Exam 1 Flashcards
(101 cards)
Hierarchy of biological organization
Atoms
Molecules
Organelles
Cells
Tissues
Organs
Organ system
The word Ecology is derived from the Greek work ‘oikos’ which means
House
Hierarchy of biological realms
Organisms
Populations
Community
Ecosystems
Landscapes
Biosphere
Physiological ecology
Organismal level of ecological study
Population ecology
Population-level of ecological study
Community ecology
Community level of study (ie predation etc)
Ecosystem ecology
Ecosystem level of study (ie energy flow, food webs etc)
Global Ecology
Climate change and effects etc
Temporal variation
different times
Spatial variation
Different places
Proximate questions
Now, immediate, functional. ‘How’ questions
Ultimate questions
Evolutionarily ‘Why’ questions
Descriptive questions
‘What’ questions
What does the terrestrial ecosystem’s structure rely on?
Plants baby
Climate
Averages of temp, rainfall, lights, wind speed, hours of light
Weather
The day-to-day variation in temp, rainfall, lights, wind speed, hours of light
Seasons
Long-term predictable variation of temp, rainfall, lights, etc. Only truly outside the tropics
Why do seasons occur outside the tropics?
23-degree tilt of Earth’s axis
Troposphere
lowest layer of atmosphere, weather occurs here
Stratosphere
Lots of O3 (ozone) protects troposphere oxygen and screens out UV light
Mesosphere
Coldest, shooting stars
Thermosphere
Northern lights happen here
What is the tropopause, stratopause, and mesopause?
Where atmosphere levels meet or end. Very little mixing occurs between layers
If everywhere on Earth gets the same hours of sunlight annually, why is there a different climate?
The Equator gets more energy and the difference is magnified by different levels of reradiation