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BI158 > Chapter 52 > Flashcards

Chapter 52 Flashcards

1
Q

What is ecology?

A

the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment

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2
Q

What does ecology include?

A

all organisms, in how they relate to each other and the environment

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3
Q

What do ecological interactions determine?

A

distribution of organisms and their abundance

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4
Q

What does modern ecology include?

A

observation and experimentation

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5
Q

What two questions are asked in ecology?

A

What environmental factors limit geographic distribution?

What factors (food, pathogens) affect population size?

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6
Q

How does ecology work?

A

at levels ranging from individual organisms to the planet

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7
Q

What are the 6 levels of ecology?

A

Organismal > Population > community > Ecosystem > landscape > global

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8
Q

What is a biosphere?

A

global ecosystem, the sum of all the planet’s ecosystems

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9
Q

What does global ecology examine?

A

the influence of energy and materials on organisms across the biosphere

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10
Q

What is a landscape/seascape?

A

mosaic of connected ecosystems

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11
Q

what does landscape ecology focus on?

A

exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems

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12
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they interact

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13
Q

what does ecosystem ecology emphasize?

A

energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and abiotic components

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14
Q

what is a community?

A

a group of populations of different species in an area

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15
Q

What does community ecology examine?

A

the effect of interspecific interactions on community structure and organization

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16
Q

what is a population?

A

a group of individuals of the same species living in an area

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17
Q

What does population ecology focus on?

A

factors affecting population size over time

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18
Q

What is organismal ecology?

A

studies how an organism’s structure, physiology, and behavior meet environmental challenges

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19
Q

what does organismal ecology include?

A

Includes physiological, evolutionary, and behavioral ecology

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20
Q

what is a climate?

A

long-term prevailing weather conditions in an area

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21
Q

what are four major abiotic components of climate?

A

temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind

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22
Q

What is macroclimate?

A

patterns on the global, regional, and landscape level

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23
Q

What is microclimate?

A

very fine patterns, such as those encountered by the community of organisms underneath a fallen log

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24
Q

what are global cimate patterns determined by?

A

the sun and Earth’s movement in space

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25
Q

What does the sun cause?

A

temperature variation, driving evaporation and circulation of air and water

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26
Q

What does circulation of air and water lead to?

A

latitudinal variations in climate

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27
Q

How does the angle of the sun affect the earth?

A

ntensity of the amount of heat and light per unit of surface area

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28
Q

Where is the tropics?

A

23.5 north latitude and 23.5 south latitude

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29
Q

Where is sunlight most intense, and why?

A

strongest in the tropics where sunlight strikes Earth most directly

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30
Q

Why are the poles cold year round?

A

low angle of incoming sunlight

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31
Q

What plays a major role in determining climate patterns?

A

Global air circulation and precipitation patterns

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32
Q

How does water evaporate and move in the tropics?

A

warm, wet air masses flow from the tropics toward the poles

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33
Q

How does dry air contribute to climate? (2)

A

Descending dry air towards the equator absorbs moisture

Creates arid climates, near 30 degrees north and south

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34
Q

What does moist air do in the climate?

A

Ascending moist air towards the poles releases moisture

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35
Q

What causes high precipitation?

A

rising air massses

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36
Q

What does air flowing close to the surface allow?

A

predicting global wind patterns

37
Q

How do trade winds travel?

A

blow from east to west in the tropics

38
Q

How does westerlies travel?

A

from west to east in the temperate zones

39
Q

What three things affect climate?

A

Seasonality

Large bodies of water

Mountains

40
Q

What increases towards the poles?

A

Seasonal variations of light and temperature

41
Q

what causes seasonality at high latitudes?

A

tilt of earth’s axis of rotation and its annual passage around the sun

42
Q

What shifts as the angle of the sun changes?

A

Belts of wet and dry air straddling the equator

43
Q

What does changing wind patterns affect?

A

ocean currents

44
Q

What do oceans and its currents moderate?

A

climate of nearby terrestrial environments

45
Q

Where do currents take cold water?

A

from poles to the equator

46
Q

Where do currents take warm water?

A

from equator to the poles

47
Q

What do large gyres do?

A

impact climate of terrestrial regions

48
Q

How do breezes move during the day?

A

air rises over warm land and draws a cool breeze from the water across the land

49
Q

How do breezes move during the night?

