Chapter 5

Question 1

Define:

1. Biomes
2. Vertical Zonation
3. Cloud Forest
4. Chaparral
5. Taiga
6. Tundra

Answer 1

1. Are areas sharing similar climate, topographic and soil conditions, and thus the same
   basic types of biological communities.
2. Vertical zonation is a term applied to vegetation zones defined by altitude.
   Temperature and precipitation also change with altitude. E.x. As you go up a mountain, it gets
   cooler and wetter.
3. Are high mountains where fog and mist keep vegetation continually wet
4. A Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the US
   state of California.
5. Is the Northernmost edge of boreal forest. Extreme cold and short summers limit the
   growth rate of trees. A tree that is 4 inches (10 cm) in diameter may be over 200 years old.
6. Is a treeless landscape that occurs at high latitudes or on mountaintops. Growing
   season of two or three months. Frost any month of the year. No trees. Water is frozen and
   unavailable most of the year.

Question 2

What are the relative depths of the following vertical stratification of the ocean: Littoral zone, Pelagic zone (epiplagic zone, mesoplagic zone, bathypelagic zone), Abyssal zone, Hadal zone.

Answer 2

Littoral Zone: Area near the shore

Pelagic Zone: 0-4,000m

Epiplagic Zone: is the top layer (contains photosynthetic organisms.)

Mesoplagic Zone: Is 0-1,000

Bathypelagic Zone: Is 1,000-4,000

Abyssal Zone: is 4,000m

Hadal Zone: Deeper than 6,000m

Benthic: Bottom

Question 3

What are coral reefs and coral bleaching?

Answer 3

Coral Reefs: Are Aggregations of coral polyps that live symbiotically with algae. Their calcium-
rich skeletons build up the reef. Found in shallow water as light must penetrate for algal
photosynthesis.

Coral Bleaching: Is when Global warming causes coral bleaching in which corals expel their algal
partners, which can lead to mortality. One third of coral reefs have already been destroyed and
60% of the remaining reefs will probably be dead by 2030. They are also threatened by trash,
sewage, urban runoff, industrial waste, introduced pathogens and global warming

Question 4

What are estuaries and salt marshes?

Answer 4

Estuaries: Are bays or semi-enclosed bodies of brackish water that form where rivers enter the ocean. 2/3 of marine fish and shellfish rely on estuaries for spawning and development. Threatened by sewage from coastal cities

Salt Marshes: Are coastal wetlands flooded regularly or occasionally by seawater. Both are nutrient rich and biologically diverse

Question 5

Please define epilimnion, hypolimnion, thermocline, and benthos

Answer 5

Epilmnion: The epilimnion or surface layer is the top-most layer in a thermally stratified lake. It is warmer and typically has a higher pH and higher dissolved oxygen concentration than the hypolimnion.

Hypolimnion: Fresh water vertical zone that’s the cold, deeper layer that does not mix

Thermocline: Is distinctive temperature transition zone that separates warm upper layer and deeper cold layer.

Benthos: Bottom Layer

Question 6

What are the differences between marshes, swamps, fens and bogs?

Answer 6

Marshes: Wetlands without trees.

Swamps: Wetlands with trees.

Fens and Bogs: Waterlogged soils that tend to accumulate peat. Bogs are fed by precipitation, while fens are fed from groundwater. Nutrient poor with low productivity, but many unusual species.