Lecture 3 Flashcards
The _______________ ultimately
determines where organisms can live, and
the resources that are available to them.
The PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT ultimately
determines where organisms can live, and
the resources that are available to them.
Thus, understanding the physical environment
is key to understanding ecological
phenomena.
Long-term description of
weather, based on averages and
variation measured over decades.
Often measured as averages but extremes influence
distributions
Determines the geographic
distribution of organisms
Climate
Even long-lived
organisms are
subject to long-term
variability in ________
climate
______ and _____ result from uneven distribution of solar radiation (energy) across Earth’s surface
Winds and currents result from uneven distribution of solar radiation (energy) across Earth’s surface
Latitudinal Differences in Solar Radiation
Slanted, larger SA (at poles) are less intense compared to perpendicular, smaller SA
moisture lost
subsidence
Three cells result in three major climatic zones in each hemisphere:
Tropical, temperate, and polar zones
Generally, it is _____ at the poles than the area around the _____
Generally, it is cold at the poles and hot near the equator
Generally, it is cold at the poles and hot near the equator
What are the exceptions?
Elevation and oceanic circulation
Oceanic Circulation
higher heat capacity in oceans resulting in less variability in temperatures (i.e. Russia and Alaska)
can be affected by topography (mountains) and water bodies
regional climate
mountain ranges that run N and S
______ runs E to W
rain shadow
The Rain Shadow Effect
Regional Climate Influences:
evapotranspiration
vegetation
sum of water loss through transpiration by plants and evaporation from the soil
transfers energy (as latent heat) and water into the atmosphere, thereby affecting air and temperature and moisture
evapotranspiration
Effects of Deforestation: (3)
Albedo - reflected radiation from surface
Sensible heat loss - direct heat loss (i.e. heating air)
Latent heat loss - via change in state (i.e. water to gas)
zone of life on Earth
It lies between the lithosphere—Earth’s surface crust and upper mantle, and the troposphere—the lowest layer of the atmosphere.
biosphere
large biological communities shaped by physical environment, particularly climate
biomes
biomes characterized by the dominant growth forms of vegetation; most abundant in plants
terrestrial biomes
are based on similarities in morphological responses of organisms to the physical enviroment
biomes
Terrestrial Biomes:
Characteristics of leaves may be used (3)
*Duh, That Sucks
Deciduousness - seasonal shedding of leaves
Thickness
Succulence - development of fleshy water storage tissues
