Lecture 2

Question 1

Effects of Water

Answer 1

• Habitat for flora/fauna
• Large bodies of water can affect temperature, wind
• Indirectly creates habitat

Question 2

Glacial Erratic

Answer 2

Rock that differs from the bedrock it’s situated on, brought to the area by a glacier

Question 3

Glacial Striation

Answer 3

Lines/scratches on existing rocks that indicate the direction of glaciers’ movement

Question 4

When was the last time all of ON was covered by ice?

Answer 4

Ice Age/Pleistocene

Question 5

Effects of glacier’s on ON’s landscape

Answer 5

• Scoured rocks
• Removed all soil
• Destroyed all life
• Made the land sink down

Question 6

Isostatic Rebound

Answer 6

Land rises after being pushed down by glaciers

Question 7

Lichens

Answer 7

Symbiotic relationship between fungus (protection) and algae/cyanobacteria (photosynthesis)

Question 8

4 types of lichens - which one is usually a colonizer?

Answer 8

Crustose (colonizer), Folisose, Fruticose, Arboreal

Question 9

After glaciers scoured Ontario, ____ grew on the bare rock

Answer 9

Lichens

Question 10

What caused the last Ice Age, and why did glaciers form then?

What effect does the weight of ice have on glaciers?

Answer 10

• Ice Age happened due to a 3.3C temperature drop
• Ice forms as snow buildup > snow melt
• bottom of glacier moves slowly due to weight of ice

Question 11

____ can also grow with lichens, and some are also pioneer species/colonizers

Answer 11

mosses

Question 12

Effects of plants breaking down rocks

Answer 12

Rocks are physically broken down/dissolved, adding more material; a new ecosystem comes to be

Question 13

Why can’t wind move particles like gravel and clay?

Answer 13

Gravel is too large; clay sticks together

Question 14

How does succession start?

Answer 14

Mosses/lichens trap particles blown by wind, providing a site for other living things to grow on

Question 15

What’s a common characteristic among the first plants to grow in succession?

Answer 15

Shade-intolerant; require sunlight (e.g. birch, poplar)

Question 16

What happens as poplar trees grow in a new area?

Answer 16

They create shade so new poplars can’t grow; shade-tolerant trees (e.g. conifers) grow beneath and outlive them

Question 17

What influences the final, stable habitat? Is it always a forest of shade-tolerant deciduous trees?

Answer 17

Land, topography, soil type/pH, temperature; no

Question 18

What are site conditions?

Answer 18

Environmental conditions caused by temperature, precipitation, bedrock/soil type, glacial deposits, physiography, drainage, etc.

Question 19

What is a climax forest?

Answer 19

Occurs when the dominant tree in the area is replaced by itself, assuming no catastrophic events occur (e.g. fire)

Question 20

Trees in the tundra

Answer 20

Lacks a tree canopy, but has very small trees

Question 21

What physiographic region is the tundra forest region located on?

Answer 21

Hudson Bay Lowland

Question 22

What is the southern border of the tundra?

Answer 22

Tree line; poorly-defined border, 10-32km away from the coast of Hudson Bay

Question 23

The tundra is partly protected by which provincial park (the biggest in ON, at >23.5k square km)?

Answer 23

Polar Bear Provincial Park

Question 24

Average daily temperature in the tundra

Answer 24

-6C

Question 25

Effects of permafrost

Answer 25

Little decomposition = few nutrients and very little soil buildup

Question 26

Characteristics of land in the tundra

Answer 26

low/flat (0-60m ABS), but is rising (1.2m/100years) and moving north (400m/100 years) due to isostatic rebound

Question 27

Wind in the tundra

Answer 27

• coldest windchill in North America

- blows abrasive particles (e.g. sand); harsh conditions affect growth of organisms in the tundra

Question 28

Why are there clay/silt deposits in the tundra?

Answer 28

Deposited by large bodies of water

Question 29

What glacial sea covered the HBL physiographic region 8000 years ago and deposited a lot of clay/silt?

Answer 29

Tyrrell Sea