Midterm 2 Flashcards
What is required for vernal pools to form?
- A hard pan
- Some sort of feature to create a mound pool landscape structure
How much of sunlight is received in the epipelagic zone in the ocean?
very high amount of sunlight
How much of sunlight is received in the bathypelagic zone in the ocean?
very low or no sunlight
Is kelp a type of plant?
No
What is convergent evolution?
When unrelated species in regions distant from one another have similar morphological or physiological traits
What are obligate resprouters?
they have a deep tap root, lack a dormant seed bank and have low seedling recruitment
What are obligate seeders?
completely destroyed by fires but their seeds require fire to germinate
What are facultative seeders?
may resprout following fire and also have seeds that are cued to germinate by fire.
What is a forb?
A herbaceous flowering plant
What occurs in the distribution of organisms in the intertidal zone?
Predation from marine environment (fish, crabs, starfish) increases competition for space at upper/higher end of the intertidal zone
What happens in California’s current?
Cold, nutrient-rich water flows south from Alaska
What are types of estuaries?
Drowned river mouth
Tectonic
Barrier spit
A littoral cell is….
A cycle of sediment movement from land to sea (and vice verse) and along the shore
What are the major drivers of habitat diversity and zonation in estuaries?
Salinity gradients
Distance to shore
Elevational gradients
What is a keystone species?
A species that has a disproportionally large effect on its environment relative to its abundance
What’s a species niche?
The role a species plays within an ecosystem
What are basic characteristics of coastal sage scrubs?
Many drought-deciduous plants
Plants are adapted to fire
plants have shallow roots
What are drivers of C.A.’s grasslands compositions?
The presence or absence of grazing animals
The presence or absence of non-native grasses
The soil types underlying the grasslands
What happens in succession in plant communities?
Most of the vegetation must die following a disturbance for succession to occur
Why is upwelling off California’s Coast important?
It brings nutrients up to the surface, sunlit layers of the ocean
What are Alkali sinks in grasslands characterized by?
Lots of salts in the water
What is the Chapparal?
A scrubby ecosystem characterized by dense, twiggy shrubs and infrequent but intense fires
What conditions need to be met for adaptations to develop?
- Variation in traits among individuals in a population
- Some traits affect survival and reproduction
- Traits that affect survival and reproduction are heritable
