Ecology Review

Here is a chart representing the human population growth on earth.

Use the data in the chart to classify each statement as true or false.

In the year 1500, there were more than 2 billion people on earth.

Here is a chart representing the human population growth on earth.

Use the data in the chart to classify each statement as true or false.

Saying that, "the recent rise in population is due to better farming" is an observation.

Here is a chart representing the human population growth on earth.

Use the data in the chart to classify each statement as true or false.

According to the chart, human population has always been rising.

Here is a chart representing the human population growth on earth.

Use the data in the chart to classify each statement as true or false.

Saying that, "the recent rise in population is due to better medicine" is an inference.

In the 1900s, New England's harbor and gray seals were hunted to the brink of extinction due to bounty policies put in place to reduce their population. Although the bounty was dropped in 1962, seals continued to be hunted because of their perceived threat to the fishing industry. In 1972, seals became a protected species under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Since then, both harbor and gray seal populations have increased dramatically. This graph shows the harbor seal population in the gulf of Maine for a twenty year period. What were some of the limiting factors that caused the seals to reach their carrying capacity? Select ALL that apply.

The graph represents a typical carrying capacity graph, or the maximum population size a certain environment can support for an extended period of time, for a population of a particular species. Under ideal conditions, a population naturally increases until it reaches the carrying capacity. The purple line represents fluctuations within the population. In 1950 and again in 1975, the population declines. Identify the density dependent factors that would contribute to those declines. Choose ALL that apply.

A population of deer on the Kaibab Plateau exhibits the population growth shown in the graph here. Which hypothesis is supported by the data in the graph? Select ALL that apply.

Ecological succession are the natural, gradual changes in the types of species that live in an area. We may refer to ecological succession as either primary or secondary. The graphic represents an example of primary succession, which begins in an area that has no living organisms present. Such an area might exist following a volcanic eruption with lava flow. Notice in the illustration, the first organisms to inhabit the area undergoing succession are lichens and moss. What abiotic feature restricts the growth of more diverse plants in this area.

Consider this site of primary succession following the eruption of a volcano and the subsequent cooling of lava and clearing of particulate matter from the atmosphere. As we move from left to right, describe some improvements in the abiotic factors that support plant growth.