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APES - Study Guide

Objectives Unit 2: Population & Diversity
1. Describe different types of biodiversity. (Ch5)
a. What is the difference between ecosystem diversity, species diversity
and genetic diversity?
b. How many species are estimated to live on earth?
c. Under what circumstances can genetics be harmful to a population?
Describe the bottleneck and founder effects.
d. What is a biodiversity hot spot and why is it important for
environmental conservation?
2. Explain how organisms adapt to their environment. (Ch.5)
a. What is macroevolution? Microevolution?
b. How does natural selection function? What does fitness mean in this
context?
c. How can artificial selection affect evolution of a species?
d. What are the different types of niches?
e. Under what conditions is it better to be a specialist species instead of a
generalist?
3. Describe the effects of natural barriers on population development. (Ch.5)
a. Describe the different types of speciation.
b. A species of dinosaur lives in both Europe and North America during
the Jurassic. Over time, these two continents separate and this species
becomes two species. What type of speciation is this?
4. Explain how new species develop. (Ch.5)
a. What is allopatric speciation? When does it occur?
b. Give an example of sympatric speciation.
5. Discuss factors that can lead to species extinction. (Ch5)
a. Give examples of events or conditions that have caused mass
depletions or extinctions.
b. At the end of what geologic periods did mass extinctions occur in
Earths history?
c. What is the natural background extinction rate?
6. Describe the effects of human activities on biodiversity. (Ch. 18)
a. How does the current extinction rate of species compare to before
humans existed?
b. What are the main causes for reduction in global biodiversity? Give an
example of each.
c. What are species richness and evenness and how are they impacted by
human activities? (Ch 5)
7. Discuss conservation biology programs and their impacts on the
environment. (Ch18)

a. Explain how a biosphere reserve is designed and how each zone

functions.
b. What laws or acts have been passed to protect biodiversity and
endangered species?
c. Define a metapopulation and explain how they are created.
8. Explain factors that affect population dynamics (size, density, makeup, &
distribution). (Ch6)
a. What are the population characteristics? Give a brief summary of
each.
b. Give examples of density dependent and density independent factors
that affect population size.
c. Will r-selected or K-selected species do better in a primary succession
environment? Why?
d. Explain the differences between the J and S curves of population
growth.
e. Discuss the species approach to survival for each line of the
survivorship curve.
f. Draw and name the different types of survivorship curves.
9. Describe the impacts on the environment when the population exceeds the
carrying capacity. (Ch6)
a. Define a limiting resource/factor. Give examples of one.
b. What conditions lead to a population die-off?
c. What effects does a population overshoot have on the environment?
d. What can cause a population overshoot?
10.Describe the effects of interactions of organisms on populations. (Ch 6)
a. What can happen when two species compete for the same resources?
b. What are the main techniques used by predators to catch food?
c. Give examples of resource partitioning.
d. What types of defenses are used by organisms to avoid being eaten?
Give some examples.
e. What are the different varieties of predation?
f. What are some typical characteristics of parasites?
g. Give examples of mutualism & commensalisms.
h. What word refers to mutualism, commensalism and parasitism?
11.Describe different levels of communities, their structures (physical
appearance, species diversity and niche) and their sustainability. (Ch 6)
a. Describe the different levels at which nature can be studied starting
with the individual.
b. Describe native, exotic and invasive species. Give an example of each
(or characteristics of each)
c. What are two main categories of keystone species, describe each.
d. What are four factors that regulate the number and types of species?
What combination of these factors would produce the greatest variety?
e. Using the theory of island biogeography, what conditions would create
the highest number of species on an island?

12.Explain succession of organisms. (Ch6)

a. What types of plants are the first to move in after a volcanic eruption
covers an area with lava? What term describes these first plants?
b. What type of succession is described above?
c. Give an example of a secondary succession sequence.
d. Explain why plant species in a succession sequence change over time.
13.Discuss human population dynamics. (Ch7)
a. Which factors determine population change?
b. A duckweed population has a growth rate of 14% per week. What is
the doubling time for the population?
c. A town has a population of 25,000. The growth rate is 7% per year.
How many years until the population reaches 100,000 people?
d. Which factors can be used to measure population change?
e. If a town has a CBR of 11 per 1000 and a CDR of 8 per 1000 and an
immigration rate of 6 per 1000 and an emigration rate of 4 per 1000,
what is the percent growth rate?
f. What is TFR and what is the replacement level in developed countries?
g. What is the difference between an infant and a child?
h. Describe factors that increase/decrease fertility rates.
i. What factors affect death rates?
j. Sketch a histogram of a rapid growth population. A negative growth
population. A zero growth population.
k. Compare population issues between India, South Africa, and Japan.
l. Name the stages of demographic transition and explain what causes a
society to move from one stage to the next.
m. What three factors largely determine the impact of a country on the
environment.
n. Give an example of a local impact and global impact of agriculture.
o. How does rapid expansion of cities impact developed vs. developing
countries?