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Population size

Competition Succession/Symbiosis

Population Growth

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$100 Question: Food ChainsOrganisms, such as plants, that make their own food are called________? Organisms, such as animals, that cannot make their own food are called _________?

a. autotrophs, heterotrophs.b. heterotrophs, autotrophs.c. producers, decomposers.d. decomposers, consumers.

$100 Answer: Food Chains

a. Autotrophs, heterotrophs.

$200 Question: Food ChainsRank the following in order from largest to smallest: Organism; ecosystem; community; biome; biosphere; population.


Organism, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere.

$300 Question: Food Chains

Put the following into a food chain:Deer, wildflower, fungus, vulture.Which of these are producers? Consumers? Decomposers?


Wildflower --> deer --> vulture

Fungus

Producer: wildflowerConsumer: deer, vulture

Decomposer: fungus

$400 Question: Food ChainsWhich level of an ecosystem would likely have the highest levels of accumulated toxins: producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers or tertiary consumers? Explain your answer!

$400 Answer: Food ChainsThird level or tertiary consumers; these organisms are more likely to have accumulated biotoxins because they eat higher on the food chain – therefore what they eat has accumulted trace toxins from the producers and primary consumers, concentrating these toxins in tertriary consumers.

$500 Question: Food ChainsScientists discover fossils of a large tortoise that lived on a small island group in the Pacific. The tortoise was likely the biggest animal on the island. Based on your knowledge of energy transfer in ecosystems, predict whether the tortoise was an herbivore, carnivore or omnivore. EXPLAIN your reasoning.

$500 Answer: Food ChainsThe tortoise was probably an herbivore, since it would need to eat relatively low on the food chain to obtain the energy it needed to sustain its large body size (think elephants, moose and other large herbivores). Also, all tortoises are herbivores :).

$100 Question: Population Size

What is sampling?

$100 Answer: Population SizeSampling is estimating a population’s size by counting a number of organismsin a given area, then using that numberto estimate the total number of organisms.


You need to estimate the number of oak trees in Rock Creek Park. Which of the following methods would NOT work?A. SamplingB. CensusC. Mark and release.

$200 Answer: Population Size

C. Mark and release.


A scientist wants to estimate the number of white perch inthe Potomac River. He catches 50 perch and marks them, and then releases them into the river. Later, he catches 100 fish, 2 of which have a tag. What is the approximate numberof white perch in the river?

$300 Answer: Population Size

50 x 100 = 2,500 white perch 2.

$400 Question: Population SizeWhat are two drawbacks to using a census tocount population size? What are two drawbacks to using mark and release methodto count population size?

$400 Answer: Population SizeA.It is difficult to ensure that you count every organism in a given area; depending on birth and death rates, organisms may be born/die during the census.B. Marks may fall off organisms; those initially tagged and recaptured may be more likely to be caught than others.

$500 Question: Population SizeYou are tasked with counting the number of people in the D.C. metropolitan area. Describe TWO methods you could use to do this and the benefits and drawbacks of each.

$500 Answer: Population SizeCensus and sampling. The census could be difficult because of frequent immigration to and emigration from the region. In addition, there may be certain populations (those without fixed addresses, illegal immigrants) who cannot be counted easily. The benefit is that you would theoretically count everyone. Sampling could be difficult because of variable population densities and the same reasons as above. The benefit is that it would take less time and be less expensive than taking a census.

$100 Question: CompetitionConsidering the advances in fishing technology, which of these is the best reason for a country to limit fishing to only a short season during the year?A. to leave enough fish to replenish the fish populationB. to better regulate the tourist industryC. to keep fishermen from using new technologyD. to discourage the use of fish as a source of protein

$100 Answer: Competition

A. to leave enough fish to replenish the fish population

$200 Question: CompetitionDescribe what is meant by “the Tragedy of the Commons.”

$200 Answer: Competition

The Tragedy of the Commons results frommisuse of publicly available resources, Particularly when those resources are over-Exploited and diminished for all users.

$300 Question: CompetitionCompare and contrast: -Intraspecific and interspecific competition.-Abiotic and biotic resources.-Density-dependent and density independent limiting factors.

How can each limit population growth?

