Question

1.How common is asymmetric competition in nature, and what does this finding tell us about coexistence of species?

2.Consider two adaptations: one is related to a physical factor of the environment (such as low temperature) and the other is related to a biological factor of the environment (such as a predator). Why is the adaptation to the physical environment more likely to remain stable through time than the adaptation to the biological factor?

3.Compare and contrast Batesian and Müllerian mimicry.

4.Is there an intermediate concept to the organisimal (holistic) and individualistic concepts of community organization? If so, present a clear and concise statement of this concept.

5.Ecologists have developed elegant theories, coupled with mathematical models, which enable us to determine when two competitors, or a predator and prey, can coexist. Are these theories and models readily transferred to the community level? Why or why not?

6.Compare and contrast the perspective on succession and climax supported by F. E. Clements with that supported by J. T. Curtis and R. P. McIntosh.

7.What did John Klironomos learn about the effects of local evolutionary adaptation when he grew combinations of plants and fungi that came from either the same or different areas?

8.How do biomass, productivity, and their ratio (biomass:productivity) change through a successional sere?

9.Vegetation structure and primary productivity both appear to determine diversity. Which seems to be more important?

10.How might predation be related to increased diversity in more productive habitats?

11.Why does the slope, z, of the species-area relationship, S = cAz, tend to be greater among islands of different sizes than among areas of different sizes on the mainland?

12.Although plant production general increases with increasing precipitation, Edward Schuur and colleagues found that production actually declines when precipitation exceeds 3000 mm (3 m)

13. Why does assimilation efficiency vary so widely among different kinds of animals?

14.Why is ecological efficiency not the same as gross production efficiency (the latter defined as the percentage of ingested energy converted into net production)?