Ecology and Environment — Prelims Strategy

Prelims Strategy

Begin numerical questions by identifying the quantity and its units. If GPP is 900 energy units per area per year and producer respiration is 350 in matching units, NPP is 550. Adding respiration reverses the relationship; subtracting consumer respiration answers a different question. Standing biomass cannot be inserted into the equation without compatible time and area dimensions.

For population growth, identify whether resources are assumed unconstrained or whether carrying capacity matters. A logistic curve does not imply that carrying capacity is immune to habitat change. For interactions, mark the effect on each participant before selecting a name. Physical association alone cannot establish mutual benefit.

Practise conservation comparisons through the location and purpose of the intervention. Protecting a species in its habitat is in situ; maintaining an appropriate collection outside that habitat is ex situ. Neither label alone establishes success. In statement questions, watch for an option that takes a real mechanism and removes its conditions, such as equating higher primary productivity with greater biodiversity in every setting.