Cumulative Final Exam

Cumulative Final Exam

Learning Goals:

The Final exam in this course is cumulative, and as such I expect you to be able to draw on knowledge, information, and skills you developed in earlier portions of the class.

The main emphasis will be on new material, but I will ask you to draw on your knowledge to address some of the broader conservation issues we touched on in these last 2 weeks.

Specific skills & information to be emphasized:

Understand the relationship between disturbance, exotic species invasions, and human changes in disturbance regimes

Ø why is disturbance important in natural ecosystems?

Ø what happens when we take away a disturbance?

Ø what if we add in a new disturbance?

Ø be prepared to discuss impacts of "edge effects" and to calculate how much of an area (%) is impacted by edge effects

Be able to describe some “vicious cycles” we discussed (self-reinforcing, positive feedback loops), and how they work
Be prepared to compile and/or interpret graphs
General concepts to understand:

Ø terminology (e.g. indicator, keystone, dominant species…; edge effects, disturbance, restoration...)

Ø life zones (general ideas of how they work, what main ones are in SW)

Ø relationships between geology & ecological patterns seen on field trips - e.g. Grand Canyon, Mesa Verde

Ø climate – global air circulation, & why it’s important (in a general sense)

Ø idea of ecological constraints

Ø concept of carrying capacity & population growth

Ø energy loss thru food webs…

I will be checking my email over the weekend if you have questions you want to go over with me.

Good Luck!

Additional Note:

Part of your final exam grade will be the take-home portion, which focuses on Beast in the Garden and the "cat facts" you gathered while reading the book. This take-home portion is due at our ILP luncheon on Wed. (promptly at the beginning! if you are late, your assignment will be marked late). Follow the link to find details on this assignment.