Midterm 2 Flashcards
Define natural history
Study of plants or animals, leaving more towards observational rather then experimental methods of study; published more in magazines than journals
Define ecology
Scientific study of the interactions (abiotic and biotic) that determine distribution and abundance in organisms
What is the concept of multiple scales?
Static and dynamos and their interactions
What are the three levels of static scales?
Bottom: fine resolution
Middle: see the while
Top: see more than the whole
What is the dynamic aspect of multiple scales?
Each scale has it’s own heart beat
The higher the frequency the higher the activity
What is the activity at the lowest level of scales?
Lowest: competition, symbiosis, our effects on it
Middle: storm damage, wave energy (weeks, months, or years)
Top: ocean scale, effecting other reefs, warming ocean temperatures, bleaching coral
What are the two types of interactions between the scales?
Perturbation amplification: impact gets magnified as it travels down scales
Perturbation damping: impact get dampened going up the scale
How is the atmosphere broken up?
Broken up into cells
Polar cells, ferrel cells, and Hadley cells
Where does it rain in the atmosphere?
Rains wherever air is moving up
As you get further from the upwards air it gets drier
What are the types of environments at the different cells?
Polar cell: tundra, coniferous forest
Ferrel cell: cool desert and grassland, temperate deciduous and rain forests
Hadley cell: warm desert and grassland, savanna, tropical deciduous and rain forest
Why do tree lines exist?
Caused by the length of the winter season
Longer the season the less moisture in the air
Why do trees drop their leaves?
Don’t want to lose internal moisture
How are camels and saguaros alike?
Reduce heat gain
Water storage
Reduce water loss
What do the terms pubescence, reflective, and subtracking/parabolic mean in terms of plants?
Pubescence: create dead air space around plant
Reflective: reflect heat to core reproductive organs
Sun tracking/parabolic: follow the sun
What are the three climate scales?
Global
Regional/landscape
Local
Why is water blue?
Sun rays refract into water and blue rays are absorbed the most
Why are nocturnal fish mostly red?
The moon is the only source of light
The red allows them not to be seen by predators at night
What is the thermaline?
Seperates warm and cold habitats
What causes Langmuir streaks?
Infrared is absorbed very quickly and will heat the surface and this increases in death in midsummer as the days get longer. The wind causes barrels of water to rotate creating the streaks of mucous by bringing algae to the surface
Define epilimion and hypolimation
Epilimation: warm water
Hypolimation: cold water
What occurs to lakes in the fall and early spring?
There is less light and rays so the lake becomes all the same temperature. When the wind blows the currents go all the way to the bottom, reoxygenating the lake
This causes poor visibility
What occurs in lakes in the winter?
The lake freezes over and everything in he water settles making it’s incredibly clear
What are the two food webs of lakes?
1st benthic-based macrophytic: plants at the side of the lake
2nd pelagic-based microphytic: small plants in open water
What type of stress does the back reef undergo?
High stress environment needs to be robust against wave E, exposure, and extreme changes in salinity
Limits herbivores, carnivores
Has robust benthics (massive corals, calcareous algae)