Fall 2023 Ecology & Evolution Learning Objectives

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Boston College *

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2010

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Biology

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Jan 9, 2024

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Ecology & Evolution Learning Objectives BIOL2010 Fall 2023 with Prof. Olins at Boston College Suggested use: ● Print out this list. ● Read through the list carefully and slowly, marking each objective with either a ○ ✔ (if it is something you are able to explain without any additional review), ○ (if you know this is something that needs review), or a ★ ○ ? (if the statement itself is unclear and you’re not sure what it means). ● Plan and schedule your final exam studying so that you return to each section on this list multiple times using your check mark to star + question mark ratio as a guide for which sections you need to spend more time reviewing (actively!) ● Right now (!), get started studying actively by choosing one of your starred learning objectives, doing some review (find that topic in your class notes), and then writing a challenging exam question (or a few questions) based on that topic. Ecology Learning Objectives (Unit 1) Biodiversity ✔ Describe what biodiversity is. ✔ Directly connect biodiversity to your own life. ✔ Understand Ecosystem Services and identify examples of the different categories of Ecosystem Services. ★ Calculate a variety of biodiversity metrics from a set of simulated samples. ★ Compare and contrast different ways of quantifying biodiversity. Introduction to Evolution ★ Describe how scientists developed the present day theory of evolution ★ Identify evolutionary patterns and evidence ★ Define adaptation ★ Explain convergent and divergent evolution ★ Describe homologous and vestigial structures ★ Discuss misconceptions about the theory of evolution ★ Understand the difference between micro- and macroevolution ★ Compare and contrast different species concepts ★ Compare and contrast different modes of speciation and how they can lead to different outcomes in terms of the population variation ★ Describe possible outcomes of previously isolated populations coming back into contact

★ Describe genetic variables that lead to speciation Evolutionary Processes ★ Define population genetics and describe how scientists use population genetics in studying population evolution ★ Define Hardy-Weinberg Principle and discuss its importance ★ Describe the different types of variation in a population ★ Explain why natural selection can only act upon heritable variation ★ Describe genetic drift and the bottleneck effect ★ Explain how each evolutionary force (gene flow, genetic drift, mutation, and selection) can influence a population's allele frequencies ★ Compare and contrast the different modes of selection ★ Describe how these different forces can lead to different outcomes in terms of the population variation Phylogenetic Trees & History of Life on Earth ★ Discuss the major strengths and limitations of the fossil record ★ Describe the three major eras of the Phanerozoic eon, including the major evolutionary events and dominant taxa characteristic of each ★ Explain why adaptive radiations occur ★ Compare and contrast the causes of mass extinction and background extinction. ★ Discuss a phylogenetic tree's components and purpose ★ Read and interpret modern phylogenetic trees ★ Compare homologous and analogous traits ★ Construct a phylogeny from a simple data matrix Tree of Life Learning Objectives (Unit 2) Bacteria & Archaea ★ Describe the evolutionary history of prokaryotes ★ Discuss the distinguishing features of extremophiles ★ Explain why it is difficult to culture prokaryotes ★ Describe important structural differences between bacteria and archaea ★ Describe the ways in which prokaryotes get energy and carbon for life processes ★ Explain how overuse of antibiotics may be creating “super bugs” ★ Explain the importance of bacteria and archaea in global carbon and nitrogen cycles

★ Describe the beneficial effects of bacteria that colonize our skin and digestive tracts ★ Identify prokaryotes used during the processing of food ★ Describe the use of prokaryotes in bioremediation Protists ★ Define protists and explain why protists are not considered a clade. ★ Summarize the ecological and medical importance of protists. ★ Explain how endosymbiosis played a role in the origin of mitochondria and chloroplasts. ★ Describe the diversity of feeding, locomotion, and reproduction seen in protists. Fungi ★ Describe the general morphology and ecological importance of fungi. ★ Discuss the importance of fungi in your own life ★ Summarize the types of symbiotic relationships fungi can have with other organisms. Green Algae & Plants ★ Discuss the ecological importance of green algae and land plants ★ Describe the evolutionary adaptations that allowed plants to survive and reproduce on land ★ Compare and contrast the life cycles and key traits of green algae, nonvascular plants, seedless vascular plants, gymnosperms, and angiosperms ★ Explain the evolution of reproductive strategies among the main pant groups Animals ★ Discuss what makes an animal an animal. ★ Describe the key innovations to body plan that occurred during the early radiation of animals ★ Place the major lineages of animals correctly on a phylogenetic tree ★ Describe how animals within lineages diversified in their modes of sensing, feeding, moving, and reproducing ★ Define the protostomes and explain their ecological and evolutionary importance ★ Discuss the major characteristics that differentiate the Lophotrochozoa and the Ecdysozoa ★ Describe the characteristics of the major Lophotrochozoan phyla (Annelida, Mollusca) ★ Describe the characteristics of the major Ecdysozoan phyla (Arthropoda) ★ Define the deuterostomes and explain their ecological and evolutionary importance ★ List and describe the relationships among the major lineages of vertebrates Ecology Learning Objectives (Unit 3)

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Introduction to Ecology & Ecosystems ★ Identify the levels of ecological study and give an example of a question that could be asked at each level ★ Describe how biomes are classified Introduction to Climate Change ★ Describe the major reservoirs of the nutrient cycles and the processes that move elements from one reservoir to another ★ Explain how humans are altering the nutrient and water cycles ★ Explain how the burning of fossil fuels has led to rapid global warming ★ Describe several ways that climate change affects organisms, citing examples Behavioral Ecology ★ Explain proximate and ultimate causation of behavior ★ Use examples to describe how foraging decisions can maximize energy gain and minimize costs ★ Contrast the proximate and ultimate causes of mate choice ★ Describe the cues that animals use to navigate ★ Use examples to describe how animals communicate ★ Explain why animals might cooperate or help others Population Ecology ★ Describe how individuals within populations are distributed geographically ★ Describe the relationship between survivorship, fecundity, and other life-history traits ★ Compare and contrast r and K-selected life histories strategies ★ Compare and contrast exponential and logistic growth ★ Describe how and why population size changes over time Community Ecology ★ Use examples to explain commensalism, competition, consumption, and mutualism ★ Explain the importance of the niche concept to ecology ★ Explain whether community structure is predictable or unpredictable over time and why ★ Describe the factors that affect ecological succession following a disturbance ★ Discuss why species richness is higher in the tropics than in the poles and higher on large islands near the mainland than on small, isolated islands Ecosystems ★ Discuss how energy flows in a food web from producers to consumers to decomposers ★ Describe the factors that limit the productivity in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems

★ Understand global patterns in NPP, and specifically the differences by biome, hemisphere, seasonality, and per unit area calculations vs. total biome estimates ★ Describe the major reservoirs of the nutrient cycles and the processes that move elements from one reservoir to another ★ Explain how humans are altering the nutrient and water cycles ★ Explain how the burning of fossil fuels has led to rapid global warming ★ Describe several ways that climate change affects organisms, citing examples Conservation Biology ★ Identify the major threats to biodiversity and evaluate the evidence suggesting loss is occurring on a wide scale ★ Explain why the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem function is important for ecosystems and for humans ★ Discuss strategies for preserving biodiversity and ecosystem function

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