Intro to Ecology Flashcards
What is ecology?
The study of how organisms interact with their environment
What is behavior?
How an individual responds to a stimulus
What are the levels of organization/hierarchy of ecology?
Organism < Population < Community < Ecosystem < Biosphere
What is population ecology?
How individuals of the same species interact with each other
What is community ecology?
How species interact with other species
What is ecosystem ecology?
How organisms interact with non-living components of the environment
What are biosphere interactions?
The entire set of interactions on a planet
What are the three global scale processes that govern where organisms live on the planet?
1) Orientation of the Earth’s axis
2) Heat retention versus loss in the atmosphere
3) Rotation of the Earth
What are the three cell regions of the Earth?
1) Hadley cell
2) Ferrel cell
3) Polar cell
Where is the Hadley cell located?
30°N to 30°S of the equator (in the middle region of the Earth)
Where is the Ferrel cell located?
30°N to 60°N and 30°S to 60°S of the equator
Where is the Polar cell located?
60°N of the equator and to the North Pole and 60°S of the equator and to the South Pole
What is the Coriolis effect?
The apparent deflection of objects moving in a straight path relative to Earth’s surface
What causes the Coriolis effect?
The rotation of the Earth
What direction does the Coriolis effect make objects deflect?
Clockwise/right in the Northern Hemisphere
Counter-clockwise/left in the Southern Hemisphere
Where is air pressure highest?
North and South poles
Where is air pressure lowest?
Equators
Why is air pressure high at the North and South poles?
Cold air sinks and warms; when the air compresses and heats, air pressure at the surface is raised because of density
Why is air pressure low at the Equator?
Hot air rises and cools; as air rises, air pressure at surface is lowered
What is a biome?
An ecosystem with a recurring pattern
How are biomes classifed?
According to temperature and precipitation profiles
What do biomes arranged by location allow us to see?
Global community patterns organized with respect to latitude
What is the arrangement of biomes reflective of?
Geography
When do interruptions to biome patterns occur?
When major geologic features run counter to latitude
What is a turnover?
Fluctuation in water temperature and movement usually caused by season temperature change
What happens to nutrients when seasons change?
Nutrients shift from bottom to top of water environment
What is salinity?
A measure of total dissolved solids
An increase between equator and midlatitude salinity is caused by. . .
Low precipitation and high evaporation in mid latitude; high precipitation in equatorial region
