1
Ecol111 Final Exam Questions with Answers (100%
Correct Answers)
Ecology Answer: the scientific study of the distribution and abundance
of organisms and of the interactions that determine distribution and
abundance
Intertidal Answer: occasionally under water
subtidal Answer: always under water
supratidal Answer: only under water during ectreme flood or spring
tide
fitness Answer: a quantitative representation of individual
reproductive success -- how good a particular geno/phenotype is at
leaving offspring
allee effect Answer: a correlation between population size or denstiy
and the mean individual fitness -- so all organisms have a minimum
population density required to breed
fecundity Answer: an individual's reproductive capacity
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,2
gradient Answer: a change in a parameter or a suite of parameters
through space or time (temp, irradiance, water depth)
torpor vs hibernation Answer: reduced metabolic activities daily or for
long periods
niche Answer: all parts of a variable's range where the organism's
performance is good enough that it survives
estuary Answer: junction of a river with the ocean
hydroperiod Answer: number of days per year that an area of land is
wet or the length of time that there is standing water at a location
MAP Answer: Mean Annual Precipitation
biomes Answer: structurally and functionally similar vegetation
formations that are defined without reference to plant species
convergent evolution Answer: the process whereby organisms that are
not closely related evolve similar triats as a result of habing to adapt to
similar environments or ecological niches
apline zone Answer: the zone between the treeline and the permanent
snowline (0km at poles, 4km at equator)
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,3
endemic Answer: native and restricted to a certain place
open population Answer: immigration from unknown source,
population that is able to gain and lose outside members differentiate
populations over time, not geographically isolated
closed population Answer: no migratory flow in or out, so that
changes in the population occur through births and deaths only
migration movement (sources, sinks) Answer: source -- lots of
movement out of area
sink -- lots of movement to an area
dispersal among patches assures long term viability
interspecific competition Answer: process by which individuals of one
species suffer reduction in fecundity, suvivorship, or growth as a result
of the presence or activities of a second species (due to resources being
finite)
2 types -- exploitation, interference
exploitation competition Answer: indirect competition through shared
resources
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interference competition Answer: direct competition involving one
species actively preventing access to resources or inhibiting growth or
survival of another species
meta-population Answer: the overall popualtion divided into
subpopulations by the patchiness of the environment
ecolgical communities Answer: set of two or more populations of
different species occupying the same area (distribution, patchiness,
dispersal, and interactions affects the make-up of communities
comapred to other communities)
food web Answer: consists of all organisms within a community and
the feeding connections among them
keystone species Answer: highly connected species with effects on the
community that are disproportionately large relative to their
abundance
species diversity Answer: more species richness and more species
evenness
islands (ecology def) Answer: patches of suitable habitat in a 'sea' of
inhospitable conditions
© 2025 All rights reserved
Ecol111 Final Exam Questions with Answers (100%
Correct Answers)
Ecology Answer: the scientific study of the distribution and abundance
of organisms and of the interactions that determine distribution and
abundance
Intertidal Answer: occasionally under water
subtidal Answer: always under water
supratidal Answer: only under water during ectreme flood or spring
tide
fitness Answer: a quantitative representation of individual
reproductive success -- how good a particular geno/phenotype is at
leaving offspring
allee effect Answer: a correlation between population size or denstiy
and the mean individual fitness -- so all organisms have a minimum
population density required to breed
fecundity Answer: an individual's reproductive capacity
© 2025 All rights reserved
,2
gradient Answer: a change in a parameter or a suite of parameters
through space or time (temp, irradiance, water depth)
torpor vs hibernation Answer: reduced metabolic activities daily or for
long periods
niche Answer: all parts of a variable's range where the organism's
performance is good enough that it survives
estuary Answer: junction of a river with the ocean
hydroperiod Answer: number of days per year that an area of land is
wet or the length of time that there is standing water at a location
MAP Answer: Mean Annual Precipitation
biomes Answer: structurally and functionally similar vegetation
formations that are defined without reference to plant species
convergent evolution Answer: the process whereby organisms that are
not closely related evolve similar triats as a result of habing to adapt to
similar environments or ecological niches
apline zone Answer: the zone between the treeline and the permanent
snowline (0km at poles, 4km at equator)
© 2025 All rights reserved
,3
endemic Answer: native and restricted to a certain place
open population Answer: immigration from unknown source,
population that is able to gain and lose outside members differentiate
populations over time, not geographically isolated
closed population Answer: no migratory flow in or out, so that
changes in the population occur through births and deaths only
migration movement (sources, sinks) Answer: source -- lots of
movement out of area
sink -- lots of movement to an area
dispersal among patches assures long term viability
interspecific competition Answer: process by which individuals of one
species suffer reduction in fecundity, suvivorship, or growth as a result
of the presence or activities of a second species (due to resources being
finite)
2 types -- exploitation, interference
exploitation competition Answer: indirect competition through shared
resources
© 2025 All rights reserved
, 4
interference competition Answer: direct competition involving one
species actively preventing access to resources or inhibiting growth or
survival of another species
meta-population Answer: the overall popualtion divided into
subpopulations by the patchiness of the environment
ecolgical communities Answer: set of two or more populations of
different species occupying the same area (distribution, patchiness,
dispersal, and interactions affects the make-up of communities
comapred to other communities)
food web Answer: consists of all organisms within a community and
the feeding connections among them
keystone species Answer: highly connected species with effects on the
community that are disproportionately large relative to their
abundance
species diversity Answer: more species richness and more species
evenness
islands (ecology def) Answer: patches of suitable habitat in a 'sea' of
inhospitable conditions
© 2025 All rights reserved
