Question

Technical:

Create a concept map with these terms: genetic drift, adaptation, mutation, gene flow, natural selection, inbreeding. Make a minimum of 5 connections

Reflection:

One paragraph: Think of an example that you have witnessed where an environment seemed out of balance in terms of # of autotrophs, or heterotrophs. If you cannot remember a situation where you noticed this, think about your neighborhood. Look outside, what do you see in terms of balance of trophic levels?

Include the following in your paragraph:

• Type of ecosystem (forest, pond, lake, ocean, etc.)
• The name of the species that is out of balance (too many or too few)
• Write about 2 other species that are impacted by that population through predation. What are those impacts?

create a general concept map with this information

Answer 1

Genetic drift, mutation, gene flow, and natural selection are microevolutionary processes which can lead to change in allele frequencies in a population.

Microevolution Results from Genetic drift Gene flow Natural selection Selected upon by Mutation In small populations causes When impeded can cause leads to Inbreeding Adaptation

An example of a population where the ecological balance is disrupted is a grassland ecosystem where there are too many herbivores and too few carnivores. In such a scenario, the population of herbivores (heterotrophs) will boom while the population of grasses (autotrophs) will dramatically reduce due to overgrazing. The ecosystem can be rescued only if the population of carnivores increases, which can prey on herbivores and keep their population in check. For example, In the Yellowstone national park, the population of elk had boomed due to the extinction of the natural wolf population due to hunting. These large herbivores consumed too much biomass and their population grew in numbers with not many predators to keep their numbers in check. The elk feed on grass and sedges, whose populations dwindled with the unchecked growth of the herbivore population.

I hope this helps :)

AUTOTROPHS Grass Sedges Preys upon Elk HETEROTROPHS Preys upon Wolf