Ecology - 2017 (B & C) NY coaches meeting J.D. Lewis NY test writer @astorialis

Ecology events and rotation In for 2017 and 2018 Other events in this rotation: Water quality Green generation Focus is on principles of ecology related to terrestrial ecosystems: 2017: tundra, taiga and forests 2018: deserts and grasslands

Objectives Demonstrate knowledge of basic principles of ecology, terrestrial biomes and human impacts on ecosystems Emphasis on process skills related to ecology, including data, graph and diagram analysis (2001)

Event components Three main areas, weighted roughly equally I. Principles of Ecology II. Terrestrial Ecosystems: 2017 - tundra, taiga and forests basic concepts of biodiversity III. Human Impacts on Ecosystems

Event parameters Teams of up to two Each team may bring: Format: exam single 8.5” x 11” two-sided page with information in any form from any source up to two non-programmable, non-graphing calculators Format: exam 50 minutes

General principles of ecology Ecology: how organisms interact with one another and with their environment Environment: living and non-living components abiotic: non-living component or physical factors as soil, rainfall, sunlight, temperatures biotic: living component (2001)

Ecological organization Can be an individual, population, community, ecosystem or the biosphere Each smaller system is a subset of the next larger system

Ecology of populations Properties of populations Patterns of distribution and density Intra-specific competition Population dynamics Growth and regulation Altering population growth Extinction, migration, selection Human impacts

Ecology of populations Population dynamics includes density dependent and independent factors, carrying capacity, doubling time, growth curves and calculating population growth (2001)

Ecology of communities Open vs. closed communities Species abundance and diversity Species interactions: e.g., be able to differentiate between symbioses and mutualisms Food webs and trophic pyramids food chains and food webs number, biomass and energy pyramids

Food webs and trophic pyramids Be able to diagram food webs and predict what would happen if a trophic level were reduced or increased Understand and apply the different types of trophic pyramids (2001)

Nutrient cycling Water, P, N, C In addition to knowing the basics, be able to predict adaptations for the rates of nutrient cycling in tundras, taigas and forests (2001)

C only - state and nationals Life history strategies, including age structure, survival curves, life tables, succession and R vs. K strategies Questions on these topics likely will be based on graphs, tables and similar (2001)

Tundras, taigas and forests Basic differences in abiotic and biotic factors that differentiate tundras, taigas and forests Be able to apply the basic principles of ecology to each of these systems As mentioned, understand adaptations that reflect each type of biome (2001)

Biodiversity Combines species richness and species abundance indices differ in the weight they place on richness vs. abundance and on common vs. rare species Types include genetic, species and ecological diversity Levels include alpha, beta and gamma (2001)

C only - state and nationals Questions will evaluate understanding of the mechanisms that regulate biodiversity (e.g., selection) (2001)

Human impacts Will have a fair amount of overlap with Green Generation, reflecting the specific topic areas Will address effects of climate change, invasive species, acid rain, erosion and pollution Be able to apply understanding of pros and cons of alternative energy Understand the goals of conservation and mechanisms for application Compare reclamation vs. reintroduction (2001)

C only - state and nationals Case studies! (2001)

Tips Learn all the vocabulary words in the rules Use the topics as a study guide, as well as guide to relative weight of each area Because it will be exam-based, divide and conquer may work with the right pair of students For part 1, questions will reflect in part recent and current topics relevant to NY and the NE US Read Science, Nature, Science Times and similar (2001)

Skills Just to reiterate, the challenge focuses on process skills in the areas of defining variables, forming hypotheses, analyzing data and presenting data Critical thinking skills… Good math skills are key Teams should combine skills reading graphs and tables With only one sheet allowed, students will need to be able to function basically without notes (2001)

Scoring High score wins… Legibility matters Using correct units is critical no units = partial credit No penalty for guessing incorrectly Tiebreakers identified in the directions (2001)