PDF AP Environmental Science - College Board

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

AP? Environmental Science

Ecology

Special Focus

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The College Board: Connecting Students to College Success

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Contents

1. Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Scottie Smith

2. Ecosystem Energy Flow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Carol Widegren

3. Ecosystem Structure and the Role of Species Within Biomes . . . . . . . . . . 11

Kathryn Weatherhead

4. Evolution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Mark Ewoldsen

5. Community Interactions and Diversity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Sarah Utley

6. Ecological Calculations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73

Pam Schlachtman

7. About the Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

8. About the Authors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91

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Introduction

Scottie Smith Canterbury School of Florida St. Petersburg, Florida

One of the essential underpinnings of a course in environmental science is a basic understanding of ecology. The irony lies in the nature of the two courses. Environmental science is an introductory college course and is often a college student's first foray into the natural sciences arena. However, ecology is typically an upper-level course at most colleges and universities, requiring numerous introductory courses prior to enrollment. Ecology is the relationship between organisms--at the individual, species, population, community, and ecosystem level--and their environment. In order to understand environmental science, which is basically the human impact on these organisms and their interactions, one must grasp concepts that are actually quite difficult for the budding scientist. Therefore, a special focus devoted to ecology seemed prudent, particularly since both multiple-choice and free-response questions on the AP? Environmental Science Exam will directly and peripherally address concepts of ecology.

In this Special Focus publication, teachers will be provided with discussion and pertinent examples of numerous ecological precepts. The first section contains an introduction to energy, including photosynthesis, cellular respiration, and matter cycling and energy flow through ecosystems. This section is paramount to an understanding of AP Environmental Science and actually addresses one of the major themes of the course: Energy conversions underlie all ecological processes. Pertinent information is provided regarding trophic levels, food webs, and ecological pyramids. Another section discusses primary productivity because it potentiates the complex nature of the niche structure and therefore impacts the biodiversity of ecosystems. Special instruction is given to the terminologies used for species within various niche structures. An entire section is devoted to discussing the evolution, natural selection, adaptation, and interactions of species. The evolution section addresses

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