Docsity
Docsity

Prepare for your exams
Prepare for your exams

Study with the several resources on Docsity


Earn points to download
Earn points to download

Earn points by helping other students or get them with a premium plan


Guidelines and tips
Guidelines and tips

Population Succession Ecology Worksheet Answer Key, Exercises of Ecology and Environment

Practice ecological succession problems in this exercise. Succession worksheet is solved.

Typology: Exercises

2020/2021
On special offer
30 Points
Discount

Limited-time offer


Uploaded on 04/20/2021

christin
christin 🇺🇸

4.6

(18)

264 documents

1 / 4

Toggle sidebar

This page cannot be seen from the preview

Don't miss anything!

bg1
Succession, a series of environmental changes a, occurs in all ecosystems. The stages that any
ecosystem passes through are predictable. In this activity, you will place the stages of succession of two
ecosystems into sequence. You will also describe changes in an ecosystem and make predictions about
changes that will take place from one stage of succession to another.
The evolution of a body of water from a lake to a marsh can last for thousands of years. The process
cannot be observed directly. Instead, a method can be used to find the links of stages and then to put them
together to develop a complete story.
The water level of Lake Michigan was once 18 meters higher than it is today. As the water level fell,
land was exposed. Many small lakes or ponds were left behind where there were depressions in the land.
Below are illustrations and descriptions of four ponds as they exist today. Use the illustrations and
descriptions to answer the questions about the ponds.
Pond A:
Cattails, bulrushes, and water lilies grow in the pond. These plants have their roots in the bottom of the
pond, but they can reach above the surface of the water. This pond is an ideal habitat for the animals that
must climb to the surface for oxygen. Aquatic insect larvae are abundant. They serve as food for larger
insects, which in turn are food for crayfish, frogs, salamanders, and turtles.
Pond B:
Plankton growth is rich enough to support animals that entered when the pond was connected to the lake.
Fish make nests on the sandy bottom. Mussels crawl over the bottom.
Pond C:
Decayed bodies of plants and animals form a layer of humus over the bottom of the pond. Chara, branching
green algae, covers the humus. Fish that build nests on the bare bottom have been replaced by those that
lay their eggs on the Chara.
Pond D:
The pond is so filled with vegetation that there are no longer any large areas of open water. Instead, the
pond is filled with grasses. The water dries up during the summer months.
Questions:
1. Write the letters of the ponds in order from the youngest, to the oldest.
2. Black bass and bluegill make their nests on sandy bottoms. In which pond would you find them?
B C A D
Pond B
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
!
pf3
pf4
Discount

On special offer

Partial preview of the text

Download Population Succession Ecology Worksheet Answer Key and more Exercises Ecology and Environment in PDF only on Docsity!

Succession, a series of environmental changes a, occurs in all ecosystems. The stages that any

ecosystem passes through are predictable. In this activity, you will place the stages of succession of two

ecosystems into sequence. You will also describe changes in an ecosystem and make predictions about

changes that will take place from one stage of succession to another.

The evolution of a body of water from a lake to a marsh can last for thousands of years. The process

cannot be observed directly. Instead, a method can be used to find the links of stages and then to put them

together to develop a complete story.

The water level of Lake Michigan was once 18 meters higher than it is today. As the water level fell,

land was exposed. Many small lakes or ponds were left behind where there were depressions in the land.

Below are illustrations and descriptions of four ponds as they exist today. Use the illustrations and

descriptions to answer the questions about the ponds.

Pond A:

Cattails, bulrushes, and water lilies grow in the pond. These plants have their roots in the bottom of the

pond, but they can reach above the surface of the water. This pond is an ideal habitat for the animals that

must climb to the surface for oxygen. Aquatic insect larvae are abundant. They serve as food for larger

insects, which in turn are food for crayfish, frogs, salamanders, and turtles.

Pond B:

Plankton growth is rich enough to support animals that entered when the pond was connected to the lake.

Fish make nests on the sandy bottom. Mussels crawl over the bottom.

