Ecology Flashcards
(44 cards)
What is ecology
Study of how organisms relate to one another and to their environments
What is a population
Group of same species living together
What is a biosphere
All ecosystems on earth
What are 4 key environmental factors
Temperature
Water
Sunlight
Soil
What is the Coriolis effect
Counterclockwise in northern hemisphere and clockwise in Southern Hemisphere
What does the coriolis effect affect?
Currents and winds around the world
What creates real deserts
Rain shadow effect
What are monsoons
Massive shifts in season winds
What are microclimates
Special climate conditions in small areas
The global concentration of carbon dioxide increasing and temperatures rising has a direct impact on the worlds
Climate
CO2 and other gases that absorb longer wavelengths of inflated light and radiated heat from earth are responsible for
The greenhouse effect
Three quarters of the earth is covered by what ecosystems
Marine ecosystems
Periodic disturbances in ocean currents by warming of waters is known as
El Niño
The worlds greatest fisheries occur in shallow waters over
Continental shelves
40% of the worlds photosynthetic productivity occurs in
Phytoplankton
What is a characteristic of larger lakes in temperate regions
Thermal stratification
How do dead zones form
Dead zones form when excess nutrients enter coastal waters and fertilize blooms of algae
What is eutrophication
The enrichment of nutrients in an environment
How does the conveyor system of circulation work
Water alternates from warm to cold and transports from the surface to the bottom through mixing
What is thermocline
Oxygen gets to bottom of deep lakes and ocean mostly from wind driven mixing
What are the most diverse
Coral reefs
Where does most oxygen come from
The ocean
What biome does survival depend on water conservation
Desert
Prairie is another name for what?
Temperature grassland
