October 28th, 2020 
Essay — Explain the difference between niche differentiation and character displacement. Illustrate your discussion with an example of each.
Essay — Explain how two species can be involved in an exploitative interaction. Then, describe how population sizes of parasites and their hosts affect each other over time. Finally, explain the difference between a parasite and a parasitoid.
Essay — Explain how somatic effort and reproductive effort are important in the development and growth of organisms. In your discussion, include the concept of allocation. Additionally, explain how the concept of allocation is important in reproduction, especially with regard to offspring quality and quantity.
Essay — Define the term “species richness”, and contrast this to the concept of “species evenness.” Then, pick one of the following topics for discussion. If you answer parts a) and b), only part a) will be graded.
a) Explain how the presence of predators can increase the species richness of lower trophic levels.
b) Explain why species richness is thought to promote community stability. In your discussion, include examples of at least two real organisms.
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