Post Exam 2: Ecology Flashcards
ecology definition
the study of organisms and their interaction with the envionment
how many levels of inquiry?
5
organismal
population
community
ecosystem
global
organismal ecology
questions about the physiology of an organism
ex. effect of sunlight on plant growth
ex. effect of NaCl on heart rate of daphnia
population ecology
questions about the size of the population
ex. white tailed deer in ME
community ecology
how does 1 species effect another?
ex. all organisms in Sebago Lake
ecosystem ecology
questions about nutrient / energy cycling
ex. nitrogen cycling
global ecology
questions about a global phenomenon
ex. gulf stream
population definition
group of organisms of the same species living in the same place at the same time
community definition
all of the species living in the same place at the same time and their interactions with each other
ecosystem definition
the community in a specific area at a specific time and its interaction with abiotic (nonliving) factors
4 abiotic factors that determine where an organism can live
temperature
precipitation
sunlight
wind
4 abiotic factors are considered the ___
climate: long term prevailing weather patterns in a specific area
latitude
horizontal lines (where you are north and south of equator)
determines air circulation patterns
Hadley air cell
as sun hits equator, plants lose H2O through evaporation, but air rises and cools to create rain
23.5º N/S of equator is the tropics
Hadley air cell (desert)
air circulation continues to drop to Earth, but has lost all H2O creating desert at 30º N/S of equator
