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Science Challenge 2014 > Environmental Science set 2 > Flashcards

Environmental Science set 2 Flashcards

1
Q

What is a Savanna?

A

A Savanna is a low lying grassland, with low/tall grass and low-lying shrubs

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2
Q

What are the five types of savannas?

A

Tropical and subtropical savannas, Temperate savanna, Mediterranean savanna, flooded savannas, montane savannas

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3
Q

What savanna is found near the equator and bordered by tropical rainforest/deserts?

A

tropical and subtropical savannas, such as the Serengeti in Africa

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4
Q

What savanna is found in mid-latitude regions

A

Temperate savannas such as Southeast Australia

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5
Q

What savanna is found in mid-latitude regions but in the Mediterranean?

A

Mediterranean savanna such as the Alentejo region in Portugal.

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6
Q

What savanna is found in the tropics?

A

the flooded savannas are found in the tropics, such as the Pantantal in South America

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7
Q

What savanna is found in high altitude regions?

A

The Montane savannas are found in high altitude regions like the mountains of Angola in equatorial Africa

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8
Q

What would you see if you climbed a tree on a savanna?

A

You could see land covered in grass and small shrubs for miles around

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9
Q

What is a key characteristic of the savanna biome?

A

On a savanna, trees are never close enough together to create a closed canopy, like in a rainforest.

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10
Q

What is the rainfall like in a savanna?

A

In the winter, no rain falls on a savanna, so it is very dry. In the summer, it rains a lot.

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11
Q

What is it called when it rains only one time a year?

A

Rain one time a year is called ‘seasonal rainfall’

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12
Q

How are savannas related to forests and grassland?

A

Savannas are transitional zones between forests and grasslands.. in between zones.

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13
Q

How is a savanna like a rainforest but also like a desert?

A

It is very dry like a desert sometimes, but very wet like a rainforest at other times.

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14
Q

What kind of animals like to live on savannas?

A

Grazing animals such as herds of wildebeest, impalas and zebras.

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15
Q

What is an ungulate?

A

An ungulate is a hoofed mammal

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16
Q

What is unusual about the sub-Saharan African savanna?

A

The sub-Saharan savanna has the highest variety of ungulates in the world

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17
Q

How do you know there are lots of rodents (rats/mice) living in a savanna?

A

There are lots of holes in the ground for rodents’ homes.

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18
Q

What is a rodent hole called?

A

Rodents live in burrows

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19
Q

What are feline and canine creatures?

A

Feline – cats, canine – dogs. Lions, cheetahs, African wild dogs

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20
Q

How is the feline and canine colouring changed for savanna life?

A

The creatures have colouring that helps them blend in – camouflaged

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21
Q

How can birds live in the savanna when everything is camouflaged?

A

Birds have adapted excellent eyesight so they can see their camouflaged prey.

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22
Q

What often happens in the hot season on a savanna?

A

Wild fires burn the grasses/bushes.

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23
Q

how have savanna plants adapted to these fires?

A

Savanna plants are adapted to thrive after fires

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24
Q

How do humans destroy savannas?

A

By setting fires on purpose or by accident, the savanna cannot regrow quickly enough

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25
Q

How is farmland problematic for savannas?

A

Farmland clears trees, removes homes for creatures, farm animals graze taking food away from wild animals, over grazing harms natural plants.

26
Q

How else do humans affect wildlife?

A

Humans hunting (poaching – illegal hunting) wildlife is a major threat.

27
Q

Which animals are often poached?

A

Elephants and rhinoceros are hunted illegally for their ivory

28
Q

What happens when these large animals are killed?

A

The loss of these large grazing animals endangers the herd, plus it can destroy the ecosystem that relies on their presence.

29
Q

How is climate change a threat to savannas?

A

Climate change is heating up the savannas, droughts (extremely dry periods) are severe.

30
Q

How has human use of savannas affected them?

A

Savannas may be more susceptible to floods and fires due to human use

31
Q

How can sustainable farming help savannas?

A

growing more than one crop on a piece of land so less space is used, using natural species instead of cutting them down, feed animals in stalls rather than grazing in the wild

32
Q

What are governments doing to protect savannas?

A

Governments are working to stop illegal poaching

33
Q

What is a desert?

A

A desert is a region that gets less than 25 cm of rain a year.

34
Q

Where are the majority of the world’s deserts found?

A

The majority of the world’s deserts are found along the Tropic of Cancer (30 degrees North), and the Tropic of Capricorn (30 degrees south)

35
Q

What happens at these latitudes?

A

At the Tropic of Capricorn and the Tropic of Cancer dry air from the equatorial regions dries out the land.

36
Q

What is the difference between coastal deserts and land locked deserts?

A

Land locked deserts are not bordered by an ocean.

37
Q

Which is the largest desert in the USA?

A

The Great Basin Desert is the largest desert in the USA

38
Q

How are coastal deserts created?

A

As cool air moves from West to East it can create cold foggy weather instead of rain.

39
Q

Name two coastal deserts.

A

Atacama Desert in South America, and Namib Desert in southwestern Africa

40
Q

Are deserts always very hot?

A

No, some deserts can be very cold.

41
Q

What defines a desert?

A

A desert is defined by rainfall, not temperature.

42
Q

Even if a desert gets rain, what happens to it?

A

The rainfall in a desert evaporates quickly.

43
Q

Describe a desert.

A

few plants, little water, and extreme swings in daily temperature.

44
Q

What happens to soil in deserts?

A

Desert soil tends to be rocky or sandy and has little organic matter (dead plants).

45
Q

What are desert soils called?

A

Desert soils are called aridisols

46
Q

How windy is in a desert?

A

It can be very windy in the desert

47
Q

How can plants live in the desert when it is so harsh?

A

Plants have adapted to living in the desert

48
Q

What are some ways plants have adapted to the desert?

A

Adaptions include small leaves and waxy cuticles (coverings) to stop water evaporation,

49
Q

Why do desert plants not need a lot of leaves?

A

Because the sunlight is so intense they don’t need big leaves to do photosynthesis, and some plants only grow them after a rainfall.

50
Q

What do cacti have instead of leaves?

A

Cacti have hairs or spines, which discourage evaporation and also stop animals from eating them.

51
Q

How do cacti store water?

A

Cacti store water in their tissues so they can use it later.

52
Q

When do most desert animals come outside?

A

Desert animals are active at night

53
Q

Why do rodents burrow underground?

A

Underground is cool in the daytime, so they come out at night.

54
Q

What nasty creature hunts at night?

A

The desert scorpion hunts at night.

55
Q

What is an example of a desert rodent?

A

A ground squirrel spends day time underground away from heat and predators, and comes out at nighttime.

56
Q

What are some impacts of humans?

A

Humans allowing farm animals to graze on savannas is turning them into deserts.

57
Q

What is desertification?

A

desertification is when another biome is turned into a desert

58
Q

How is global warming affecting deserts.

A

They are getting even hotter and drier

59
Q

How does development affect deserts?

A

Off road atvs, oils and gas production and urbanization (people living there) are damaging desert plants.

60
Q

How long does it take for the saguaro cactus to get full grown?

A

It takes 200 years for the saguaro cactus to be full grown.

61
Q

What is xeriscaping?

A

xeriscaping is replacing lawns with native desert plants that do not require watering.

62
Q

How are people trying to protect the desert?

A

People are trying to get off-road vehicles to use trails, digging ditches to store water and seeds, and changing landscape methods.

Science Challenge 2014 (24 decks)

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