1) Explain why we typically find more species under conditions of intermediate disturbance compared to either rare or frequent disturbance. (Ch. 18)
2) Why might you expect communities with fewer species to contain fewer trophic levels? (Ch. 18)
3) How do ecologists distinguish between primary and secondary succession? (Ch. 19)
4) When using a chronosequence to document the pathway of succession, what are the assumptions? (Ch. 19)
5) Why should we not expect a single climax community within a biome? (Ch. 19)
6) Compare and contrast the concepts of facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance in the context of ecological succession. (Ch. 19)
7) When a community experiences succession, why does the species richness of a community initially increase, then plateau, and finally decline? (Ch. 19)
8) Why do early- and late-successional species tend to possess different adaptations? (Ch. 19)
9) Why is the efficiency of energy transfer between two trophic levels generally quite low? (Ch. 20)
10) How do ecologists distinguish between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity? (Ch. 20)
11) Compare and contrast the measurement of primary productivity in terrestrial vs. aquatic systems. (Ch. 20)
12) What factors limit the net primary productivity of terrestrial systems? (Ch. 20)
1) Explain why we typically find more species under conditions of intermediate disturbance compared to either rare or frequent disturbance. (Ch. 18)
2) Why might you expect communities with fewer species to contain fewer trophic levels? (Ch. 18)
3) How do ecologists distinguish between primary and secondary succession? (Ch. 19)
4) When using a chronosequence to document the pathway of succession, what are the assumptions? (Ch. 19)
5) Why should we not expect a single climax community within a biome? (Ch. 19)
6) Compare and contrast the concepts of facilitation, inhibition, and tolerance in the context of ecological succession. (Ch. 19)
7) When a community experiences succession, why does the species richness of a community initially increase, then plateau, and finally decline? (Ch. 19)
8) Why do early- and late-successional species tend to possess different adaptations? (Ch. 19)
9) Why is the efficiency of energy transfer between two trophic levels generally quite low? (Ch. 20)
10) How do ecologists distinguish between gross primary productivity and net primary productivity? (Ch. 20)
11) Compare and contrast the measurement of primary productivity in terrestrial vs. aquatic systems. (Ch. 20)
12) What factors limit the net primary productivity of terrestrial systems? (Ch. 20)
