Ch. 54 - An Introduction to Ecology and Biomes Flashcards
the study of the ways in which individual organisms meet the challenges of their abiotic and biotic interactions within their environment
Organismal Ecology
investigates how organisms are physiologically adapted to their environment and how the environment impacts the distribution of species
Physiological Ecology
how the behavior of individual organisms contributes to their survival and reproductive success
Behavioral Ecology
focuses on groups of interbreeding individuals (populations); understanding factors that affect a population’s growth and determine its size and density
Population Ecology
study of how populations of species interact and form functional communities
Community Ecology
systems formed by the interactions between a community of organisms and its physical environment
Ecosystem
the flow of energy and the cycling of nutrients within an ecosystem, which, in turn, affects the production of biomass
Ecosystem Ecology
performing an experiment several times
Replication
a fairly narrow zone close to the ocean’s surface, where light is sufficient to allow photosynthesis to occur
Photic Zone
species that can tolerate higher salt concentrations in their cell sap than regular plants
Halophytes
precipitation with a pH of less than 5.6
Acid Rain
the prevailing weather pattern in a given region
Climate
areas of high pressure and are the sites of the world’s hot deserts, because the subsiding air is relatively dry, having released all of its moisture over the equator
Subsidence Zone
increasing elevation leads to a decrease in air pressure
Adiabatic Cooling
an area where precipitation is noticeably less
Rain Shadow
major types of habitat characterized by distinctive plant and animal life; subdivided into terrestrial and aquatic
Biomes
rainfall > 230cm/year; avg. temp = 25-29; equatorial regions
Tropical Rain Forest
uppermost layer of tree foliage
Canopy
rainfall ~ 130-280 cm/year; avg. temp = 25-39; equatorial regions where rainfall is more seasonal
Tropical Deciduous Forest
rainfall > 200 cm/year; winter temperatures seldom drop below freezing and summer temperatures rarely exceed 27 degrees celsius; coastal locales
Temperate Rain Forest
rainfall ~ 75-200 cm/year; temp falls below freezing each winter but not usually below -12; eastern US, western Europe, eastern Asia
Temperate Deciduous Forest
rainfall ~ 30-100 cm/year (often snow); temps are very cold, often below freezing; lies north of temperate-zone forests and grasslands; Taiga
Temperate Coniferous Forest
rainfall ~ 50-130 cm/year; temps range from 24-29; Africa, South America, northern Australia
Tropical Grassland
overstocking of land for pasturage of domestic animals can greatly reduce grass coverage through overgrazing, turning the area desert-like
Desertification
rainfall ~ 25-100 cm/year; temp sometimes falls below 10 degrees celsius or as high as 30 degrees celsius; ~30 degrees latitude; prairie
Temperate Grassland
rainfall is less than 30 cm/year; temps vary, below freezing at night to as high as 50 degrees celsius in the day; latitudes of 20-30 degrees North or South
Hot Desert
rainfall < 25 cm/year (often snow); summer can be 21 to 26 degrees celsius; winter can be -2 to 4 degrees celsius; dry regions at middle to high latitudes
Cold Desert
rainfall < 25 cm/year (locked up as snow); summer can be 3 to 12 degrees celsius and winter avg. temp is -32 degrees celsius; mainly in northern hemisphere
Tundra
temperature decreases with increasing elevation; precipitation and temperature change dramatically; many areas of the world
Mountain Ranges
layer of permanently frozen soil
Permafrost
in the spring, ice melts, water warms, and spring storms mix the water layers, creating uniform conditions of temperature and oxygen
Spring Overturn
upper layer warmed by the sun and mixed well by the wind
Epilimnion
transition zone where the temperature declines rapidly
Thermocline
cool layer far below the surface to be much warmed and with low light levels where photosynthesis is absent and oxygen supply is low
Hypolimnion
standing-water habitats
Lentic
running-water habitats
Lotic
the area where land meets the sea, is alternately submerged and exposed by the daily cycle of tide; sandy shore, mudflats, or rocky shore
Intertidal Zone
need warm water of at least 20 degrees celsius but less than 30 degrees celsius; limited to photic zone; warm tropical waters
Coral Reef
water depth averages 4000 m; covering 70% of Earth’s surface; Pelagic Zone
Open Ocean
circulation of cold, mineral-rich nutrients from deeper water to the surface
Upwelling
microscopic photosynthetic organisms
Phytoplankton
drifting animals that graze on phytoplankton
Zooplankton
swim against the current to locate food
Nekton
young lakes often start off clear and with little plant life
Oligotrophic
lakes become richer in dissolved nutrients from erosion and runoff from surrounding land
Eutrophic
flowing water prevents water accumulation and phytoplankton blooms; well-aerated; all continents except Antartica
Lotic Habitats
areas regularly saturated by surface water or groundwater; marshes to swamps to bogs; seasonally flooded; oxygen levels fairly low
Wetlands
the study of the geographic distribution of extinct and living species
Biogeography
major changes in the relative location of continents due to the slow movement of the Earth’s surface plates
Plate techtonics
two or more closely related species that are widely separated geographically
Disjunct Distributions
