Biogeog Lecture 1, 2 & 3 Flashcards
Out of the estimated 5-50 million species of plants, animals and microbes on the earth, how many have been described by scientists?
less than 2 million
Estimates of total biodiversity is uncertain because?
- Very few experts
- Difficulty in defining what exactly a specie is
…… refers to all variety of organisms.
biodiversity
Which two concepts place the discipline in a geographical context?
Temporal and spatial
What is biogeography?
It is the study of geographic distribution of plants and animals both living and fossil as a result of ecological and evolutionary processes.
Biogeography applies knowledge from several fields of study to explain its subject matter. What does this mean?
it is a synthetic science
Plant biogeography is also called?
phytogeography
Animal biogeography is also called ….
zoogeography
What’s the third systematic of geography that have been mentioned ?
Microbial biogeography
Scientists studying ancient ecosystems and their interactions organisms and their environment in the past is called ?
paleoecology
Why study biogeography?
To understand differences in spatial distribution of life and to provide logical explanations
A group of species is
taxa
Between plant and animal biogeography, which has gained more attention and is studies more by scientists ?
plant biogeography
…………… states rage the survival of an organism is determined by it’s required environmental factor which occurs in minimum quantity.
Liebig’s law of minimum
………….. states that there are limits of a required environmental factor for each organism.
Shelford’s law of tolerance
Importance of light to organisms is swab in the context of ….
quality, intensity and duration
Which portion of the solar spectrum is useful for photosynthesis?
the visible light portion
On the basis of light intensity requirements, plants fall into two broad categories. what are they?
Heliophytes and Sciophytes
Sun-loving plants are …..
Heliophytes
Shade-loving plants are …..
Sciophytes
Most plants like fungi and algae are ….
Sciophytic
Most trees, grasses and herbaceous weeds are
Heliophytic
The response of plants to duration of daylight is
photoperiodism
Sugar cane is a …… plant.
Short day
Lettuce, wheat and potato are ……. plants.
Long day
Tomato is a ……
Day-neutral plant
Plants growing permanently in freshwater environments are called ?
hydrophytes
Plants growing in saline environments as salt mashes are?
Halophytes
Plants adapted to arid conditions are
xerophytes
Plants tolerant to moderate conditions between environmental extremes are …
mesophytes
For every 10 degree celsius increase in temperature, rate of chemical reaction ….
decreases
Most life in the biosphere functions within the temperature range of ….
0 and 50 degree celsius
Individual species have minimum, maximum and optimum temperature requirements for their metabolic activities is called ?
cardinal temperatures
What are the four basic provisions plants require from the soil on which they grow?
- Soil air
- Soil nutrient
- Anchors roots firmly
- Holds water in pore spaces
Effects of topography on plants growth and development can be seen in two respects, name them.
The aspect or slope orientation and steepness or slope angle
The aspect of a plant is
important in determining the amount of solar energy and heat received at the surface.
The altitudinal zonation of vegetation types is called
Catena
Some plants relying on larger plants for support not for food is ….
Epiphytism
