Reference no: EM132831123
Community Ecology
Ecology is the study of how organisms interact with their environment. For example, ecologists study animals and plants to try to work out why particular species may be increasing, or decreasing in numbers. They also look at how individual species are affected by the organisms around them.
A) Web site name: FSCJ
Read "Symbiosis in the Forest"
1). What is "symbiosis"?
2). What is "mutualism"?
3). What are "obligate symbionts"?
Click on "Go to example of ant-acacia"
4). What benefit does each organism obtain from this relationship?
a) the ant benefits from
b) the plant benefits from
Click on "Go to example of lichens"
5). How does this relationship benefit the :
a) fungus b) alga
6). Explain the difference between endomycorrhizae and ectomycorrhizae:
Click on "Go to intro page"
7). What is "commensalism"?
Many ecological studies look at how predators catch their prey, and how the prey tries to avoid ending up as a meal.
B) Web site name: Science Daily
Read "Non-native snakes"
8). What is the scientific name for the Burmese python?
9). Why are these snakes particularly hazardous to native birds?
10). How many Burmese pythons were collected during this study? ___________
11). Which five bird species that were eaten by the snakes are species of special concern, or federally endangered?
12). Why is it hard to control the population of these Burmese pythons?
Ecologists often look at natural "disasters" such as the volcanic eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980, to see the effect on local plants and animals.
C) Web site name: Volcanic violence
Read "Lessons from the wasteland"
13). What are "pyroclastic flows"? ____________________________________
14). List two ways that organisms survived the eruption:
15). What are examples of "disturbances"?
16). Which animals helped mix seeds with ash and soil? ____________________
17). Why was recovery much different from what ecologists had predicted?
18). When did Krakatau explode? __________________________________
19). List three methods that organisms use to colonize islands:
20). Why does the number of species eventually stabilize?
21). How many species of bats have recolonized Krakatau? ___________
22). How are pioneer plants dispersed? ________________________________
Recently there has been some concern about a decline in the numbers of amphibians ( such as frogs and toads ) that seems to be worldwide.
D) Web site name: Amphibia Web
Read "Worldwide Amphibian Declines"
23). What percentage of amphibian species are theatened? _______ %
24). Which three areas of the world have suffered the most declines?
25). What are the three main reasons for the decline of amphibians ?
_____________________________________________________________
26). Click on one factor in Table 1 and summarize the information:
_____________________________________________________________
27). Click on a different factor in Table 1 and summarize the information:
28). Does it matter if amphibians are declining? Explain your answer.
29). One solution to reverse amphibian declines is: _______________________
Ecologists often study particular habitats, such as wetlands. The following article looks at the loss of wetlands in the US.
E) Web site name: National Geographic magazine
Read "Deadly brain disease is driving swamp birds insane"
30). How is the snail kite adapted for feeding specifically on snails?
31). Why did Florida's native apple snails decline?
32). How did exotic apple snails get into Florida's waterways? ____________________________________________________________
33). Why is AVM difficult to observe?
34). Which aquatic plant does the toxic algae prefer to grow on? _____________
35). Why is Susan Wilde particularly worried about Lake Toho? _____________________________________________________________
36). How did Wilde test to see if Lake Toho hydrilla could be a problem for birds?
37). Why is it hard to tell if snail kites have been killed by AVM?
Attachment:- Community Ecology.rar