Vocab Chapter 3

Question 1

Climate

Answer 1

The long-term pattern of temperature and precipitation

Question 2

Latitude

Answer 2

The location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator, which is designated as zero degrees

Question 3

Elevation

Answer 3

Refers to height above or below sea level

Question 4

Climatograph

Answer 4

A graph showing the monthly changes in temperature and precipitation throughout the year

Question 5

Biome

Answer 5

A large ecosystem with a specific range of abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and characteristic organisms (including plants and animals)

Question 6

Permafrost

Answer 6

The layer of permanently frozen subsoil in polar regions

Question 7

Boreal Forest

Answer 7

The biome characterized by acidic souls, dry winters, moderate precipitation, and the growth of conifers; stretches across the northern parts of North America, Asia, and Europe; also known as taiga

Question 8

Canopy

Answer 8

The upper layer of vegetation in a forest; often creates a dense layer, or cover, that prevents most sunlight from reaching the forest floor

Question 9

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Answer 9

The biome characterized by higher temperatures than the boreal forest and 75-220cm of precipitation per year and that supports the growth of huge forests of broadleaf trees; covers regions in southeastern Canada, the eastern United States, and large areas of Europe and Asia

Question 10

Understorey

Answer 10

The flowers, ferns, shrubs, and small trees that grow below the canopy layer in a forest

Question 11

Temperate Rainforest

Answer 11

One of the rarest of the world’s biomes; characterized by abundant moisture, mild climate, thick and rich soil, and the growth of shrubs and small trees; currently found only in British Columbia, Alaska, and Chile

Question 12

Savanna

Answer 12

A tropical grassland biome; of all the biomes, savannas support the greatest number and variety of large herbivores

Question 13

Tropical Rainforest

Answer 13

The biome characterized by rainfall between 200 and 450cm annually and temperature between 20 and 25•C throughout the year; believed to contain at least half of Earth’s terrestrial organisms

Question 14

Deserts

Answer 14

The biome characterized by less than 25cm of precipitation annually and sparse vegetation of small plants specialized to conserve water; occurs in North America, Eastern Asia, and the southeast tip of South America

Question 15

Polar Ice

Answer 15

The biome characterized by the presence of permanent ice and the absence of significant terrestrial vegetation; occurs at the North and South Poles

Question 16

Adaptation

Answer 16

Any genetic trait that improves and organism’s chance of surviving and reproducing

Question 17

Natural Selection

Answer 17

A process that favours the survival of organisms with traits that make them better adapted to the environment; tends to eliminate those individuals that are poorly adapted

Question 18

Mimicry

Answer 18

A strategy whereby one species resembles another that is poisonous, dangerous, or distasteful to avoid predation; also refers to situations where two harmful species have similar coloration (eg. Bees and wasps)

Question 19

Coevolution

Answer 19

A type of interaction involving the adaptation of two species in response to each other

Question 20

Biodiversity

Answer 20

The variety of, and the variation among, organisms within a given ecosystem, biome, or the entire Earth

Question 21

Primary Productivity

Answer 21

A measure of the available energy provided by the producers in an ecosystem

Question 22

Extinction

Answer 22

When a species is gone completely from Earth, or when so few individuals remain the reproduction is not possible

Question 23

Extripation

Answer 23

The phenomenon of local extinction, which occurs when a species ceases to exist in one area but still exists elsewhere in the world

Question 24

Keystone Species

Answer 24

A species whose presence plays an important ecological role in determining the types and numbers of other species in particular ecosystems; when these species are eliminated, the effects on the ecosystem are dramatic

Question 25

Competition

Answer 25

When two organisms make use of the same resource so that their niches overlap

Question 26

Interspecific Competition

Answer 26

Competition between different species

Question 27

Intraspecific Competition

Answer 27

Competition between organisms of the same species

Question 28

Resource Partitioning

Answer 28

A process that reduces or eliminates competition for similar resources by individuals of different species; species develop adaptations that allow them to occupy different non-overlapping ecological niches and partition available resources

Question 29

Adaptive Radiation

Answer 29

Occurs when species adapt differently to change in the environment, and become specialized in order to exploit smaller parts of the ecological niche

Question 30

Proliferation

Answer 30

Increase in numbers of individuals with new adaptive traits resulting from natural selection; populations with the new adaptations will proliferate until further selective pressure leases to further adaptations

Question 31

Foreign Species

Answer 31

Species that are not native to a particular ecosystem; they are often able to put compete the existing native species for a particular niche

Question 32

Ecological Succession

Answer 32

A gradual change in the types of plants that represent the structure of a community

Question 33

Pioneer Species

Answer 33

Refers to the first species to arrive and colonize a new environment; over time, the presence of the pioneer species changes the environment, creating acceptable conditions for other species

Question 34

Primary Succession

Answer 34

One of two types of ecological succession; the occupation by plant life of an area not previously covered by vegetation

Question 35

Climax Community

Answer 35

A complex, stable ecosystem reached during late successional stages

Question 36

Secondary Succession

Answer 36

One of two types of succession; the occupation by plant life in an area that was previously covered by vegetation but where there had been a significant disturbance such as a fire, flooding, landslides, or forest harvesting

Question 37

Tundra

Answer 37

A massive biome that extends in a continuous belt across Canada, Alaska, Asia, and Europe; characterized by very little precipitation (usually < 25cm annually), permafrost, and small, slow-growing plants such as grasses and mosses; the growing season is limited to a brief period of about eight weeks during the summer, preventing any significant tree growth

Question 38

Grassland

Answer 38

The biome characterized by rainfall between 25 and 75 cm per year supporting the growth of grasses

Question 39

Niche

Answer 39

The overall role of an organism in a community, including the range of biotic and abiotic conditions that the organism can tolerate