Chapter 52

Question 1

Ecology

Answer 1

interactions between organisms and the environment

Question 2

Landscape ecology

Answer 2

exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across ecosystems

Question 3

Ecosystem ecology

Answer 3

energy flow and chemical cycling among the biotic and abiotic components

Question 4

Community ecology

Answer 4

interacting species in a community

Question 5

Population ecology

Answer 5

factors affecting population size over time

Question 6

Organismal ecology

Answer 6

organism’s structure, physiology, and (for animals) behavior meet environmental challenges

Question 7

Climate

Answer 7

long-term prevailing weather conditions

Question 8

Macroclimate

Answer 8

patterns on the global, regional, and landscape level

Question 9

Microclimate

Answer 9

very fine patterns, such as those encountered by the community of organisms underneath a fallen log

Question 10

What causes temperature variations, which drive evaporation and the circulation of air and water?

Answer 10

Warming effect of the sun

Question 11

What evaporates in the tropics, and warm, wet air masses flow from the tropics toward the poles?

Answer 11

Water

Question 12

What release water and cause high precipitation, especially in the tropics

Answer 12

Rising air masses

Question 13

Climate is affected by

Answer 13

seasonality, large bodies of water, and mountains

Question 14

As glaciers retreated 16,000 years ago, tree distribution patterns________

Answer 14

changed

Question 15

As climate changes, species that have difficulty ______

Answer 15

dispersing may have smaller ranges or could become extinct

Question 16

Biomes

Answer 16

are major life zones characterized by vegetation type (terrestrial biomes) or physical environment (aquatic biomes)

Question 17

Disturbance

Answer 17

is an event such as a storm, fire, or human activity that changes a community

Question 18

tropical rain forests

Answer 18

rainfall is relatively constant

Question 19

tropical dry forests

Answer 19

precipitation is highly seasonal

Question 20

Deserts

Answer 20

occur in bands near 30 Degrees north and south of the equator and in the interior of continents

Question 21

Savanna

Answer 21

Equatorial and subequatorial regions

Question 22

Chaparral

Answer 22

occurs in midlatitude coastal regions on several continents

Question 23

Temperate grasslands

Answer 23

are found on many continents

Question 24

northern coniferous forest

Answer 24

or taiga, spans northern North America and Eurasia and is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth

Question 25

Temperate broadleaf forest

Answer 25

found at midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere, with smaller areas in Chile, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand

Question 26

Tundra

Answer 26

covers expansive areas of the Arctic; alpine tundra exists on high mountaintops at all latitudes

Question 27

Permafrost

Answer 27

a permanently frozen layer of soil, prevents water infiltration

Question 28

Aquatic biomes

Answer 28

largest part of the biosphere, area

Question 29

Marine biomes

Answer 29

3% salt concentration

Question 30

Freshwater biomes

Answer 30

> 0.1% salt concentrations

Question 31

Oligotrophic lakes

Answer 31

nutrient-poor and generally oxygen-rich

Question 32

Eutrophic lakes

Answer 32

nutrient-rich and often depleted of oxygen if ice covered in winter

Question 33

Littoral zone

Answer 33

rooted and floating aquatic plants live in the shallow and well-lighted area close to shore

Question 34

Limnetic zone

Answer 34

deep water that cannot support rooted aquatic plants; small drifting animals called zooplankton graze on the phytoplankton

Question 35

Wetland

Answer 35

a habitat that is inundated by water at least some of the time and that supports plants adapted to water-saturated soil

Question 36

Estuaries

Answer 36

transition area between river and sea

Question 37

Intertidal Zones

Answer 37

periodically submerged and exposed by the tides

Question 38

Oceanic Pelagic Zone

Answer 38

constantly mixed by wind-driven oceanic currents

Question 39

Coral Reefs

Answer 39

calcium carbonate skeletons of corals

Question 40

Marine Benthic Zone

Answer 40

seafloor below the surface waters of the coastal, or neritic, zone and the offshore pelagic zone

Question 41

Dispersal

Answer 41

the movement of individuals away from centers of high population density or from their area of origin