Chapter 4

Question 1

Weather

Answer 1

Day to day conditions of the atmosphere

Includes temperature, precipitation, and other factors

Question 2

Climate

Answer 2

Average year to year conditions of temperature and precipitation in an area over a long period of time

Question 3

Microclimate

Answer 3

Environment conditions within a small area that differs significantly from the surrounding area’s climate

Question 4

Greenhouse effect

Answer 4

Process where certain gasses (CO2, methane (CH4), and H2O vapor) trap sunlight energy as heat in the atmosphere

Question 5

Tolerance

Answer 5

Organism’s ability to survive and reproduce under circumstances that differ from their optimal conditions

Question 6

Habitat

Answer 6

Area where an organism lives

Includes biotic and abiotic factors that affect it

Question 7

Niche

Answer 7

Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and how those conditions are used by the organism

Question 8

Resource

Answer 8

Any necessity of life

Includes water, nutrients, light, food, space

Question 9

Competitive exclusion principle

Answer 9

Principle that states no two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time

Question 10

Predation

Answer 10

Interaction when a predator catches and eats the prey

Question 11

Herbivory

Answer 11

Interaction when an herbivore eats producers

Question 12

Keystone species

Answer 12

Single species that is not abundant yet exerts strong control on a community structure

Question 13

Symbiosis

Answer 13

Relationship when two species live close together

Question 14

Mutualism

Answer 14

Symbiotic relationship when both species benefit from the relationship

Question 15

Parasitism

Answer 15

Symbiotic relationship when one organism lives inside another and benefits by harming the outer organism

Question 16

Commensalism

Answer 16

Symbiotic relationship when one organism benefits and the other does not, yet stays unharmed

Question 17

Ecological succession

Answer 17

Series of gradual changes the occur in a community following a disturbance

Question 18

Primary succession

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Pioneer species

Answer 19

First species to populate an area during succession

Question 20

Secondary succession

Answer 20

Succession that occurs in an area that was only partially destroyed by disturbances

Question 21

Canopy

Answer 21

Dense covering formed by the tall rain forests’ leafy treetops

Question 22

Understory

Answer 22

Layer in a rain forest found underneath the canopy formed by shorter trees and vines

Question 23

Deciduous

Answer 23

Types of trees that shed their leaves during a particular season each year

Question 24

Coniferous

Answer 24

Types of trees that produce seed-bearing cones and have thin leaves shaped like line needles

Question 25

Humus

Answer 25

Material formed from decaying leaves and organic matter

Question 26

Taiga

Answer 26

Biome dominated by coniferous evergreens with long cold winters and few months of warm weather

AKA: boreal forest

Question 27

Permafrost

Answer 27

Layer of permanently frozen subsoil found in the tundra

Question 28

Ephotic zone

Answer 28

Sunlight region near surface of water

Question 29

Aphotic zone

Answer 29

Dark layer of oceans below the ephotic zone where sunlight does not reach

Question 30

Benthos

Answer 30

Organisms that live attached to or near the bottom of lakes, streams, or oceans

Question 31

Plankton

Answer 31

Microscopic organisms that live in aquatic environments

Includes phytoplankton and zooplankton

Question 32

Wetland

Answer 32

Ecosystem where water either covers soil or is present at or near the surface for at least part of the year

Question 33

Estuary

Answer 33

Wetland formed at the river and ocean point