Final Exam Flashcards
What was Linnaeus’ view of the species’ allotted “place”?
- (a) Place as a geographic location; Linnaeus thinking about biogeography
- (b) Place as the species’ economic function, or its role in nature (it consumes some species, while being consumed by others); Linnaeus thinking about ecology
Why can glaciers flow?
Because they are dense enough
Do glaciers actually move uphill when they recede? Explain.
No, glaciers move downhill pulled by gravity. When a glacier recedes, the position of the glacier’s bottom will move up slope, but the ice itself continually moves up slope
What is glacial drift?
Material transported and deposited by a glacier or by glacial meltwater
What is till?
- Direct ice deposits that appear unstratified and unsorted; a specific form of glacial drift
- A sediment consisting of particles of various sizes and deposited by melting glaciers or ice sheets
Why are glacial periods dustier than they are in periods of warming?
There is more wind during glacial periods – steeper pressure gradients because of greater temperature differences
What is a showline?
The lowest elevation where snow remains year-round
What is calving?
A process in which pieces of ice break free to form floating ice masses known as icebergs that are usually found wherever glaciers meet an ocean, bay, or fjord…
What is a cirque?
-A scooped-out amphitheater shaped basin at the head of an alpine glacier valley; an erosional landform -Bowl that forms as glaciers grind away at the side of a mountain
What is a fjord?
-A drowned glaciated valley, or glacial trough, along a sea coast -U shaped valley
This is a _______?
Fjord
What is a moraine?
Marginal glacial deposits of unsorted and unstratified material
What is a terminal moraine?
Eroded debris that is dropped at a glacier’s farthest extent
What is a lateral moraine?
Debris transported by a glacier that accumulates along the sides of the glacier and is deposited along these margins
What is a bergschrund?
It is a crevasse, or wide crack, that separates flowing ice from stagnant ice in the upper reaches of a glacier or into a cirque
The following is a ______?
Bergschrund
A GPS receiver seneses signal from at least ____ satellites - a minimum of ____ satallites for location, and a fourth to determine accurate time.
4
3
What is biogeography?
The study of the distribution of plants and animals, the diverse spatial patterns they create
What is photosynthesis?
The process by which plants produce their own food from carbon dioxide and water, powered by solar energy
What is respiration?
- Opposite of photosynthesis
- The process by which plants oxidize carbohydrates to derive energy for their operations
- Release CO2, water, and heat energy into the environment
What limits the geographic range of Megapodes?
They build huge mound nests that are conspicious and easy for predators to spot and destroy. Therefore, these birds cannot live where predators exist. (abiotic factor)
What are abiotic examples?
- Climate
- Nutrients
- Sunlight
- Forest Fire
- Water
- Oxygen
- Temperature
- Soil
What is abiotic?
Non-living
What is biotic?
Living things
What are biotic examples?
- Biological Influences
- Insects
- Bacteria
- Fungi
- Hawks
What would a negative glacial mass balance indicate?
The glacier is becoming smaller
It is thought that natural selection can lead to speciation if the different populations are ________ from each other, and no longer interbreeding, natural selection should be free to act on each ________, molding it to its specific environment. Here, geography links with biology, because _______ is the best way for populations to be genetically isolated from each other, that is, for _______ between populations to be inhibited.
Isolated
Species
Geographic distance
Gene Flow
What is a cladogram?
- A diagram used in cladistics which shows relations among organisms
- Species closer together on the cladogram are more closely related
What does endemic mean?
Restricted to one place
What does a plant stomata do?
- They let water out and CO2 in
- More water released = more CO2 let in
Why don’t trees grow taller than they do?
- Limits on resources and a tree’s ability to grow (resistance to flow, gravity, etc.)
Why don’t trees in the tropics or in areas of cold deciduos broadleaf forest lose their leaves in the winter?
- Tropics: little to no seasonality, actually a disadvantage to shed their leaves
- Cold decid: broadleaf forest- too great an investment
Why aren’t areas of Meditteranean Sea…..?
- Frequent fires
What was Alfred Wallace’s explanation for why closely related species…?
- The closely related species have descended from the same ancestral species
How does glacial ice form?
- Snow
- Firn: like snow but denser
- Glacial Ice
What is an equation we can use to characterize (or quantify) glacial mass balance as?
b = ac- aa
- b to represent glacial mass balance
- ac to represent ice accumulation
- aa to represent ice ablation
What is a sign of glaciation?
U shaped valleys
What is the order of classyfing species?
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
What are some common barriers?
- Oceans
- Mountains
- Deserts
What is mutualism?
Both species benefit
What is commensalism?
One organism benefits, but the other is not affected (no benefit or harm)
What is predation or parasitism?
One organism benefits at the expense of another
What is competition?
No organism benefits
Which biotic influence limits geographic distribution?
Competition because it restrics conditions within their niche
What is Darwin’s analogy with selective breeding?
Each species is gradually molded to its place (similar to niche) by natural selection
The following is a _____?
Till
The following is a ______?
Cirque
Alfre Wallace recognized a common pattern in which geographic ranges of closely related species are close together (for example, polar bearsand brown bears live near one another). What was his explanation for why closely related species live in close proximity?
The closely related species have descended from the same ancestral species
What is Wallace’s Line?
A zone separating the biographic realm containing Australia and nearby islands from the realm containing South Asia and neighboring islands
What is speciation?
The emergence of new species by evolution from an ancentral species
What does it mean when a species is endemic to Texas?
It lives nowhere else besides Texas
