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M. Mangel: An Ecology Problem Book, Version 5 -1998 An Ecology Problem Book 1 Marc Mangel 2 with Contributions by Paul Switzer , Sarah Eppley3 1Department of Environmental Studies and Institute of Marine Sciences University of California Santa Cruz, CA 95064 2Department of Zoology Eastern Illinois University Charleston, IL 61920 Section of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology University of California Davis, CA 95616 -1- M. Mangel: An Ecology Problem Book, Version 5 -1998 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Acknowledgments 3 The Basic Tools 4 The Search for Pattern 8 The Darwinian Paradigm 16 Physiological and Behavioral Ecology 20 Life History 37 Single Species Population Growth 47 Predators and Prey 62 Competition 69 Communities 80 Conservation 94 Synthetic Questions 107 Question based on reading the 4th edition of C. Krebs's Ecology 119 -2- M. Mangel: An Ecology Problem Book, Version 5 -1998 INTRODUCTION This problem book has many objectives: • To get you to think about the course each night: do not wait until the last minute to begin working on the problems. • To get you to deal with data. Statistics courses that you take in the future will be more meaningful once you understand the kinds of data that arise in ecological studies. • To get you to be more comfortable with theoretical and quantitative methods. Not every ecologist uses those methods, but one should not be put off by them. • To familiarize you with material as it appears in the professional literature. Many questions are open-ended. In part this is because there is no "right" answer and in part because you should think widely and broadly about what the problems mean. In problems involving mathematics (mainly algebra -- although there are cases in which elementary calculus is used) the quality of mathematical exposition (i.e. can the reader follow the steps, do you write full equations, etc.) matters. Graphs must be done either on graph paper or using statistical software. No credit will be given for problems involving graphing that are done on regular notebook paper. Some sections contain advanced material, appropriate for graduate sutdents. Most of the material is appropriate for undergraduate students. In problems involving verbal answers, the quality of your presentation (i.e. full sentences, sentence structure, choice of words) matters. In either case, when answering questions, be specific: points will be deducted for irrelevancies in your answer. Advanced problems are intended for students who have taken an advanced undergraduate course with me or for graduate students. Acknowledgements: The following students helped improve the book: Sukhjit Basi, Brenna Bemis, Lisa Caris, Tom Confal, Sarah Cooke, Jacqueline Jacobsen, Tait Kjellberg, Tom Moore and Mona Shah. -3- M. Mangel: An Ecology Problem Book, Version 5 -1998 ECOLOGICAL CHOPS From Introductory Biology 1. Order the geological time scale for the following eras and periods. Indicate whether each is an era or a period Cambrian Cenozoic Cretaceous Devonian Jurassic Mesozoic Missippian Ordovician Paleozoic Pennsylvanian Permian Quaternary Tertiary Triassic 2. What are the differences between spiders and insects? 3. Tuna are a fish but warm blooded. How can that be? 4. Diapause hormone in the silk moth Bombyx mori has the following structure: Thr-Asp-Met-Lys-Asp-Glu-Ser-Asp-Arg-Gly-Ala-His-Ser-Glu- Arg-Gly-Ala-Leu-Cys-Phe-Gly-Pro-Arg-LeuNH2 i) What is diapause? ii) What is the DNA code for this hormone? iii) In which spot of the DNA code would you expect the most variability and why? iv) Give an example showing how the same hormone could be coded by two different DNA sequences. 5. Imagine a single locus in a diploid organism. If there are only two alleles A and B at this locus, there is only one kind of heterozygote (AB). If there are three alleles, A, B and C, there are three kinds heterozygotes (AB, AC, and BC). -4-
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