ECOlogy- Lecture 1 Flashcards
Tell me about dimitic lakes
Dimitic lakes mix from the bottom to the top twice a year. During spring and fall
What is a population?
A group of interbreeding organisms that are members of the same species living in the same area at the same time.
Give examples of abiotic factors. LESSSS GOOOOO
- Temperature
- Dirt/minerals
- Oxygen
- Water
- Wind
- Light
- Elevation
- Seasons
What creates convection movement in the troposhere (layer of the atmosphere closeset to the sun)?
Unequal heating of the Earth’s surface
Explain the Hadley Cell
The hadley cell is at the equator and the warmer, less dense air rises. The warm air spreads out towards the poles, gradually cooling and sinking as it moves; and goes back to the equator.
CLOCKWISE!!!
Explain the Ferrel Cell
It is in between the Polar and Hadley cell and it goes in the opposite direction of those cells. They transport heat from the equator to the poles.
COUNTER-CLOCKWISE!!!!!
What is the difference between abiotic and biotic factors that affect the ecosytem?
Biotic factors are living.
Abiotic factors are non-living.
What is the zone of intolerance?
The zone of intolerance is when conditions are not sufficient to support life.
What are the hierarchial levels of ecology in order?
- Organism 2. Population 3. Community 4. Ecosystem 5.Biome 6. Biosphere
Give examples of biotic factors!!!! You won’t!!!!!
- Fungi
- Bacteria
- Plants
- Archae
- Animals
- Protists (algae)
When is the Earth closes to the sun?
During the winter in the Northern Hemisphere
What is the optimal tolerance zone?
When there are sufficient resources for growth and reproduction.
What is a rain shadow?
When there is a lack of water vapor in the air and causes wild seasons to seasons. As the air moves up over low mountains then high mountains, it looses moisture and gets colder. Creates deserts where there shouldn’t be.
What is the main mechanism by which equatorial warmth moves to higher latitudes?
Surface ocean currents
What is biogeography?
Biogeography is the study of the distribution of species and ecosystems in geographic space and through geological time.
Why is it that at the equator and 60 degrees N and S there are large scale bands of precipitation?
Clouds show the regions where rising moisture rich air condenses as it cools producing bands of precipitation.
Why is it that 30 degrees N and S are large scale bands of deserts?
Cold-dry air warms as it returns to the surface and very little precipitation falls here.
Why is solar heating more intense at the equator?
It is because of the curviture of the Earth. In terms of latitude, it hits the part of the equator more intensely and it is more concentrated vs higher lattitude areas.
Explain the Polar Cell
Cold air leaves the pole and returns toward the pole at high levels. CLOCKWISE!!
What are the 4 levels of ecology?
- Organism 2. Population 3. Community 4. Ecosystem
How are plate tectonics and biogeography related?
There is a theory that all the continents were together at some point but because of plate tectonic movement. The continents seperated. The evidence for this is the fossil comparissions from different continents.
