BIO 130: Introduction to Environmental Science
Unit 1
Be able to define an environmental factor. There are two types (condition and resource). What is the difference between a condition and a resource? Be able to categorize particular environmental factors as conditions OR resources (for example, temperature is a condition and not a resource).
Be able to rank from smallest to largest: ecosystem, landscape, biome, biosphere
Be able to rank from smallest to largest (in terms of numbers and diversity of life): species, population, biota and biosphere. Also, what is the difference between a population of a species and a species overall?
Make sure you can explain the Law of Limiting Factors. What is the difference between the optimum conditions, the zones of tolerance and the zones of stress? Can life exist outside of the zones of tolerance? Outside of the zones of stress?
Be able to list the primary atoms in organic compounds.
What is the difference between a producer and a consumer? Be able to classify life as one or the other.
Make sure you know the products and reactants for photosynthesis and cellular respiration.
In each of the following cycles, be able to identify the primary source for each atom (atmosphere, lithosphere, biosphere): Carbon cycle, Nitrogen cycle, Phosphorous cycle.
Unit 2
Be able to categorize an environmental resistance factor as population density-dependent or density-independent. Some examples may include food availability, water availability, disease, temperature, wind and available space/shelter.
What are biotic potential and environmental resistance, and how are they related?
Be able to define critical number (what this means for a species survival), threatened and endangered.
Make sure you can list characteristics of a K-strategist versus an r-strategist. Is an elephant a K- or r-strategist? What about a fly?
Be able to describe, and identify, the following community interactions: