1. What factors determine whether a species will adapt to a change or whether the change will render it extinct?

Geographical distribution, specialization to a given habitat or food supply, genetic variation within the gene pool of the species, and the reproductive rate relative to the rate of environmental change are factors that determine whether a species will adapt or become extinct.

2. How may evolution lead to the development of new species (speciation)?

Over time the final "product" may be so different from the population that started the process that it is considered a different species.

3. Name and describe the attributes of the two categories into which all organisms can be divided based on how they obtain nutrition.

Name and describe the attributes of the two categories into which all organisms can be divided based on how they obtain nutrition.

4. Name and describe the roles of the three main trophic categories that make up the biotic structure of every ecosystem. Give examples of organisms from each category.

The main trophic categories are producers (plants), consumers (animals), and decomposers (fungi).

5. Give four categories of consumers in an ecosystem and the role that each plays.

Primary consumers (herbivores) feed directly on producers. Secondary consumers (carnivores) feed on primary consumers. Consumers that feed on both plants and animals are called omnivores.

6. Describe different members of the decomposition food web.

Detrius is composed largely of cellulose because it consists mostly of dead leaves, the woody parts of plants, and animal fecal wastes.
Scavengers, such as vultures, help break down large pieces of organic matter.
Detrius feeders, such as earth worms, eat partially decomposing organic matter.
Chemical decomposers (fungi) break down dead material on the molecular scale.

7. Differentiate among the concepts of food chain, food web, and trophic levels.

A food chain is the transfer of energy and material through a series of organisms as each one is fed up on by the next.
A food web is the combination of all the feeding relationships that exist in an ecosystem.
A trophic level is a feeding level defines with respect to the primary source of energy.

8. Describe how differences in climate cause Earth to be partitioned into major biomes.

Earth is partitioned into biomes because climate varies at different parts of the world.

9. What are three situations that might cause microclimates to develop within an ecosystem?

Different temperature and moisture within a biome is the microclimate of that location.
Soil type and topography may also contribute to the diversity found in a biome.
Relative acidity or alkalinity may also have an overriding effect on a plant or animal community.

10. Define the terms ecological succession and climax ecosystem. How do disturbances allow for ecological succession?

Ecological succession is the transition from one biotic community to another.
A climax ecosystem an ecosystem in which populations of all organisms are in balance with each other and with existing abiotic factors.