01 · Exam map [COURSE · BRIEF]
Permitted materials: not confirmed for this offering in the course materials we hold — check the exam instructions on the LMS. [BRIEF]
| Task | What earns control |
|---|---|
| Define | Name the biological object, scale and condition. |
| Explain | Give the mechanism linking start → outcome. |
| Apply | Use the changed scenario, not a memorised label. |
| Qualify | State the model, sampling or evidence boundary. |
Evidence ledger: record system/specimen, condition, observed feature, comparison and inference in separate slots. This stops a diagram label, group difference or mean from silently becoming a mechanism.
02 · Biodiversity evidence [C1]
Biodiversity = variation across genetic, species and ecosystem dimensions in a defined comparison. Species richness counts distinct species; richness ignores relative abundance.
pᵢ = proportion of species i from the same sample total.
| Measure | Use | Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Richness | Number of species | No evenness |
| H′ | Richness + relative abundance | Sampling and resolution dependent |
| Taxonomy | Identify/name from shared and distinguishing traits | Needs observable evidence |
Check A diversity index is not an intrinsic constant of a place: name sampling effort, spatial scale and identification quality.
Microbes: size is not effect
Biomass estimates living material; it does not identify whether the mechanism or ecosystem service is beneficial or harmful. Abundance alone is likewise non-diagnostic.
03 · Nutrition: form → function [C3]
| Strategy | Resource route | Evidence focus |
|---|---|---|
| Autotrophic | Inorganic resources + energy → organic molecules | Acquisition and synthesis |
| Heterotrophic | Consume/absorb organic material made by others | Processing and absorption |
| Digestive adaptation | Structure/physiology improves acquisition, processing or absorption | Comparative or experimental support |
Same energy unit; ingested ≠ assimilated.
04 · Water + nitrogen waste [C4]
Osmoregulation controls water and dissolved solutes. Excretory adaptation removes waste while balancing toxicity, water and energy.
Same interval + all named pathways. Sign = net change over that interval.
| Observation | Valid inference | Trap |
|---|---|---|
| ΔW > 0 | Inputs exceed outputs in stated interval | Not a timeless hydration state |
| Waste form | Trade-off among toxicity, water demand and energy cost | No universally superior product |
| Habitat fit | Relate environment → constraint → excretory feature | Label without mechanism |
Answer Name habitat water availability, identify the waste constraint, then explain the structural or physiological solution and its cost.
| Decision check | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Resource | What enters, and by which route? |
| Processing | What must be broken down, absorbed or removed? |
| Trade-off | Which water, energy, toxicity or evidence cost remains? |
Structure–function proof test
- Describe the observed form without inference.
- State the processing challenge.
- Predict the performance consequence.
05 · Metabolism + temperature [C5]
Metabolic rate is the rate of energy/material transformation. Keep whole-organism and mass-specific rates distinct.
B = metabolic rate; M = body mass; b = fitted scaling exponent.
| If prompt changes… | Track… | Qualify… |
|---|---|---|
| Body mass | Whole-organism B via Mᵇ | Taxa + mass range |
| Temperature | Position on thermal performance curve | Acclimation + measured range |
| Measurement | Rate definition and units | Method and conditions |
A fitted relationship is conditional on taxa, acclimation, measurement and observed range; do not turn b into a universal biological constant.
06 · Homeostasis + gas exchange [C6]
Homeostasis keeps an internal condition within a functional range. A stable outcome alone does not reveal the feedback mechanism.
More area A or gradient ΔC → higher flux; longer path L → lower flux.
| Design | Flux gain | Required caution |
|---|---|---|
| Large area | More interface | Environmental exposure/trade-off |
| Thin surface | Shorter L | Protection and water balance |
| Maintained gradient | Larger ΔC | Needs flow/ventilation context |
Thermoregulation answer check
A thermoregulatory strategy is a behavioural or physiological action affecting heat production, gain, retention or loss. State the environmental condition, direction of heat exchange and consequence for the regulated internal range. Do not equate a body-temperature pattern with its control mechanism.
