EEB 2244 Final Exam
Study Guide
Biogeography - Answer geography of biodiversity, past and present
(history of taxonomic lineages across space and time)
(Global and continental scales)
Landscape ecology - Answer influence of the composition and arrangement of habitats
across a large spatial area
Habitat heterogeneity - Answer reflects recent and historical events caused by natural
and human forces
Legacy effects - Answer long-term effects of past events on current ecology (glaciation,
ancient human settlements)
Alpha diversity - Answer number of species in a relatively small area
(local)
Beta diversity - Answer number of species differing between two (local) habitats
Gamma diversity - Answer number of species in all habitats of a large geographic area
Ecosystem engineers - Answer species that have a disproportionate effect (relative to
their biomass) on landscapes
Species-area relationship - Answer larger areas contain more species
MacArthur & Wilson
Pangea - Answer single landmass 250 million years ago
Gondwana - Answer now South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India
Laurasia - Answer now North America, Europe, and Asia
Continental drift - Answer allowed individual continents independently to evolve groups
of organisms for long periods
Vicariance - Answer splitting of a widely distributed ancestral population by continental
drift
, Primary productivity - Answer rate at which energy is captured and converted into
chemical bonds by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
Gross primary production (GPP) - Answer total energy acquired via photo- or
chemosynthesis
Respiration (R) - Answer uses oxygen to release chemical energy to drive cellular
processes
Net primary productivity (NPP) - Answer energy converted to producer biomass
(what is left after respiration)
Assimilated energy - Answer energy that a consumer digests and absorbs
(consumed - egested (pooped) energy)
(gross secondary production (GSP))
Net secondary production (NSP) - Answer energy converted to consumer biomass
(assimilated energy left after respiration)
NPP - Answer GPP - R =___
NSP - Answer GSP - R =____
Consumption efficiency - Answer of the "food" available some is consumed, some is not
(consumed energy)/(net production energy of the next lower trophic level)
Assimilation efficiency - Answer of the food that is consumed some is assimilated, the
rest is egested (pooped out)
(assimilated energy)/(consumed energy)
Net production efficiency - Answer of food assimilated, some is used for growth &
reproduction, the rest is lost through respiration
(net production energy)/(assimilated energy)
Ecological efficiency - Answer net production from one trophic level compared to the
next lower trophic level
(net production energy of a trophic level)/(net production energy of the next lower
trophic level)
Study Guide
Biogeography - Answer geography of biodiversity, past and present
(history of taxonomic lineages across space and time)
(Global and continental scales)
Landscape ecology - Answer influence of the composition and arrangement of habitats
across a large spatial area
Habitat heterogeneity - Answer reflects recent and historical events caused by natural
and human forces
Legacy effects - Answer long-term effects of past events on current ecology (glaciation,
ancient human settlements)
Alpha diversity - Answer number of species in a relatively small area
(local)
Beta diversity - Answer number of species differing between two (local) habitats
Gamma diversity - Answer number of species in all habitats of a large geographic area
Ecosystem engineers - Answer species that have a disproportionate effect (relative to
their biomass) on landscapes
Species-area relationship - Answer larger areas contain more species
MacArthur & Wilson
Pangea - Answer single landmass 250 million years ago
Gondwana - Answer now South America, Africa, Antarctica, Australia, and India
Laurasia - Answer now North America, Europe, and Asia
Continental drift - Answer allowed individual continents independently to evolve groups
of organisms for long periods
Vicariance - Answer splitting of a widely distributed ancestral population by continental
drift
, Primary productivity - Answer rate at which energy is captured and converted into
chemical bonds by photosynthesis or chemosynthesis
Gross primary production (GPP) - Answer total energy acquired via photo- or
chemosynthesis
Respiration (R) - Answer uses oxygen to release chemical energy to drive cellular
processes
Net primary productivity (NPP) - Answer energy converted to producer biomass
(what is left after respiration)
Assimilated energy - Answer energy that a consumer digests and absorbs
(consumed - egested (pooped) energy)
(gross secondary production (GSP))
Net secondary production (NSP) - Answer energy converted to consumer biomass
(assimilated energy left after respiration)
NPP - Answer GPP - R =___
NSP - Answer GSP - R =____
Consumption efficiency - Answer of the "food" available some is consumed, some is not
(consumed energy)/(net production energy of the next lower trophic level)
Assimilation efficiency - Answer of the food that is consumed some is assimilated, the
rest is egested (pooped out)
(assimilated energy)/(consumed energy)
Net production efficiency - Answer of food assimilated, some is used for growth &
reproduction, the rest is lost through respiration
(net production energy)/(assimilated energy)
Ecological efficiency - Answer net production from one trophic level compared to the
next lower trophic level
(net production energy of a trophic level)/(net production energy of the next lower
trophic level)