$300 Answer: CompetitionIntraspecific competition is within a species; interspecific competition is between species.Abiotic resources are resources that have never lived (water, sunlight, etc.); biotic factors are living (competition, predation, food supplies, nesting sites/habitats in trees, etc.)Density-dependent factors tend to be biotic (competition, etc., or limiting abiotic resources – plants competing over sunlight, water, etc.); density-independent factors tend to be natural disasters or other events that limit populations regardless of numbers.

Answers will vary.

$400 Question: Competition In the graph below, humans are predators and fish species are prey.What can we conclude about the influence of the predator populationon the prey population? About the influence of the prey population on predator population?

$400 Answer: CompetitionThe prey population decreases as the predator population increases and vice versa. The more humans there are, thefewer fish there are; the more fish,the fewer humans.

$500 Question: Competition

PRIMARY Moose Elk Deer Beaver Insects Rabbit

Willows Aspen

Hawks Coyotes Songbirds

Grasses

Describe the effect that an increased number of moose would have on the number of songbirds in the following food web:

$500 Answer: CompetitionMoose eat willows, which serve as food for insects. More moose means fewer willows, fewer insects and fewer songbirds. Songbirds also use willows as nesting sites, so decreasing the number of willows also will directly effect the songbird populations.

$100 Question: Succession/ Symbiosis

What is mutualism?

$100 Answer: Succession/ Symbiosis

The relationship between two organisms of different species (or two populations) where both benefit.


A disturbance clears an ecosystem. What are the first two stages of succession? What organisms are likely to move into the area?


Establishment phase and exclusion phase. Pioneer species such as grasses and small plants move into the area, or existing seeds sprout. During the exclusion phase, weedy, fast-growing species move in and out-compete the initial grasses for limiting factors such as water and light. Accompanying animals, such as insects and herbivores, move in as well.


Termites rely on protozoans (single-celled organisms) living in their guts to help them digest cellulose, a carbohydrate found in wood. In return, the protozoan obtains a host and nutrients. Is this mutualism, commensalism or parasitism? How do you know?


Mutualism, because both species benefit from the relationship.


Mount Saint Helens, in the Cascade mountains, is an active volcano that erupted in 1980. What kind of succession would the local ecosystem have to undergo in order to be restored? Explain your answer.


Both primary and secondary succession would have to occur. Lava would coat the area in bare rock surface that would have to be processed back into soil. Areas that were covered in volcanic ash (different from lava) or otherwise cleared without removing/covering soil would undergo secondary succession.


Coral have symbionts (organisms living in them) called zooxanthallae, which perform photosynthesis. Speculate on whether you believe this is a parasitic, commensal, or mutualistic relationship and explain why.


The zoozanthallae are algae that photosynthesize. While the coral benefit from the sugars provided by the algae, it is unclear whether the algae obtain any benefit from this relationship, and is perhaps harmed by it. Therefore, it is unclear whether the relationship is mutualistic, commensal or parasitic, with the coral exploiting the algae.

$100 Question: Population Growth

What is carrying capacity?

$100 Answer: Population Growth

The number of organisms of one species that an environment can support indefinitely.


In which type of growth does carrying carrying capacity play a role? What are some factors that cause population growth to stay around carrying capacity?

$200 Answer: Population GrowthLogistic growth. Factors include limitedBiotic and abiotic resources such as prey,competition, space, water, etc.


A single bacterium undergoes binary fission (cell division in bacteria), producing 2 bacteria. Each of these then undergoes binary fission. Their offspring undergo binary fission. How many bacteria will result from the last round of binary fission? GRAPH your answer.

$300 Answer: Population Growth

Number of Bacteria

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

0 1 2 3

Number of Bacteria

8


Why does a population, once it reaches its carrying capacity, fluctuate above and below that carrying capacity, rather than remaining steady?

$400 Answer: Population GrowthPopulations grow until they reach carrying capacity, which shows the effect of limiting factors on the population. Once the population exceeds carrying capacity, limiting resources such as food, space, water, light, etc., will become scare and therefore the population will have a higher death than birth rate, decreasing it to below carrying capacity, upon which those resources become more available, allowing the population to once again increase.


Has the human population reached carrying capacity? Justify your answer in at least a paragraph. Your answer should include a definition of carrying capacity and an explanation of factors that could limit human population growth.

$500 Answer: Population GrowthCarrying capacity: The maximum number of organisms in a population an ecosystem can support without degrading its resources.

Limiting factors: Space, food supply (agriculture, fishing, etc.), fossil fuels, clean water, etc.

Answers will vary.

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