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Ecology Exam One > Chapter Three: The Biosphere > Flashcards

Chapter Three: The Biosphere Flashcards

1
Q

What is the biosphere?

A

The zone of life on Earth.

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2
Q

What is the lithosphere?

A

Earth’s surface crust and upper mantle.

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3
Q

What is the trophoshere?

A

The lowest layer of the atmosphere.

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4
Q

What are biomes?

A

Large-scale terrestrial communities shaped by the physical environment, categorized by dominant plant growth forms.

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5
Q

Why are plants good indicators of climatic conditions?

A

Plants occupy sites for a long time. And they respond to selection pressures such as aridity, extreme temperatures, ect.

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6
Q

What is convergence?

A

Evolution of similar growth forms in response to similar selection pressures.

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7
Q

What is Land-Use change?

A

Conversion of land for agriculture, logging, resource extraction, urban or development. The potential and actual distributions of biomes are markedly different.

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8
Q

What is a climate diagram?

A

A graph of average monthly temperature and precipitation at a location. Showing the characteristic seasonal climate pattern.

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9
Q

What are the major characteristics of tropical forests and savannahs?

A

Large herbivores physically modify habitat and shift plant communities from forest to grassland.
Relatively warm all year with varied precipitation.

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10
Q

What are the major characteristics of tropical rainforests?

A

Precipitation exceeds 2,000 mm annually.
Consistent seasons.
This biome accounts for 50% of earth’s species and 37% of terrestrial carbon.

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11
Q

What are the major characteristics of deserts?

A

Sparse populations of plants and animals.
Periods of high temperature and lower availability of water.
Drought resistant plants.

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12
Q

What are the major characteristics of temperate grasslands?

A

The most human influenced biome on earth.
Warm, moist summers and cold dry winters.
Precipitation is high enough to support forests, however fires and grazing make this biome grass dominant.

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13
Q

What are the major characteristics of temperate shrublands and woodlands?

A

Mediterranean type climate with hot dry weather throughout summer, spring, and fall.
Rains primarily in the winter.
Evergreen shrubs and trees.
Plants have sclerophyllous leaves, adapted for water conservation.

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14
Q

What are the major characteristics of temperate deciduous forests?

A

Enough rainfall to support tree growth and fertile soil to support trees when their leaves fall off.
30,000 species of plants just in the Northern America part of this biome.
Has oak, maple, and beech trees.

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15
Q

What are the major characteristics of coniferous temperate forests?

A

Conifers produce high quality wood for paper production.
Northern hemp. has needle-like conifers while the southern hemp has more diversity.
Warm costal regions and cool continental maritime climates.
Evergreen trees keep their leaves year round.

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16
Q

What are the major characteristics of boreal forests?

A

Moist/saturated soil from permafrost.
Extreme weather determines vegetation structure.
Low precipitation.

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17
Q

What are the major characteristics of tundras?

A

Migratory birds nest in the tundra.
Very few humans, leaving the biome in pristine condition.
Very cold climate with monthly precipitation.
Few, if any trees.

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18
Q

Why are streams and lakes important?

A

They connect terrestrial and marine ecosystems. And they process chemical elements from terrestrial systems.

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19
Q

What is freshwater biota influenced by?

A

Velocity, depth, temperature, clarity, and chemistry of H2O.

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20
Q

What is a lotic system?

A

This is streams and rivers that exhibit flowing water.

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21
Q

What are 1st order streams?

A

The smallest streams at high elevation.

22
Q

What are 2nd order streams?

A

First order streams converging.

23
Q

What are 6th order streams?

A

Large rivers.

24
Q

What can streams develop?

A

Riffles and pools.

25
Q

What is the benthic zone?

A

This zone refers to deeper water where organisms are bottom dwellers; including many kinds of invertebrates.

26
Q

What is detritus?

A

Dead organic matter.

27
Q

What is the hyporheic zone?

A

The substratum below and adjacent to the stream.

28
Q

What is the river continuum concept?

A

Communities change along the length of a stream. As streams increase in size, detritus becomes a less important food source and fine organic matter, algae, and plants becomes more important.

29
Q

What are “shredders”

A

Organisms that tear up and chew leaves, giving way to collectors that collect fine particles from H2O

30
Q

What are lentic systems?

A

Lakes and still-water. Occurs where depressants in the landscape fill with water.

31
Q

How are depressants in the landscape formed?

A

Glacial process, river oxbows, volcanic craters, tectonic basins, or by damming.

32
Q

How do lakes vary with depth and light perception?

A

Deep lakes with a small surface area tend to nutrient poor while shallow lakes with a large surface area tend to be nutrient rich.

33
Q

What is the pelagic zone?

A

Open water; dominated by plankton.

34
Q

What are phytoplankton?

A

Photosynthetic plankton that are restricted to the photic zone.

35
Q

What are zooplankton?

A

Nonphotosynthetic plankton that are protists and tiny animals.

36
Q

What is the littoral zone?

A

Near shore, where the photic zone reaches the bottom. Macrophytes occur here.

37
Q

How much of earth do oceans cover?

A

71% of earth surface, containing very high diversity.

38
Q

How are marine zones catorgized?

A

By their location relative to the shoreline and the ocean bottom.

39
Q

What are marine organisms influenced by?

A

Temperature, light, water depth, bottom substrate, and interactions with other organisms.

40
Q

What is the importance of tides?

A

They produce unique transition zones between terrestrial and marine environments.

41
Q

What are estuaries?

A

Where rivers flow into oceans.
-Salinity varies as freshwater from rivers mixes with salt water from the sea.
-Rivers bring in terrestrial sediments and nutrients, contributing to the productivity of estuaries.

42
Q

What are salt marshes?

A

Shallow costal wetlands dominated by grasses and rushes.
-Terrestrial nutrients enhance productivity.
-Tides produce salinity gradients.

43
Q

What are mangroves?

A

Dominate some tropical costal zones.
-Mangroves are salt tolerant, evergreen trees and shrubs
-They provide nutrients to other marine ecosystems and habitat for many animals.

44
Q

What are Rocky intertidal zones?

A

Provide a stable substrate for many organisms.
-Sessile organisms must cope with wet and dry conditions and changing salinity.

45
Q

What are Coral reefs?

A

Restricted to warm, shallow water.
-Corals form large colonies and have associated algal partners.
-Many corals extract calcium carbonate from seawater to build a skeleton-like structure that forms large reefs.

46
Q

What are seagrass beds?

A

Submerged communities of flowering plants in subtidal marine sediments.
-Algae and animals grow on the plants. Larval stages of many organisms use them for habitat.

47
Q

What are kelp beds?

A

Support a large and diverse marine community, including sea urchins, lobsters, mussels, sea otters, ect.

48
Q

What is the pelagic zone?

A

Open ocean beyond the continental shelves.

49
Q

What is the photic zone?

A

Supports the highest densities of organisms, and extends to about 200 m in depth. Nearest to the top of the ocean, where sunlight can penetrate.

50
Q

What are nekton?

A

Swimming organisms capable of overcoming the ocean’s currents. (fish, mammals, sea turtles, ect)

Ecology Exam One (3 decks)

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