Chapter 4- Ecosystems and Communities Flashcards
Weather
Day to day condutions
Climate
Year after year
Climate is what you expect
Weather is what you get
Greenhouse effect
Natural situation in which heat is retained by a layer of green house gases
Co2 methane water vapor etc
Polar zones
Cold areas where sun rays strike at a very low angle
Above 66.5 degrees
Temperate zones
Between polar and tropical zones
Between 66.5 and 23.5 degrees
Tropical zone
Near equator
Very warm
Below 23.5 degrees
Biotic factors
Biological influences on organisms within an ecosystem
Abiotic factors
Physical/ nonliving factors that shape ecosystems
Habitat
The area in which an organism lives
Niche
Full range of phys. And biological cond’s in which an organism lives + how they use those cond’s.
Resource
Any necessity of life
Water nutrients light food space
Competitive exclusion principle
A fund. rule in eco. states that no two species can have the same niche in the same hab. at the same time
Predation
One organism captures and feeds on another organism
Cheetah catching prey
Symbiosis
Any relationship in which two species live closely together
Clownfish + anemone
Mutualism
:) :)
Commensalism
:) :|
Parasitism
:) :(
Ecological succession
Series of predictable changes in a community over time
Primary succession
On land where no soil exists
Pioneer species
First species to populate an area
Lichens
Secondary successions
When a disturbance is over , community interactions tend to restore the ecosystem to its original conditions
Biome
Complex of terrestrial communities that covers a large area and is characterized by certain soil and climate conditions and particular assemblages if plants and animals
Tolerance
Ability to survive and reproduce under conditions that differ from their optimal conditions
Microclimate
The climate in a small area that differs from the climate around it
Canopy
Leafy tops of tall trees form a dense covering
Tropical rain forest
Understory
Shade below canopy
2nd layer of shorter trees and vinrs
Tropical rain forests
Deciduous
A tree that sheds its leaves during a particular season each year.
Tropical dry firest
Coniferous
Conifers that produce seed bearing cones and have leaves shaped like needles
Temperate foresr
Humus
A material formed from decaying leaves and other organic matter that makes soil fertile
Temperate forest
Taiga
Bitterly cold winters and mild summers
Boreal dorests
Permafrost
Layer of permanently frozen subsoil
Plankton
A gen. term for the tiny, free-floating orgs that live in both freshwater and saltwater environments
Phytoplankton
Unicellular algae that firm the base of many aquatic food webs
Zooplankton
Planktonic animals that feed on phytoplankton
Wetland
An ecosystem in which water covers the soil it is present at or near the surface of the soil for at least part of the year.
Estuaries
Wetlands formed where rivers meet the sea
Detritus
Tiny pieces if organic material that provide food for orgs at the base of the estuary’s food web
Salt marshes
Temperate-zone estuaries dominated by salt-tolerant grasses above the low-tide line, and by seagrasses under water
Mangrove swamps
Coastal wetlands that are widespread across tropical regions, including Florida and hawaii
Photic zone
Photosynthesis is limited to this well-lit upper layer
Aphotic zone
Below photic zone
Permanently dark
Zonation
Prominent horizontal banding of orgs that live in a particular habitat
Coastal ocean
Extends from the continental shelf to the low-tide mark
The relatively shallow border that surrounds the continents
Kelp forests
Named for their dominant organism
A giant brown alga that can grow at extraordinary rates
50 cm a day
Coral reefs
Named for the coral animals whose hard, calcium carbonate skeletons make up their primary structure.
Benthos
Orgs that live attached to or near the bottom
Sea stars anemones marine worms
