BIS 2B UC Davis Midterm 1 Exam Questions with Verified Solutions Graded A+
Ecology - Answers the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment.
Ecology's fundamental goal - Answers To assess the biological and physical factors that
determine the distribution and abundance of species.
Evolution - Answers A change in the properties of populations of organisms that transcend the
lifetime of a single individual.
Species Richness - Answers the number of species in a given area
Species Evenness - Answers The degree to which species are equally abundant
Species Diversity - Answers A measure that combines both richness and evenness
Two types of species - Answers Morphological and Biological
Morphological - Answers Individuals are grouped into species based on their similar appearance.
Pro: Practical and simple to apply, often reflects evolutionary relationships.
Con: Genetic variation within populations, changing morphology in response to environment
(plasticity), some species may look similar because they evolved those traits independently.
Plasticity - Answers Changing morphology in response to environment.
Biological Species - Answers Groups of actually or potentially interbreeding individuals that are
reproductively isolated from other such groups.
Pro: Clear biological and evolutionary meaning
Con: Difficult to apply in practice. Asexual don't interbreed, reproductive barriers hard to
recognize, potential inbreeding doesn't mean actual interbreeding.
Climate average and annual variation in ______ and _______ in a given region over the long-term. -
Answers Temperature and Precipitation
What determines Climate? - Answers Incident solar radiation (season and latitude)
, Air circulation driven by solar radiation and Earth's rotation.
Hadley Cells - Answers When the sun is directly overhead, the atmosphere is heated causing air
to rise, then the air cools. Cool air holds less moisture than warm air, so water precipitates out
and falls as rain.
Rain at equator, deserts at 30 N and S b/c of dry air.
Surface winds influenced by - Answers Earth's rotation
Incident radiation also changes with - Answers season
ITCZ Intertropical Convergence Zone - Answers the area of intense rainfall in Hadley Cell
circulation
Local variation in climate independent of latitude. - Answers The rainshadow:
Warm moist air goes up the mountain on the windward side, rising air cools and condenses and
rains, the dry air cools and sinks on the lee ward side.
Vegetation Changes - Answers Valley Grassland - foothil woodlands - yellow pine - lodgepole -
subalpine forest - red fir forest (highest) - woodland - scrub
Populations evolve in response to local climate - Answers Local adaption
Wallace's Line - Answers Biotic interchange and its limits (when the sea levels rise and fall to let
animals pass)
Methods of estimation - Answers Floras and Faunas
Extrapolation from sampling number of species in a defined area.
The species - area relationship - Answers S = cA^z
Works for estimating diversity in a single habitat type, but different taxonomic groups and
habitats have different 'c' and 'z' parameters.
Ecology - Answers the study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their
environment.
Ecology's fundamental goal - Answers To assess the biological and physical factors that
determine the distribution and abundance of species.
Evolution - Answers A change in the properties of populations of organisms that transcend the
lifetime of a single individual.
Species Richness - Answers the number of species in a given area
Species Evenness - Answers The degree to which species are equally abundant
Species Diversity - Answers A measure that combines both richness and evenness
Two types of species - Answers Morphological and Biological
Morphological - Answers Individuals are grouped into species based on their similar appearance.
Pro: Practical and simple to apply, often reflects evolutionary relationships.
Con: Genetic variation within populations, changing morphology in response to environment
(plasticity), some species may look similar because they evolved those traits independently.
Plasticity - Answers Changing morphology in response to environment.
Biological Species - Answers Groups of actually or potentially interbreeding individuals that are
reproductively isolated from other such groups.
Pro: Clear biological and evolutionary meaning
Con: Difficult to apply in practice. Asexual don't interbreed, reproductive barriers hard to
recognize, potential inbreeding doesn't mean actual interbreeding.
Climate average and annual variation in ______ and _______ in a given region over the long-term. -
Answers Temperature and Precipitation
What determines Climate? - Answers Incident solar radiation (season and latitude)
, Air circulation driven by solar radiation and Earth's rotation.
Hadley Cells - Answers When the sun is directly overhead, the atmosphere is heated causing air
to rise, then the air cools. Cool air holds less moisture than warm air, so water precipitates out
and falls as rain.
Rain at equator, deserts at 30 N and S b/c of dry air.
Surface winds influenced by - Answers Earth's rotation
Incident radiation also changes with - Answers season
ITCZ Intertropical Convergence Zone - Answers the area of intense rainfall in Hadley Cell
circulation
Local variation in climate independent of latitude. - Answers The rainshadow:
Warm moist air goes up the mountain on the windward side, rising air cools and condenses and
rains, the dry air cools and sinks on the lee ward side.
Vegetation Changes - Answers Valley Grassland - foothil woodlands - yellow pine - lodgepole -
subalpine forest - red fir forest (highest) - woodland - scrub
Populations evolve in response to local climate - Answers Local adaption
Wallace's Line - Answers Biotic interchange and its limits (when the sea levels rise and fall to let
animals pass)
Methods of estimation - Answers Floras and Faunas
Extrapolation from sampling number of species in a defined area.
The species - area relationship - Answers S = cA^z
Works for estimating diversity in a single habitat type, but different taxonomic groups and
habitats have different 'c' and 'z' parameters.
