Question 1: Define an adaptation and describe how it relates to natural selection.
Question 2: Describe the differences between stabilizing, disruptive, and directional selection.
Question 3: Explain how the effects of mutation, genetic drift, and gene flow influence the genetic variation of a population.
Question 4: Explain why the opening of stomata has both benefits and costs for plants in dry environments.
Question 5: Describe the differences in carbon acquisition between terrestrial and aquatic plants.
Question 6: Explain how the allocation of carbon to plant roots influences net carbon gain by plants.
Question 7: Define ectothermy, endothermy, poikilothermy, homeothermy, and heterothermy, and give examples of organisms that use each strategy.
Question 8: Discuss several strategies used by animals to maintain body temperatures within the thermoneutral zone during extreme cold and extreme heat.
Question 9: Discuss the physiological changes that occur in organisms when they go into daily or seasonal torpor.
Question 10: Discuss the three distribution patterns of individuals within a population and explain the conditions that give rise to each pattern.
Question 11: Describe several approaches used by ecologists to establish age structure for plant and animal populations.
Question 12: Some animals migrate daily, whereas others migrate seasonally. Give an example of each type of migration pattern and explain the benefit of this pattern to the organisms exhibiting it.
Question 13: Describe and illustrate exponential population growth. Under what conditions would exponential growth be expected to occur?
Question 14: Define four types of birthrates and reproductive rates. How are these related to the age of individuals and the growth rate of populations?
Question 15: Discuss five factors known to cause extinction. Which factor is considered the leading cause of current extinctions and why?