Evolution in Ecology

What is the term scientists use to describe how reproductively successful an organism is in its environment?

• Adaptation

• Speciation

• Fitness

• Evolution

Answer explanation

Evolutionary fitness is the ability of an organism to survive, reproduce, and pass on its genes to its offspring.

- ability to survive (gather resources & keep safe)

• - ability to reproduce (biotic potential)
  

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-4

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

A species with a restricted tolerance for environmental conditions is 

• 1. Specialist

• Generalist

• Autotrophic

• 1. Highly competitive 

Answer explanation

Specialists speciate from generalists to minimalize competition. They are shaped by close and long-term evolutionary relationships. Specialists do extremely well in perfect conditions, but don't take well to environmental change or ecological disturbances.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

Which of the following is an interaction in which both organisms are harmed (-/-)?

• 1. Parasitism

• 1. Competition

• Mutualism

• Commensalism

Answer explanation

Competition [over resources] reduces the ability for that population to survive and reproduce. There are many examples of species who adapt to avoid competition, such as:
- symbiosis & coevolution

• - resource partitioning & displacement
  - generalist -> specialist transition in maturing ecosystems

Competition can be within a species (intraspecific) or between different species (interspecific).

On islands off the coast of Siberia, paleontologists have found the remains of pygmy mammoths. These populations were likely separated from mainland mammoth populations and became a new type of mammoth through allopatric adaptation.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

True - isolated groups are more likely to experience morphological change. Decreasing size is a common adaptation to limited resources, as smaller species usually need less food.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

NGSS.MS-LS4-2

NGSS.MS-LS4-4

If these are present in a new environment, a species is unlikely to become invasive

• 1. predators, parasites, and competitors

• 1. cane toads, kudzu, and zebra mussels

• 1. symbiotic and commensalist species

• 1. exotic species

Answer explanation

The more limiting factors against resources exist in an ecosystem, the less likely an introduced species can become an environmentally harmful invasive species.

Invasive species are often harmful because they outcompete and push out local species; even depleting resources over time to the point that their own population collapses.

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS2-4

Everything an organism does and when it does it” describes an organism’s 

• Tolerance

• Character Displacement

• Community

• Niche

Answer explanation

An ecological niche is like a job or role that a plant or animal has in its home. It includes what it eats, where it lives, and how it survives. Every living thing has its own special niche to help it fit into its environment.

Which of the following are two (2) interactions in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed (+/-)? 

• competition

• parasitism

• mutualism

• predation

• commensalism

Answer explanation

Competition (-/-)
Predation (+/-)
Parasitism (+/-)
Commensalism (+/o)
Mutualism (+/+)

Often these relationships between different species coevolve over time, with adaptations to better fit (+) or avoid (-) the interactions.

True or false? Mass extinctions occur gradually, one species at a time. 

• True

• False

Answer explanation

A mass extinction is global species loss of at least 75% within a short geological time period. There have been 5. 
1. Ordovician-Silurian Extinction (around 443 million years ago)
2. Late Devonian Extinction (around 359 million years ago)
3. Permian-Triassic Extinction (around 252-250 million years ago) "Great Dying"
4. Triassic-Jurassic Extinction (around 201-200 million years ago)
5. Cretaceous-Paleogene Extinction (around 66-65 million years ago)

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS4-1

The first level of all food pyramids

• 1. is made of primary producers

• 1. is made of organisms that use photosynthesis

• is made of tertiary consumers

• is made of organisms that use chemosynthesis

Answer explanation

Primary producers includes both organisms with photosynthesis and chemosynthesis

• - Plants, algae, & bacteria use Solar energy in photosynthesis

• - Some bacteria use chemical exchanges in chemosynthesis

Tags

NGSS.MS-LS1-6

NGSS.MS-LS2-3

Which of the following organisms is often a pioneer species?

• Fox

• Eagle

• Redwood tree

• Ants

Answer explanation

Pioneer species are organisms that are among the first to colonize or inhabit an area that has been disturbed or is undergoing ecological succession. They often help prepare the environment for other plant and animal species.

Common pioneer species include
- quick growing plants like moss, grass, ferns, and weeds
- quick-moving arthropods like ants, spiders, and beetles
- lichens
- bacteria and fungi decomposers