5.1 Biomes, Climate, & Community U5

Question 1

What is weather?

Answer 1

The day-to-day condition of Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place

Question 2

What is climate?

Answer 2

The average, year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region

Question 3

What are three factors that influence climate?

Answer 3

Greenhouse effect
Latitude of the Earth
Transport of heat and moisture by winds and ocean currents

Question 4

What is the biosphere insulated by?

Answer 4

The biosphere is insulated by the atmosphere which contains greenhouse gasses

Question 5

What is the greenhouse effect?

Answer 5

Heat is retained by the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere

Question 6

What are 3 common greenhouse gasses?

Answer 6

Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor

Question 7

What are the three main climate zones?

Answer 7

Polar, Temperate, Tropical

Question 8

What causes the three climate zones?

Answer 8

As a result of differences in latitude and thus angle of heating

Question 9

What is the polar climate zone?

Answer 9

66.5 to 90 degrees

Question 10

What is the temperate climate zone?

Answer 10

Between polar and tropic

Question 11

What is the tropical climate zone?

Answer 11

Surrounding equator 23.5 N to 23.5 S

Question 12

What influences regional climate?

Answer 12

Latitude and heat carried by winds and ocean currents

Question 13

How many biomes are there?

Answer 13

Ecologists classify Earth’s terrestrial ecosystems into at least 10 different regional climate communities called biomes

Question 14

What is a biome?

Answer 14

Biomes are described in terms of abiotic factors, climate and soil type, and biotic factors, like plant and animal life

Question 15

How much of earths surface is covered by water?

Answer 15

75%

Question 16

What are aquatic organisms affected by?

Answer 16

Aquatic organisms are affected primarily by the water’s depth, temperature, flow rate, and concentrations of dissolved nutrients

Question 17

How does water depth influence aquatic life?

Answer 17

Water depth influences aquatic life because sunlight penetrates only a relatively short distance through water

Question 18

What is the photic zone?

Answer 18

The upper layer of the ocean where light penetrates and photosynthesis is possible

Question 19

What is the Aphotic Zone?

Answer 19

The lower layer of the ocean where light does not penetrate and there is no photosynthesis.

Question 20

How much of the earths water is freshwater?

Answer 20

3%

Question 21

What are the three categories of freshwater ecosystems?

Answer 21

Rivers and Streams
Lakes and Ponds
Freshwater wetlands

Question 22

What are Estuaries?

Answer 22

are a special kind of wetland, where the river meets the sea. They contain a mixture of salt water and fresh water. Estuaries serve as spawning and nursery grounds for many ecologically and commercially important fish and shellfish.

Question 23

What do Ecologists use to divide the ocean into zones?

Answer 23

depth and distance from the shore. Within these zones live a number of different communities

Question 24

Where are phytoplankton found and are they photosynthetic?

Answer 24

are photosynthetic algae found near the surface of the ocean

Question 25

How much of the earths oxygen do phytoplankton produce and do they consume carbon dioxide?

Answer 25

They produce 70% of Earth’s oxygen and are the main consumers of carbon dioxide

Question 26

What is a niche?

Answer 26

The full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions.

Question 27

How is an organisms niche determined?

Answer 27

An organism’s niche is determined by the living (biotic) and nonliving (abiotic) features of the ecosystem.

Question 28

What is ecological succession?

Answer 28

The series of predictable change that occurs in a community over time. Ecosystems change over time, especially after disturbances, as new species move in, populations change, and some species die out.

Question 29

What is Primary succession?

Answer 29

Succession that occurs in an area in which no trace of a previous community is present

Question 30

What is secondary succession?

Answer 30

Succession that occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by a disturbance

Question 31

What is a pioneer species?

Answer 31

The first species to colonize a barren area

Question 32

How does the wind effect the climate?

Answer 32

The wind carries things like heat, moisture, pollutants, and pollen to new places.

Question 33

How does the ocean currents affect the climate?

Answer 33

Ocean currents affect the climate because they transport warm water and precipitation from the equator toward the poles and cold water from the poles back to the tropics.

Question 34

How does latitude affect the climate?

Answer 34

In terms of latitude, the higher latitudes get less direct sunlight because the earth is round which makes the sunlight hit the earth at different angles.

Question 35

What is a freshwater biome?

Answer 35

Fresh water is less than 1% salt

Question 36

What is a marine biome?

Answer 36

marine biomes are very salt concentrated.

Question 37

What is a similarity between freshwater and marine biomes?

Answer 37

Both adapt fins for their ocean environment.

Question 38

What is a difference between freshwater and marine biomes?

Answer 38

An adaptation of freshwater biomes is spongy tissue in stems and leaves. Spongy tissue helps the plant move the oxygen in the air down to the roots. In marine biomes, the animals have specially developed kidneys, gills, and body functions help prevent the water from equalizing salt concentrations across membranes.

Question 39

What is the competitive exclusion principle? Ex.

Answer 39

The competitive exclusion principle is when there is competition among two species, the one with any advantage will “take over”. This means that the other species will either go extinct or adapt and evolve. Barnacles that live on rocky shores are an example of the competitive exclusion principle. Balanoid barnacles undercut and overgrow the genus Chthamalus due to form attachment and rapid growth. This causes Chthamalus to live only in the upper edge of the intertidal zone. This is because the balanoids can’t live there.

Question 40

What are the 3 main types of symbiotic relationships?

Answer 40

mutualism, commensalism, parasitic

Question 41

What is a Symbiotic relationship?

Answer 41

any relationship or interaction between two dissimilar organisms

Question 42

What is mutualism?

Answer 42

In mutualism, both organisms benefit

Question 43

What is commensalism?

Answer 43

In commensalism, one species lives with, on, or in another species. The species that carries the other one doesnt benefit or get harmed.

Question 44

What is a parasitic relationship?

Answer 44

In a parasitic relationship, one species lives with, on, or in a host species. The host species is harmed while the other species gains.

Question 45

What is a competitive relationship?

Answer 45

Competition is the struggle between organisms for the same limited resources in an ecosystem.

Question 46

What is a keystone species and its importance?

Answer 46

A keystone species is an organism that is vital for holding the system together. Without the keystone species, ecosystems would look very different and might not be able to adapt to changes in the environment.