The exam time-period allotted
for your use is 2.5 hours (150 minutes) in total.
You may anticipate, on
the final exam, approximately the following pattern of questions:
5-mark (about a quarter-page each) type: 4-6
10-mark (half-page each) type: 3 or 4
15-mark (full-page each) type: 3 or 4
20-mark (one full page and half of an additional page):
1
Bear in mind that in
addition to questions arising from the lecture material, you will definitely
get one of the tutorial-topic-3-assigned textbook questions as a full-page
question.
Bring with you to the exam: writing equipment (multiple ink-colours likely to
be useful) and erasing-equipment, a ruler, a pencil (for outlining/planning
answers), and your student ID card.
Do not bring: a calculator (you don’t need one), notes or texts, functioning
cellphones.
Please note: cellphones, pagers, text-messaging devices, PDAs, etc. may not be used as replacements for clocks and wristwatches. No such devices shall be in
your possession during the exam. If you do not have a timepiece to use, you
may ask invigilators for time-checks whenever necessary.
These hours are in
addition to my normally posted hours. Red update made at 630PM Tue 6th.
Wed 7 April, 11:00 AM –
3:00 PM ; Thu 8 April, 11:00 AM –
5:00 PM ;
Mon
12 April, 11:00 AM – 3:00 PM ; these Monday hours in Biol Sci rm 2449,
knock
at outside door for entry, a pink sign will be visible on the glass door.
Define, or explain
briefly (some from before midterm):
1. Geochemical nutrient cycle
2. Biochemical nutrient cycle
3. Biogeochemical nutrient cycle
4. R* (pronounced R-star)
5.
Greenhouse effect
6. Acid precipitation
7.
Endemic species
8.
Primary and secondary succession
9.
Trophic level
10. Keystone species
11. Competitive Dominant
12. Describe, and
briefly explain the biology of, any
one method of measuring primary production.
13. Outline briefly the arguments
involved in the SLOSS (Single Large Or Several Small) reserve debate.
14. Define and briefly
explain the term “integrated pest management”.
15. [Answer both
sections i and ii.] Why are
decomposition-rates:
[i] extremely high in tropical rainforest? (5 marks)
[ii] low in Arctic tundra? (5 marks)
16. Make an
argument to show how global warming could lead to:
rising
sea levels (5 marks);
falling
sea levels (5 marks).
17. Outline
and explain the advantages and disadvantages of physical
(=mechanical) methods of biological control; you may use examples if you wish,
but an example is not in itself an explanation.
18.
What makes up an “ecosystem-services” argument for biological conservation?
Your answer should both define and explain the term
and its applications.
19.
[Answer all sections i – iii.] “Seasonality” does not always mean
“spring/summer/autumn/winter”; many locations in the tropics experience a wet
season (often 3-4 months in duration) and a dry season (the rest of the
year), with temperatures warm throughout (averaging about 28C).
[i] What general vegetation-type(s) would you expect to observe in such a
climate? Explain, and state your assumptions; you are of course not
expected to name example plant species! (5 marks)
[ii] Would you expect generally r-type, or generally K-type,
species to predominate in such a climate? Explain and justify. (5 marks)
[iii] How important a role would you expect herbivory to play in the
energy-flow of communities in this wet/dry climate? Explain briefly. (5
marks)
20.
[Answer all sections i - iii.] An aquatic ecologist
investigated succession in an alpine pond on Mt. Seymour. The pond contained no
attached photoautotrophs; instead, the pond floor was colonized by two types of
filter-feeding animals (which fed on bacteria and phytoplankton): a freshwater sponge, the pioneer
colonizer of surfaces; and a bryozoan,
a typical later-successional species. These filter-feeders were eaten by
a harpactacoid copepod, a crustacean predator.
A natural (unmanipulated) time-sequence in such a pond would be: first, sponges
eaten by copepods; next, both sponges and bryozoans eaten by copepods; and
finally, bryozoans eaten by copepods. The ecologist observed the following
results in three manipulated treatment plot types, each involving the removal
of one player in the system:
plot type 1.
sponges continuously removed -
bryozoans and copepods coexist.
plot type 2.
bryozoans continuously removed -
sponges and copepods coexist for a while, then all
sponges are eaten and copepods starve.
plot type 3.
copepods continuously removed -
sponges present (no bryozoans).
[i] what successional mechanism best accounts
for these results? Explain your reasoning. (3 marks)
[ii] how would you describe the role of the copepod
in this system? (3 marks)
[iii]
describe briefly a further experimental test you could do to
check the correctness of the claim you made about mechanism in section [i]
above. Be sure to explain the theoretical basis for doing it. (9 marks)
Some other questions requiring the same
(one-page) length of answer would be the following examples drawn from Krebs: 4.2
; 22.3 ; 26.11 ; 27.9 ; 28.9
21. [Answer all sections i-iv.] Historically, elephants Loxodonta africana have wandered grassland habitats all over
Africa; today, after decades of hunting and habitat-alteration, they are found
only in a few eastern and southern areas of the continent. Elephants not only
fascinate observers, but also perform important ecological functions as unintended
consequences of their behaviour: for instance, they break down thorn-thickets
while feeding (thus keeping grassland open), and they dig for drinking-water
during the dry season (the holes later being used as waterholes by other
species). Thus, they are often considered worth conserving.
[i]
outline a plan for protecting a healthy elephant population in east Africa
(Kenya/Tanzania), on the open range-land ( 25,000 km2) of those countries. State any assumptions. (10 marks)
[ii] how would your plan of part [i]
be different if you were told to keep the elephants in a fenced region
of approximately 15% of the total range-land area? State any assumptions. (5 marks)
[iii]
how would
your plans of parts [i] and [ii] be different
if you were told to ensure that elephants would be available for viewing
by busloads of eco-tourists, daily, throughout the year? (5 marks)
An
alternative 20-mark question would involve drawing a Tilman model (given R*
values for several species), and based on their equal-limitation vectors and
given habitat types, predicting the outcomes of competition. Please ask during
office hours if you wish to practice this type of question.