07 · Immune recognition [C7]
| Feature | Innate immunity | Adaptive immunity |
|---|---|---|
| Targeting | Not antigen specific | Antigen specific |
| Components | Barriers, recognition systems, cellular responses | Lymphocyte activation, effectors, memory |
| Interpretation | Rapid defence | Recognition changes specific response |
Immune recognition detects molecular features indicating damage, invaders or a specific antigenic target.
Then apply calibration or decision rule; background subtraction alone is not interpretation.
Assay judgement
- Correct the sample signal for the measured blank.
- Check positive/negative controls and calibration or decision rule.
- State what the signal measures.
- Keep the biological claim inside that measurement.
Trap “Antibody detected” is an observation; it is not, by itself, a conclusion about protection or causation.
| Layer | Question |
|---|---|
| Recognition | Which molecular feature is detected? |
| Route | Innate, adaptive, or coordinated contribution? |
| Effector | Which barrier, cell or response changes the threat? |
| Evidence | Signal, control, calibration and comparison? |
| Boundary | Does the result show a marker, response, protection or outcome? |
08 · Evolutionary diagnosis [C8]
| Process/model | Diagnostic feature | Do not claim |
|---|---|---|
| Natural selection | Heritable variation + differential survival/reproduction | Any change is selection |
| Genetic drift | Random sampling across generations; stronger influence in small populations | Adaptive direction |
| Hardy–Weinberg | Null-model genotype expectations under specified assumptions | Departure names the mechanism |
p² + 2pq + q² = 1
Expected counts = expected proportion × N.
Allele-count discipline
For N diploid organisms there are 2N alleles. Count homozygote alleles twice and heterozygote alleles once. Keep allele frequency, genotype frequency and biological assumptions on separate lines.
q(a) = [2n(aa) + n(Aa)] / 2N
Process discriminator: selection requires heritable variation tied to differential survival/reproduction; drift is random sampling across generations and is especially influential in small populations. Neither label follows from a frequency change alone without evidence about how the change arose.
09 · Speciation + trees [C9]
Reproductive isolation reduces gene exchange before or after fertilisation. Coevolution requires reciprocal evolutionary change caused by interacting species imposing selection on one another.
Pairwise distance summarises one comparison; it does not choose a complete phylogenetic history.
| Claim | Evidence needed |
|---|---|
| Closer relationship | More recent common ancestor on the tree |
| Similar trait | Character observation; similarity alone need not mean closest relationship |
| Coevolution | Reciprocal selection and evolutionary change, not mere present interaction |
| Isolation | Barrier reducing gene exchange before or after fertilisation |
Tree reading rules
- Start with the named root or branching structure; follow nodes, not left–right tip order.
- Closest relatives share the most recent common ancestor shown.
- Rotating branches around a node does not change relationships.
- A tree is a branching hypothesis; connect claims to the evidence and model used.
10 · Population models [C10]
| Model | Rule | Interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| Exponential | Constant per-capita rate; limiting feedback absent from model | Growth scales with N |
| Logistic | dN/dt = rN(1 − N/K) | Density feedback slows growth as N → K |
| Source–sink | Dispersal links habitats above/below local replacement | Movement can support persistence |
K is modelled carrying capacity, not a permanent ceiling independent of environment, density, sampling or stochasticity.
11 · Interactions + One Health [C11]
| Claim | Evidence discipline |
|---|---|
| Ecological niche | Conditions, resources and interactions defining persistence/function |
| Predator–prey | One captures/consumes another; reciprocal ecological pressures |
| One Health | Link human, animal and environmental health through shared systems/risks |
Prevalence is a sampled proportion for the named population and period: not incidence and not causal effect. Host–parasite–environment association does not establish transmission direction or intervention effect.