Critical Thinking Questions
23. What are the evolutionary advantages for an organism to reproduce both asexually and sexually?
24. Compare plants, animals, and fungi, considering these components: cell wall, chloroplasts, plasma membrane, food source, and polysaccharide storage. Be sure to indicate fungi’s similarities and differences to plants and animals.
25. Why is the large surface area of the mycelium essential for nutrient acquisition by fungi?
26. What is the advantage for a basidiomycete to produce a showy and fleshy fruiting body?
27. For each of the four groups of perfect fungi (Chytridiomycota, Zygomycota, Ascomycota, and Basidiomycota), compare the body structure and features, and provide an example.
28. Why does protection from light actually benefit the photosynthetic partner in lichens?
29. Ambrosia bark beetles carry Ambrosiella fungal spores to trees, then bore holes and lay their eggs with the fungus. When the new larvae hatch, they eat the fungus that has germinated in the holes. Describe how this relationship can be classified as mutualistic.
30. Ecologists often attempt to introduce new plants to restore degraded land. In an arid climate, scientists recommend introducing plants with arbuscular mycorrhizae. How would the mycorrhizae increase the plants’ survival compared to plants without mycorrhizae?
31. Why can superficial mycoses in humans lead to bacterial infections?
32. Explain how the Red Queen Hypothesis describes the continuously evolving relationship between red grapes and Botrytis cinerea.
33. Historically, artisanal breads were produced by capturing wild yeasts from the air. Prior to the development of modern yeast strains, the production of artisanal breads was long and laborious because many batches of dough ended up being discarded. Can you explain this fact?
34.How would treating an area of a forest with a broad-spectrum fungicide alter the carbon and nitrogen cycles in the area?