Study Questions for Distribution, Resource Allocation & Life
Histories
1.
Birch trees only occur naturally as far south as Bellingham in Washington
State. Present three general hypotheses
concerning why birch trees do not naturally occur in the Seattle area. This
corresponds to the general filters for existence we discussed.
You don't need to know anything about birch trees for this.
2.
The allocation pattern of an organism (in terms of growth, maintenance
and reproduction) is shaped by the same general evolutionary mechanism as that
which caused ducks to have webbed feet and polar bears to have thick fur.
What is that?
3.
Describe a general difference in the nature of how organisms adapt to
environments with abundant resources as compared to harsh environments in terms
of allocation patterns.
4.
The number of offspring successfully produced by a particular bird
species increases with increasing latitude, while the opposite is often true for
many plant species. Explain why
this is so.
5.
In what circumstances might semelparous reproduction evolve?
6.
Why do we use life history strategies?
7.
Explain the differences between r and K life history strategies in terms
of adjustments in the allocation patterns of organisms (among reproduction,
maintenance and growth). Why do we use a continuum model for the r and K theory
now?
8.
Explain the fundamental difference in the spectrum of life history
strategies presented in the r-K and R-C-S models.
In other words, what kind of organisms are neglected in the earlier
model?
9.
According to the R-C-S model, what factors in an organism's environment
have a large influence upon its' life history characteristics? Describe the RCS
strategies in terms of these environmental factors.
10.
Beside the fact there is environmental heterogeneity, in general
why is there a variety of life history strategies present in most biological
communities? For example, in old growth forest ecosystems of western Washington
we have R, S, and C strategy plants.