Ch 52 Ecology / Biomes Flashcards
Ecology components
- Distribution and abundance of organisms
- Abiotic and biotic factors
- Interactions along a hierarchy of scales
Ecology is a ____ not ____
Science; advocacy
Tropical forest organisms - name 2
- Epiphytes
- Lianas
Epiphytes
a plant that grows on another plant but is not parasitic, such as the numerous ferns, bromeliads, air plants, and orchids growing on tree trunks in tropical rainforests.
Lianas
plants with long, flexible, climbing stems that are rooted in the ground, and usually have long dangling branches (vines)
Desert defined by…
Precipitation not temperature
Desert organisms have:
- Small waxy leaves
- storage organs
Savanna characteristics - 3 things
Grassland with scattered trees
Occurs in equatorial and subequatorial regions
Warm year-round
Chaparral characteristics - 4 things
Midlatitude coastal regions
Rainy winters, dry summers
Dominated by shrubs and small trees
Fire adaptations
Temperate grasslands characteristics - 3 things
Plains and prairies in North America
Dry winters, wet summers
Large grazers
Temperate broadleaf forests characteristics - 4 things
Midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere
Significant precip in all seasons
Deciduous trees
Hibernation + migration in the winter
Coniferous forests characteristics - 3 things
Largest terrestrial biome
Periodic droughts
Cone-bearing trees
Tundra characteristics - 2 things
Occurs at high latitude & mountaintops
Permafrost (frozen moisture in the soil)
Biome type dictated by
Climate (Temp + light + precip)
Highest amount of evaporation located
Near equator