Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
The study of organisms in its environment
Scientific study of the interactions that determine the disruption and abundance of organisms -Krebs
How biotic and abiotic factors relate to
Ecological hierarchy
Biospher
Landscapes
ECosystems
Communities
Populations
Individuals
Enviornmental challenge
Environments vary in the relative abundace of basic resource for life.
Nutrietns -construction of living tissue
Energy - powers construction
Water - solvent for metabolic reaction
Temeprature - for metabolism
Is affected by climate - varies geographically and temporaly
Why does climate vary geographically and temporaly?
Climate is the overall patterns that prevail from year to year
Driven by solar energy, the Earth’s rotation and its orbit around the sun
Shapes the characteristics of ecosystems.
Seasonal varitation
Earthis tilted on its axis at 23.5 from the perpendicular to the plane on which it orbits the sun
Northenr hemisphere receives max sun from June 22 and southern on dec 22
ONly the tropics ever receive solar radiation directly overhead.
Tropical regions that experience only a small seasonal change in temp and day length = environmental temp is high and days are around 12hours
seasonal variation in temp and day length increase towards thpoles
Temp varies with latitutde.
The further you move from the equator the more variation in temp .
Ocean is not a good store of energy More land mass in North vs. South. When environmental temp drops, endotherms lose heat faster they can regernate it can enter a state of torpor.
Variations due to atmospheric circulation
Hot air rises and cools is replaced with the cooled air and moves down towards the equator, where it is heated up = Hadley cells
The wind blows against the direction of rotation = trade winds
Why is there a variation in Rainfall?
The earth’s surface is not uniform, and sea currents have different temperatures.
Latitude vs. Altitude
Temp drops 6 degrees every 1000m increase matched by 880km move in latitude
Rain Shadow effect in coastal regions
Mountain affect climate
Mountains ‘stops’ rain
Clouds move and pull moisture from the environment there fore areas are more dry like the karoo, andes, Nevada.
How do deserts develop?
Dry air descends due to atmospheric circulation next to coastline of continents where cold ocean currents run parallel
Interior of continents with mountains where rain shadow effect happens
Breezes blow from ocean to land during the day and in opposite directions at night.
Local effects override latitudinal variations in temperatures - the distant ocean does not moderate continental climate, but the maritime climate is affected by winds that cross nearby currents
Temperature differences between land and ocean currents also affect moisture conditions in coastal habitats.
Daytime sea breeze
Ocena to land during day = sea breeze
Nighttime sea breeze
Land to ocean during the night = land breeze
