Study Guide Exam #3 S’08 Choose one from each of the following chapter and answer it in short essay form.
Chapter 7
- The introduction to chapter 7 included sketches of the behavior and social systems of several fish species (Damselfish and Bluehead wrasse). Using the concepts that you have learned in the chapter, revisit those examples and predict the forms of sexual selection (intrasexual and/or intersexual selection) occurring in each species.
- Using the studies of Kodric-Brown and Thornhill, compare guppy and scorpionfly mating systems. Pay particular attention to the potential roles of intersexual and intrasexual selection in each species. What are the similarities between the two species? What are some apparent differences?
- Behavioral ecologists have argued that naked mole rats are eusocial. What are the major characteristics of eusociality and which of those characteristics are shared by naked mole rats?
Chapter 9
- Explain the distribution of Macropodidea (Kangaroo) species M. giganteus, M. fuliginosus and M. rufus ( grey, western grey and red kangaroo) in Australia. Why are there limited numbers of either type found in the northern end? What would happen if the climate changed and caused the northern end to be similar to that seen in the Savana?
- What kinds of interactions within an animal population lead to clumped distributions? What kinds of interactions foster a regular distribution? What kinds of interactions would you expect to find within an animal population distributed in a random pattern? Give examples of each.
- How might the structure of the environment, for example, the distributions of different soil types and soil moisture, affect the patterns of distribution in plant populations? How should interactions among plants affect their distributions?
Chapter 10
- How does dispersal range change in response to climate and resource change? Give examples.
- Dispersal takes place within established populations whose ranges are not changing. Explain how movement within established range can be an important aspect of local population dynamics. Give examples.
- Why might a species such as the Eurasian collared dove be less threatened by rapid climate change than hemlock or maple trees? And contrast human influences on metapopulations of the Rocky Mountain Parnassian butterfly versus the lesser kestrels of the Erbo River valley Northest Spain.