Exam 3 Lecture Material

Question 1

ecology

Answer 1

interactions of organisms with each other and with their environment: biotic or abiotic

Question 2

why is ecology important?

Answer 2

context for evolution
management of resources
evaluation of human impacts

Question 3

organismal study

Answer 3

individual interactions with their environment

Question 4

population study

Answer 4

a group of individuals of the same species living in a specific area

Question 5

community study

Answer 5

interactions among different species in a specific area

Question 6

ecosystem

Answer 6

interactions between communities and their environments

Question 7

landscape

Answer 7

mosaic of connected ecosystems

Question 8

global

Answer 8

biosphere

-examines the influence of energy and materials on organisms across the biosphere

Question 9

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Answer 9

the time scale

Question 10

climate

Answer 10

constituted by the long-term prevailing weather conditions in an area

Question 11

4 major abiotic components of climate

Answer 11

1. temperature
2. precipitation
3. sunlight
4. wind

Question 12

Predictable attributes of communities based on large scale ____ factors.

Answer 12

ABIOTIC
examples:
-sunlight
-latitude

Question 13

Why are the tropics WET?

Answer 13

ADIABATIC COOLING
warm moist are rises, expands, and cools, dropping rain.
Cooled air is pushed poleward
dense dry air descends, warms and absorbs moisture
Global circulation
ABIOTIC

Question 14

How many Hadley cells in the northern hemisphere?

Answer 14

3

Question 15

How many Hadley cells in the southern hemisphere?

Answer 15

3

Question 16

Coriolis effect

Answer 16

explains patterns of prevailing surface winds

Question 17

Seasonality

Answer 17

fall & spring: equator faces sun directly
“U.S. winter”- southern hemisphere faces sun most directly
“U.S. Summer” norther hemisphere faces sun most directly
ABIOTIC

Question 18

What causes seasons?

Answer 18

the tilt of the Earth’s axis of rotation

Question 19

Local geography

Answer 19

abiotic factor

“rain shadows”

Question 20

Mountains & Oceans cause _____ effects on climate

Answer 20

regional

Question 21

The point of abiotic factors

Answer 21

can strongly influence the nature of ecosystems

e.g. biomes

Question 22

abiotic factors

Answer 22

a nonliving condition or thing, as climate or habitat, that influences or affects an ecosystem and the organisms in it

Question 23

biotic factors

Answer 23

any living component that affects the population of another organism, or the environment.

Question 24

Factors limiting the distribution of organisms

Answer 24

dispersal
behavior
biotic (other species)
abiotic factors:
physical factors- temp., light, soil structure, fire, moisture
chemical factors- water, Oxygen, Salinity, pH, soil nutrients, ect.

Question 25

biomes

Answer 25

major groupings of plant/animal communities within geographic regions defined by dominant vegetation type

Question 26

True of False: winter and summer seasons occur because Earth is farther from the sun in winter and closer to it in summer

Answer 26

false

Question 27

True or False: The direction of prevailing winds at Earth’s Surface is determined solely by hadley cell circulation in the atmosphere that results from latitudinal gradients in solar energy input

Answer 27

true?

Question 28

Why are tropical latitudes and mountaintops wet?

a. air cools as it rises
b. liquid water evaporates as it is warmed and water vapor condenses as it is cooled
c. both a and b are correct

Answer 28

c.?

Question 29

IGEs

Answer 29

Indirect genetic effects- ubiquitous in all ecosystems

Animals that feed or live on other species are all under the influence of that species’ genes

Question 30

Population characteristic: Number (N)

Answer 30

important for assessing potential for increase in absolute numbers
particular importance in conservation

Question 31

Density (N/ area or volume)

Answer 31

many ecological factors influenced by density of a population, not the absolute number (example- competitive interactions)

Question 32

Patterns of Dispersion

Answer 32

patchy aggregates (around water)
uniform (birds who protect eggs with rocks)
random- unpredictable

Question 33

Change in N over time

Answer 33

population dynamics based on births and deaths

Question 34

BD model

Answer 34

-per capita= per individual
use a sample of individuals/time to estimate # offspring that average individual produces or average individual’s chance of dying