Ecology: Biology of Interaction. Appendix II. Questions for Credit or Examination

Appendix II. Questions for Credit or Examination
Part I. Biosystems and Biosphere
I-1. Ecology, its definition. Subject matter and structure of ecology. Lay and scientific ecology.
I-2. Distinguishing the concepts of «ecology» — «environmental science» — «nature conservation».
I-3. The concept of structural levels of biosystem organization; levels studied within ecology.
I-4. Morphological, physiological, and ecological approaches to the study of biosystems. Holistic and reductionist approaches to their description.
I-5. The concept of system and regulation. Stability of biosystems.
I-6. Positive feedback loops and their examples at different levels of biosystems.
I-7. Negative feedback loops and their examples at different levels of biosystems.
I-8. Emergent properties of complex biosystems.
I-9. Features of Earth as a planet inhabited by life.
I-10. Concepts of biosphere and noosphere and their various interpretations.
I-11. James Lovelock's Gaia hypothesis.
I-12. Energy sources for biogeochemical cycles and methods of energy transformation.
I-13. Biogeochemical functions of living matter.
I-14. The hydrological cycle.
I-15. The sedimentary cycle of rocks.
I-16. The biogeochemical cycle of Nitrogen.
I-17. The biogeochemical cycle of Carbon.
I-18. The biogeochemical cycle of Phosphorus.
I-19. The biogeochemical cycle of Sulfur.
I-20. Mechanisms regulating biogeochemical cycles.

Part II. Biogeocenoses. Communities. Populations
II-1. The relationship between the concepts of «ecosystem» and «biogeocenosis». Components of ecosystems.
II-2. Biome classification of ecosystems. Comparison of different biomes by biomass and productivity.
II-3. Trophic networks and trophic levels. Ecological pyramids and ecological efficiencies.
II-4. Ecosystem functioning. Matter cycling and energy flow in ecosystems. Ecological balance.
II-5. Methods of assessing and measuring ecosystem productivity.
II-6. Successions — autotrophic and heterotrophic, primary and secondary.
II-7. Seral and climax communities. Dynamics of species diversity during succession. Causes of successions.
II-8. Populations, their static and dynamic characteristics. Demographic characteristics of populations. Types of mortality curves according to Pearl.
II-9. The exponential model of population growth and examples of its applicability.
II-10. The logistic model of population growth and examples of its applicability.
II-11. The Lotka-Volterra model and examples of its applicability.
II-12. Regulation of population numbers. Fluctuations in population numbers and their causes.
II-13. Ecological strategies according to MacArthur and Wilson, and according to Ramensky and Grime.
II-14. Classifications of types of relationships between populations.
II-15. Comparison of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems.
II-16. Forms of exploitation, their comparison and examples.
II-17. The significance of different forms of exploitation for regulating population numbers and their effect on biodiversity.
II-18. Commensalism, protocooperation, and mutualism, their significance for regulating population numbers and their effect on biodiversity.
II-19. Ecological niche. Fundamental and realized niches, the influence of competition on niche breadth.
II-20. Gause's competitive exclusion principle.
Part III. Organisms and the Environment
III-1. Classifications of ecological factors and classifications of environmental factors.
III-2. Liebig's law of the minimum. Cases of inapplicability of Liebig's law.
III-3. Shelford's law of tolerance.
III-4. Steno- and eurybiotic organisms. Concepts characterizing organism tolerance.
III-5. Size classes of organisms, their differences in interaction with various ecological factors. Allometric growth of organisms and its causes.
III-6. The greenhouse effect.
III-7. Solar radiation: spectral composition, absorption by the atmosphere.
III-8. Solar radiation and various biological effects caused by its action. Adaptations of organisms to interaction with solar radiation.
III-9. Photoperiodism, its causes and manifestations.
III-10. Temperature and its effect on organisms.
III-11. Thermobiological types of organisms. Heat balance and various methods of its regulation.
III-12. Bergmann's, Allen's, and Gloger's rules and the limits of their applicability.
III-13. The concept of effective temperatures.
III-14. Regulation of the water balance of organisms. Ecological significance of humidity and salinity.
III-15. Features of the terrestrial-aerial habitat compared to other habitats.
III-16. Features of the aquatic habitat compared to other habitats.
III-17. Features of the soil habitat compared to other habitats.
III-18. Features of other organisms as a habitat compared to other habitats.
III-19. «Interaction» of ecological factors (reactions of organisms to the simultaneous action of different factors).
III-20. Adaptations of organisms to adverse environments, their types. Life forms.
Part IV. Humanity
IV-1. Unique ecological features of Homo sapiens Linnaeus, 1758 as a species.
IV-2. Comparison of genetic and cultural inheritance.
IV-3. Energy sources of modern humanity. «Alternative» energy.
IV-4. Main contemporary problems in the relationship between humanity and the biosphere.
IV-5. The globality of modern humanity, its positive and negative consequences.
IV-6. The human being as a biosocial entity. The connection between the biological and social nature of humans.
IV-7. Biological prerequisites of human social behavior.
IV-8. General and unique features in the mechanisms regulating the size of human populations.
IV-9. Main stages in the development of the relationship between human populations and their habitats.
IV-10. Dynamics of human population size. Hyperbolic growth of human population numbers and its causes.
IV-11. The demographic transition in human populations.
IV-12. The problem of greenhouse gases and global warming, possible ways to solve it.
IV-13. The problem of ozone layer destruction, possible ways to solve it.
IV-14. The problem of acid rain, possible ways to solve it.
IV-15. Main problems of modern agriculture; possible ways to solve them.
IV-16. The problem of anthropogenic environmental pollution, possible ways to solve it.
IV-17. Main resources used by humanity; renewable and non-renewable resources.
IV-18. Concepts of rational use of natural resources, nature-centrism, and sustainable (non-exhaustive) development.
IV-19. The instability of the current state of relations between humanity and the biosphere. Possible futures: scenarios of depletion and flourishing.
IV-20. The search for the optimal course of action for an individual person, human groups, and humanity as a whole at the current stage of our development.