A

As the land cools at night, air rises over warmer water and draws cooler air from land back over the water, which is replaced by warm air from offshore

50
Q

How does rising air affect mountains?

A

releases moisture on the windward side of a peak and creates a rain shadow as it absorbs moisture on the leeward side

51
Q

How do mountains and sunlight interact?

A

Mountains affect the amount of sunlight reaching an area

52
Q

How does the south and north differ in sunlight and mountains?

A

in the northern hemisphere, south-facing slopes receive more sunlight than north-facing slopes

53
Q

How does elevation and temperature correlate?

A

Every 1,000 m increase in elevation produces a temperature drop of approximately 6 degrees Celsius

54
Q

What is microclimate determined by?

A

fine-scale differences in the environment that affect light and wind patterns

55
Q

What abiotic factors characterizes the environment?

A

nonliving attributes such as temperature, light, water, and nutrients

56
Q

What biotic factors characterizes the environment?

A

other organisms that are part of an individual’s environment

57
Q

How do you predict future climate change?

A

study previous change

58
Q

How does glaciers correlate with terrestrial climate?

A

As glaciers retreated in the past, tree distribution patterns changed

59
Q

How does climate change affect species?

A

species that have difficulty dispersing may have smaller ranges or could become extinct

60
Q

What do fossil fuels and deforestation cause?

A

increasing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere and other greenhouse gases

61
Q

How much has the earth warmed since the 1900s?

A

.8 celsius

62
Q

How much is it projected to warm by 2100?

A

1-6 degrees

63
Q

How can we use the past ice age?

A

predict how global warming affects the distribution of living things

64
Q

How did trees expand after the ice age? (2)

A

Tree seeds expand northwards after ice ages

Those with winged seeds are more rapidly expanded

65
Q

How has climate chane affected distribution of organisms?

A

Trees, butterflies, and diatoms have shifted northwards

66
Q

How has diatoms shifted environments?

A

due to receding arctic sea ice, making water flow possible

67
Q

What are biomes?

A

major life zones characterized by vegetation type (terrestrial biomes) or physical environment (aquatic biomes)

68
Q

What does climate determine regarding biomes (2)?

A

why terrestrial biomes are found in certain areas

location of terrestrial biomes

69
Q

What is a climograph?

A

plots annual mean temperature and precipitation in a region

70
Q

What are biomes affected by?

A

not just by average temperature and precipitation, but also by the pattern of temperature and precipitation throughout the year

71
Q

What are terrestrial biomes named after?

A

major physical or climatic factors and for vegetation

72
Q

What are ecotones?

A

area of intergradation, ranging from wide or narrow

73
Q

What is an important feature of terrestrial biomes?

A

vertical layering

74
Q

vertical layer example

A

Forest might consist of an upper canopy, low-tree layer, shrub understory, ground layer of herbaceous plants, forest floor, and root layer

75
Q

What does layering provide?

A

diverse habitats for animals

76
Q

How does species composition and biome interact?

A

same biomes in different areas can vary

77
Q

How can different species in the same type of biome evolve?

A

Similar characteristics can arise in distant through convergent evolution

78
Q

What is a disturbance?

A

event such as storm, fire, or human activity that changes a community

79
Q

How can fire affect savamma biomes?

A

Frequent fires kill woody plants and maintain savanna vegetation

80
Q

How can hurricanes affect forests?

A

Hurricanes create openings in forests to allow different species to grow

81
Q

Why are disturbances important?

A

In many biomes, dominant plants depend on periodic disturbances

82
Q

what are terrestrial biomes characterized by? (5)

A

distribution, precipitation, temperature, plants, and animals

83
Q

Where is a tropical forest found?

A

equatorial and subequatorial region

84
Q

What are three characteristics of a tropical forest?

A

Constant temperature

Vertically layered, with competition for light

Rich in animal species

85
Q

How do tropical rain forests differ from dry forests?

A

Tropical rain forest- rainfall is constant

Tropical dry forest- precipitation is highly seasonal

86
Q

Where are deserts found?

A

30 degrees north and south, and interior of continents

87
Q

2 characteristics of deserts?

A

Temperature variable seasonally
Can be hot or cold

88
Q

How do desert plants adapt?

A

for heat and desiccation through water storage and reduced leaf surface area

89
Q

what kind of animals are found in deserts?

A

nocturnal or migratory

BI158 (16 decks)

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