APES ~ Possible essay questions, Day 2 of Ch. 4-5 Test
1)
POPULATION GROWTH a) Drawings: Draw a J-shaped growth curve. Label both axes. Draw an S-shaped growth curve. Label both axes. Comprehension: Which curve, J or S, shows the present trend in global human population growth? Which curve, J or S, is “sustainable”? Explain your answer. Give two other names for a J-shaped growth curve. b) Describe two situations in nature in which you would expect to see each of these growth curves. c) How has human population growth affected the carrying capacity for some other species? d) What indications are there that the global human population has already exceeded Earth’s carrying capacity?
2)
ENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE Define biotic potential and environmental resistance. Why does environmental resistance increase as population size increases? List three density-dependent factors that help control populations. Explain how they do so. It seems as if a species’ population growth would be maximized if its reproductive strategy included both high biotic potential and high recruitment. Why is this not possible?
a) b) c) d)
3) SUCCESSION (from www. faculty.washington.edu): “Natural disturbances such as lava flows, landslides and glacial moraines, and humandamaged sites such as pavement, road edges and mine wastes often leave no soil or biological legacy...” a) What is succession? Which type of succession—primary or secondary— is relevant to the quote? Why? b) Trace the main steps of this type of succession. c) Contrast primary succession and secondary succession. d) Which type of succession has many open niches? Why? 4) a) b) c) d)
SPECIATION What are three possible outcomes of a species facing selective pressure? What is reproductive isolation, and how does it facilitate speciation? Explain the sequence of events presumed to occur during speciation. Compare and contrast gradualism and punctuated equilibrium.
