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Introduction to Ecology Tests

Below is a description of the format used for BIO 412 exams and a few examples of the essay questions.

Terminology

Answer each. Each is worth 5 pts.

What follows in this section is a list of terms that you must define. A sentence is usually enough. Use sentences, as I will not read sentence fragments. A sentence is said to be a complete thought, so complete your thoughts as I will not do it for you (unless I can get some of the credit!).

Short Answer – write no more than 2-3 sentences.

Compare and contrast the following pairs of terms. Each is worth 5 pts.

This section uses pairs of related terms and you must do as instructed, compare and contrast them.

Examples:

Iteroparous - Semelparous

Natural Selection - Genetic Drift

Answer each with one or two sentences. Each is worth 5 pts.

These are standard short answer questions that will require only a sentence or two to answer.

Examples:

Why does a bottleneck event reduce genetic diversity within a population?

What is the relationship between genotype and phenotype (you can use the equation, but you must explain it English also)?

Essay

Choose only one part (a, b, c, etc.) of each numbered question to answer. Give as complete an answer as you can. Each is worth 10 pts.

These are like short answer questions but will require more than a couple of sentences to answer. Usually one or two paragraphs are needed (diagrams can be included as you wish). Sometimes the question is a problem and not an essay. For problems, you should show all work. If I can not see the work, and all I get is the final answer, then I can not give partial credit, even if I think I know what error was committed. If a problem requires one or more equations for its solution, you can look at the last page of the test. They will be listed there, as I don't think that memorization of equations is a fruitful task. As indicated above, the essays and problems are grouped into numbered questions, with each essay topic or problem given a letter designation. You will only have to answer one letter for each question.

Examples:

1.

A. Ecology employs more than one kind of experiment. What sorts of experiments are used? How do they differ from one another? Because there are different types, an ecologist has to choose which type to use when answering a question. Under what circumstances should one choose each of the kinds of experiments.

B. One population of fish has a constant 50:50 sex ratio, but has grown in size over the past three years (N_i = 100, 150, 200). A second population of the same species has been constant in size (N = 150), but has a 3F:1M sex ratio. Both are sexual diploid populations. In which population is the effect of genetic drift expected to be greater and why? No credit for answers without numbers to back them up.

C. Discuss the potential advantages and disadvantages of living in groups for animals.