PDS AP Environmental Science 5th Period 2010-11

Hey guys. I am still having a lot of trouble with telling the difference between evenness and richness. The definitions from the Background on Biodiversity aren’t helping either. Does anyone have an easier way of telling the difference?

Why does eating lower on the energy pyramid reduce your ecological footprint?

So I know the difference between the two successions but I was wondering if with primary that not only could there not be any organisms, but there also couldn’t be any soil.  Also, I know that we talked about an old parking lot as primary succession and how there wasn’t any soil (which is what made me think about my first question) and I did not write down how the soil or plants were able to start up in the parking lot. Can anyone help me out??

hey guys so I know that parasitism is when one organism attaches itself to another organism and feeds off its nutrients. One example we used was the deer and hook worm, but the deer wasn’t that effected by the hook worm. How is that different than commensalism?

So I know that Amensalism is the relationship between members or different species in which one organism is harmed and the other is unaffected, but I forgot to write an example and I cant think of one. Anyone have any ideas?

Can someone explain to me the 2nd law of thermodynamics and how it applies to the transfer of energy between each trophic level?

The definition of the 2nd law of thermodynamics is that the nature of energy tends to change from a more-ordered state to a less-ordered state; entropy increases. But how does this relate to how energy moves through the tropic levels?

Ok this probably isn’t going to be on the test tomorrow, but I am curious of how the Lichen manages to arrive on say an isnland of volcanic rock. Are the spores able to drift that far from the next island?

I don’t really understand what the Intermediate Disturbance Hypothesis is. I couldn’t find it in the text but I remember from class that it is related to succession. Anyone care to clearify?

This 18-minute video was made by me a few years ago. While it is a bit grainy, it covers the major field research techniques I try to show students at Davidson each year. It’s mandatory viewing if you did not go, and a good review if you did:

You can also check out Jason’s post that reviews our day.

*Note: The Internet filter at school will not let you view YouTube videos, so you have to watch it at home.

Here is the slide deck from today’s class on succession. Remember:

1. Succession involves more than just a change in producers.
2. A climax community is not necessarily the outcome of a linear progression.
3. A little disturbance ain’t so bad, it just “resets” succession (and might increase biodiversity).

Note: You can ignore the last few slides on ecotones and edge effects for testing purposes.