EXAM 1 Flashcards
(208 cards)
What is the term for terrestrial vegetation that borders streams and rivers and is influenced by seasonal flooding?
Riparian.
What important role do mangrove swamps play in maintaining their environment?
They prevent coastal erosion.
What phenomenon explains why species in widely separated but similar biomes display similar characteristics?
Convergent evolution.
Which statement about biomes is true?
Fire is important in some biomes because it creates openings.
What is true about the structure of tropical wet forests?
Tropical forest structure consists of distinct layers that provide many different habitats.
What determines the kind of vegetation in a tropical wet forest?
The amount of rainfall.
What are the dominant herbivores in savannas?
Insects.
Which is a correct pairing of a biome and its characteristics? Tundra-
very cold winters; only the upper layer of the soil thaws during summer.
What is true about deserts and the organisms that live there?
Many desert animals are nocturnal.
Which characteristic belongs to the chaparral biome?
Plants with seeds that will germinate only after exposure to a hot fire.
Where are most of the best agricultural soils in the United States found?
In areas that were formerly temperate grasslands.
What factors help limit the growth of woody plants in temperate grasslands?
Fires and grazing by large mammals.
Which biome is characterized by large, grazing mammals?
Temperate grasslands.
Which biome is dominated by coniferous trees adapted to surviving long, harsh winters and short, wet summers?
Boreal forests.
What factor is fundamentally responsible for the character of arctic tundra soils?
Permafrost.
What best describes the interaction between fire and ecosystems?
Many kinds of plants and plant communities have adapted to frequent fires.
What is the most likely explanation for the unusual growth of ‘drunken forests’ in areas of permafrost?
Taproot formation is impossible, so trees developed shallow root beds.
In which biome would you find the greatest number of bird species based on vertical strata?
Temperate forest.
What are the major factors affecting the distribution of biomes?
Temperature and precipitation.
What information is missing from a climograph that would help predict what biome should be found?
The pattern of climatic variation including seasonal differences.
What helps produce the patchiness found in most biomes?
Disturbance.
Which biome is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth?
Boreal forests/Taiga.
Which choice correctly pairs a terrestrial biome with some of its characteristics?
Boreal forest or taiga…very cold winters, short growing season.
Which biomes are dominated by gymnosperm or conifer trees?
Taiga or boreal forests.