Final

Question 1

Successional Theory

Answer 1

Ecological communities go through predictable stages of teleological development, reaching a final “climax” state determined by climate and soils (Frederick Clements)

Question 2

Disturbance theory

Answer 2

Disturbance is the norm in most ecosystems, and can result in unpredictable, unidirectional shifts at certain tipping points (Henry Gleason)

Question 3

Punctuated equilibrium

Answer 3

Little change occurs over long periods of time, but major shifts sometimes occur, leading to the formation of new species (Stephen J. Gould)

Question 4

Chaos theory

Answer 4

Future weather is extremely sensitive to conditions today; climate systems are prone to radical changes and unpredictable outcomes (Edward Lorenz)

Question 5

Cyclical change

Answer 5

Patterns of change over time that operate on cycles, such as the days, seasons, and El Nino patterns

Question 6

Directional change

Answer 6

Changes that do not repeat. These may be long-term shifts or random one-time events. For example, many wildlife populations rise and fall over time (cyclical) but species extinctions can happen only once

Question 7

The environment

Answer 7

A complex system of systems

Question 8

Balance of nature

Answer 8

the assumption that the Earth is in a kind of timeless, divinely-ordered balance

Question 9

Great Chain of Being

Answer 9

Hierarchy with God at the top, then angels, humans, and the rest of the animal kingdom. Created by Didacus Valdes in 1579

Question 10

Carl Linnaeus

Answer 10

Argued that “There are only as many species as the Infinite Being produced diverse forms in the beginning

Question 11

The Peaceable Kingdom

Answer 11

Painting by Edward Hicks about the balance of Nature

Question 12

Uniformitarianism

Answer 12

The same gradual processes that currently shape life on earth have always been underway (Charles Lyell)

Question 13

Catastrophism

Answer 13

Earth history is shaped by occasional, unpredictable, transformative events (Georges Cuvier). example could be Meteor impact

Question 14

Phyletic gradualism

Answer 14

Small variations over time produce larger changes in plant and animal species, as populations respond to natural selection (Charles Darwin)

Question 15

Gaia Hypothesis

Answer 15

Earth is a self-regulating system with built-in mechanisms that discourage changes and maintain equilibrium (James Lovelock)

Question 16

Direct sources

Answer 16

Measurements were taken of the thing or process itself. Ex: counting the number of fish in a pond, then repeating that count a year later

Question 17

Indirect/Proxy sources

Answer 17

Measurements taken of one thing that are used to study another. EX: Tree rings to measure past precipitation levels

Question 18

Indicator species

Answer 18

They can serve as representatives of ecosystem health because they are sensitive to changes in their environments

Question 19

Correlation

Answer 19

An apparent relationship between two variables. Does not imply a meaningful relationship

Question 20

Causation

Answer 20

An actual relationship between two variables, such that changes in the value of one affect the value of another.

Question 21

Type 1 error

Answer 21

A false positive. Thinking you see a pattern, change, or relationship when no such thing exists (“crying wolf”

Question 22

Type 2 error

Answer 22

A false negative. Thinking there is no pattern, change, or relationship even though one does exist (“sticking your head in the sand”

Question 23

Driving forces

Answer 23

Large-scale processes that create the conditions for patterns of change. EX: the influence of climate cycles on the distribution of wildlife species