 1. Define pollutant.

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Answer 1

• Define pollutant.
• Substances with which an ecosystem has had no
  prior evolutionary experience
• No adaptive mechanisms are in place to deal with
  them

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Question 2

• 2. List 4 air pollutants.

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Answer 2

• 2. List 4 air pollutants.
• Carbon oxides
• Sulfur oxides
• Nitrogen oxides
• Volatile organic compounds
• Photochemical oxidants
• Suspended particles

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Question 3

• 3. What is a thermal inversion?

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Answer 3

• 3. What is a thermal inversion?
• Weather pattern in which a layer of cool, dense
  air is trapped beneath a layer of warm air.

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Question 4

• 4. Complete the following acid rain equation
• Nitric acid limestone yields ? ? ?

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Answer 4

• 4. Complete the following acid rain equation
• Nitric acid limestone yields ? ? ?
• 2 HNO3 CaCO3 ? Ca(NO3)2 H2O CO2
• Nitric acid limestone yields calcium nitrate
  water carbon dioxide