Pond C:

Decayed bodies of plants and animals form a layer of humus over the bottom of the pond. Chara, branching

green algae, covers the humus. Fish that build nests on the bare bottom have been replaced by those that

lay their eggs on the Chara.

Pond D:

The pond is so filled with vegetation that there are no longer any large areas of open water. Instead, the

pond is filled with grasses. The water dries up during the summer months.

Questions:

1. Write the letters of the ponds in order from the youngest, to the oldest.

2. Black bass and bluegill make their nests on sandy bottoms. In which pond would you find them?

B C A D

Pond B

3. What will happen to the black bass and blue gill as the floor of the ponds fills with organic debris?

4. Golden shiner and mud minnows lay their eggs on Chara (green algae). In which pond would you find

them?

5. Some amphibians and crayfish can withstand periods of dryness by burying themselves in mud. In which

pond(s) would they survive?

6. Dragonfly nymphs spend their early stages clinging to submerged plants. Then, they climb to the surface,

shed their skins, and fly away as dragonflies. Which pond is best suited for dragonflies?

7. In which pond will gill breathing snails be replaced by lung breathing snails that climb to the surface to

breathe?

8. Some mussels require a sandy bottom in order to maintain an upright position. In which pond will they

die out?

The climax community in the area of Arkansas is an oak-hickory forest. After the ponds are filled in, the

area will undergo another series of stages of succession. This is illustrated below. Briefly explain what is

happening in the diagram.

They would no longer be able to make there nests on the bottom so they would no longer reproduce. Pond C Pond A They would be able to survive in any of the ponds Pond C Pond C Pioneer species are dominant Small shrubs and bushes join the Pioneer species Trees begin to grow Climax community with hardwood trees Faster growing conifers trees are the dominant species

Answer in complete sentences:

  1. In competitive exclusion, who is competing and who gets excluded?
  2. What does equivalent mean in math? How does that meaning relate to ecological equivalents? Matching: Match each of the following terms to the correct statement. These are words that we may not have learned in class, but use your critical thinking and process of elimination to figure out the matching answers.
  3. _____ Obligatory mutualism
  4. _____ Community
  5. _____ Realized Niche
  6. _____ Symbiosis
  7. _____ Fundamental Niche
  8. _____ Facultative Mutualism
  9. _____ Commensalism
  10. _____ Interspecific Competition A) In interaction between two species that is helpful, but not essential. B) Close associations between two species during part or all of their life cycle C) The niche that would occur in the absence of competition D) The populations of all species in a given habitat E) When one species wins or loses with respect to some resource F) An interaction that helps one species but does not affect the second species G) A niche that is the result of constraining factors H) Each species must have access to the other in order to complete a life cycle Choice: Choose the most appropriate term for each evolution adaptation described. A) Mimicry B) Camouflage C) Chemical defense D) Moment-of-truth defenses
  11. _____ A blending of body form, color, or behavior to the environment
  12. _____ Leaves that contain dangerous or hard-to-digest repellents
  13. _____ protection by pretending to be a dangerous organism.
  14. _____ Predators learn to avoid oragnims that use this defense
  15. _____ The use of one final trick to repel and attacker. Matching: Match each for the following terms to the appropriate statement.
  16. _____ Resource partitioning
  17. _____ Interference competition
  18. _____ Competitive exclusion
  19. _____ Co evolution
  20. _____ Exploitative competition
  21. _____ Predators A) Species have equal access to a resource, but one is better at using it B) A subdividing of resources that allows two species to coexist. C) Two species change over time due to close ecological interactions D) Consumers that obtain energy and nutrients from living organisms. E) One species restricts access of another species to a resource F) When populations of two species coexist, the growth rate of both is suppressed

Equivalents means that they are the same or equal to each other. In biology it means that two species that do not interest do

the same things in different areas

Two species that need the same resources are competing. The species that not able to compete as well gets excluded from the

habitat and will either die off or adapt to new resources.