Ecology and Evolution Overview

Ecology and Evolution

• Ecology is the study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.
• Levels of ecology range from organisms to ecosystems.
• Major physical components of climate include temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind.
• Terrestrial biomes vary based on temperature and precipitation, creating distinct ecosystems. Examples include tundra, temperate deciduous forest, savanna, etc.
• Aquatic environments include freshwater (lakes, rivers) and marine (oceans, coral reefs).
• Abiotic factors are non-living (e.g., sunlight, water). Biotic factors are living (e.g., plants, animals).
• Dispersal can influence species distribution, affecting their ability to colonize new habitats.
• Climate change impacts species distributions by altering suitable habitats and affecting migration patterns.
• Ecological and evolutionary processes influence each other, with natural selection shaping populations within their environments.
• Population density is the number of individuals per unit area, while population distribution refers to the spatial arrangement of individuals.
• Indirect methods for calculating population size include mark-recapture studies.
• Survivorship curves illustrate the probability of survival over time, with Type I showing high survivorship throughout life (e.g., humans), Type II showing constant mortality throughout life (e.g., rodents), Type III showing low survivorship in early life (e.g., oysters).
• Exponential growth increases at a constant rate, while logistic growth is limited by carrying capacity.
• Life history traits describe aspects of an organism's life, like age of maturity, lifespan, and reproduction.
• K-selected species have few offspring and long life spans, while r-selected species have many offspring and shorter life spans. Compare these in a way that shows what traits result and are prioritized when one is selected over the other
• Density-independent factors influence population size regardless of density (e.g., natural disasters), and density-dependent factors are influenced by population density (e.g., disease).
• Interspecific interactions occur between different species, and intraspecific interactions occur between individuals of the same species.
• Examples of (+/-), (-,-), (+, 0), and (+/+) interactions. Examples of competitive exclusion and resource partitioning
• Exploitative interactions include predation, parasitism, and herbivory.
• Prey adaptations for avoiding predation include camouflage, mimicry, and defense mechanisms.
• Food chains show a linear flow of energy, while food webs show the complex interactions in a community. Explain the concept of a trophic level and give examples. What is a keystone species.
• Energy transfer between trophic levels is inefficient, with energy lost as heat.
• The water cycle describes the continuous movement of water through the environment.
• The carbon cycle describes the movement of carbon through the environment.
• Restoration ecology aims to restore damaged ecosystems, using methods like reforestation and habitat restoration.

Evolutionary History of Life

• Primates exhibit unique characteristics that are different from other mammals.
• Common misconceptions about human evolution.
• List the order that hominin characteristics evolved.
• Diagram of the hominin phylogenetic tree.
• Tiktaalik is an evolutionary link between fish and tetrapods.
• Amphibian orders have unique characteristics; examples include salamanders, frogs, and toads.
• Amniotes have adaptations for life on land.
• Characteristics of reptiles (avian and nonavian).
• Characteristics of mammals and their three orders.
• Echinoderms have a water vascular system; examples include sea stars, sea urchins, and sand dollars.
• Chordates have four key characters: notochord, dorsal hollow nerve cord, pharyngeal slits, and post-anal tail.
• Invertebrate chordates.
• Agnathans and gnathostomes, and their differences in characteristics
• Chondrichthyans and osteichthyans, and their differences in characteristics.
• Hox genes are important in development.
• Animal classification methods and the factors used in classifying animals.
• Phylum Porifera contains the simplest animals.
• Cnidarians unique characteristics and examples include jellyfish, corals, and anemones.
• Lophotrochozoa, Ecdysozoa, and Deuterostomia clades, and their shared characteristics.
• Platyhelminthes characteristics and examples include flatworms.
• Characteristics of Mollusca, examples of the four classes.

Plant Evolution and other topics

• Four key steps in plant evolution, with details on each of the four groups of plants, their characteristics.
• Fungi life cycle and structure.
• Five phyla of fungi and their characteristics and examples.
• Fungi's roles in ecosystems and human benefits.
• Protists, their classification difficulties, and roles in ecosystems.
• Mitosis and meiosis in life cycles and their functions.
• Eukaryotic vs. prokaryotic cells, their differences and characteristics
• Prokaryotic cell surface structures.
• Examples of convergent evolution (e.g., flagella of eukaryotes and prokaryotes, marsupials and eutherian mammals).
• Genetic recombination in prokaryotes.
• Domain Archaea characteristics and habitats.
• Prokaryotic benefits.

Speciation, Population Genetics, and Phylogenetics

• Prezygotic vs. postzygotic isolation mechanisms.
• Allopatric vs. sympatric speciation.
• Classification hierarchy from largest to smallest. Explain binomial nomenclature.
• Phylogenetic tree parts: outgroup, nodes, branches, root.
• Reading relationships between taxa on a phylogenetic tree.
• Homology vs. analogy.
• Monophyletic, paraphyletic, and polyphyletic groups.
• Fossils formation and dating methods.
• Oxygen accumulation in the atmosphere.
• Cambrian explosion significance.
• Mass extinction events in Earth's history.
• Biological species concept and pre/postzygotic barriers.
• Adaptive radiation examples.
• Genetic variation vs. phenotypic variation.
• Microevolution vs. macroevolution.
• Mutation's role in genetic variation.
• Calculating allele and genotype frequencies using Hardy-Weinberg equations.
• Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium conditions.
• Challenges to scientific belief by Darwin.
• Sexual vs. asexual reproduction advantages and disadvantages.
• Mechanisms generating genetic variation in populations.
• Differences between a gene, an allele, and a genotype