It was during his voyage on what ship that Darwin started to develop his ideas about evolution by natural selection?
The HMS Beagle
100
In community ecology, what is a +/+ relationship known as?
mutualism
100
In contrast to energy, ____________ (chemical elements required by living organisms) are largely recycled between organisms and the physical environment.
Nutrients
100
Hominins include every group in the human family tree since what evolutionary event (and when)?
The split from chimpanzees 6-7 million years ago
200
What is the largest terrestrial biome?
Boreal forest (taiga)
200
What is the unit at which evolution operates?
Populations
200
Phytoplankton -> krill -> crabeater seal -> killer whale
Which is the secondary consumer?
Crabeater seal
200
Energy captured by photosynthesis - energy spent on cellular respiration and other maintenance =
Net primary productivity (NPP)
200
Earth's energy balance depends in part on the amount of incoming radiation that is reflected. The reflectance of different surfaces is known as __________.
Albedo
300
True or false: Tundra is only found at high latitudes, and deserts are only found near the equator.
FALSE
300
What are the three characteristics required for a trait to become selected for in a population over time?
1) it must be variable in populations
2) it must increase fitness
3) it must be heritable
300
The extinction of woolly mammoths triggered changes in the tundra plant communities. Species that have a disproportionately large effect on their habitats are known as ____________.
Keystone species
300
What is the largest pool for phosphorus?
Rocks
300
NPP _______ with as latitude decreases.
increases
400
What is the main factor determining a region's climate?
Insolation (incoming solar radiation)
400
Name three homologous traits.
E.g., human arm, whale flipper, bat wing
400
What interaction between species explains the difference between the fundamental and the realized niche?
Competition
400
The Dead Zone in the Gulf of Mexico is caused by agricultural runoff of nitrogen, causing phytoplankton blooms that consume all the oxygen. This process is known as ________.
eutrophication
400
The conversion of molecular nitrogen in the atmosphere to ammonium ions available to living things is known as _________.
nitrogen fixation
500
The leeward side of a mountain is typically dry, due to a process known as the __________.
Rain shadow
500
List four lines of evidence supporting evolution.
DNA, homologous structures, the fossil record, embryology, adaptive traits (e.g., mimicry or camouflage).
500
The shape of a fish's jaw determines what it can eat. Researchers found that the jaws of two fish species were more similar when they lived in separate lakes than when they lived together. This increased difference is known as __________.
Character displacement
500
Flood prevention, prevention of soil erosion, and removal of heavy metals by wetland plants are all benefits to human life provided by natural systems. These are known collectively as ________________.
Ecosystem services
500
What German-born naturalist and illustrator's paintings of plants and insects helped revolutionize botany and entomology in the 17th century?