Chapter Questions
How did the volcanoes in Iceland and the Philippines change the environment to lesser or greater extents?
Name and describe the attributes of the two categories into which all organisms can be divided based on how they obtain nutrition.
Name and describe the roles of the three main trophic categories that make up the biotic structure of every ecosystem. Give examples of organisms from each category.
Give four categories of consumers in an ecosystem and the role that each plays.
Describe different members of the decomposition food web.
Differentiate among the concepts of food chain, food web, and trophic levels.
Relate the concept of the biomass pyramid to the fact that all heterotrophs depend on autotrophic production.
Describe how differences in climate cause Earth to be partitioned into major biomes.
What are three situations that might cause microclimates to develop within an ecosystem?
Identify and describe the biotic and the abiotic components of the biome of the region in which you live.
Define the terms ecological succession and climax ecosystem. How do disturbances allow for ecological succession?
What role may fire play in ecological succession, and how may fire be used in the management of certain ecosystems?
What is meant by ecosystem resilience? What can cause it to fail? How does this relate to environmental tipping points?
What is meant by the term stakeholder? How does ecosystem management involve stakeholders?
Succinctly describe ecosystem management. How is it related to sustainability?
Can ecosystems be restored? What has to happen for that to work?
How much of Earth's primary productivity is used or preempted by humans?
What are two ways that the reintroduction of wolves altered the ecosystems of Yellowstone National Park?