Slide Set 4 Flashcards
what are the 3 scales to the physical environment and what do they affect?
- Local (effects on individuals and populations)
- regional (effects on populations and species distributions)
- global (effects on communities and ecosystems)
local influences on individuals are a matter of life or death because?
they affect survival, growth and reproduction of an individual
factors of local influences include what 3 main things?
- light
- temp
- chemical conditions (nutrients and toxins)
what are tolerance and optimal conditions?
tolerance ( a set of temperature and light conditions that a species can tolerate, outside of which they cannot survive)
optimal ( best combination for them to thrive)
tolerance and optimal conditions can be superimposed on maps to indicate the _______ ________ of a particular type of organism
geographic range
a species _____ range can survive but may be at risk of being out competed by other organisms
possible
a species _____ range where one might expect the species to be competitively superior to other species with different optima
optimal
there will be more of a particular species in an _______ range than in a _______ range
optimal, marginal
local light and temperature factors can be scaled up to regional _______ and __________
weather and climate
local chemical factors can be scaled up to ____________ ______
biogeochemical cycles
what does biogeochemical cycles influence?
soil development, nutrient retention, water dynamics
biotic effects can be scaled up from individual and population responses at a habitat scale to ______ and________ responses at a ________ or _______ scale
population and species
regional or landscape
what is an ecotone?
- border between two different types of ecosystems
- a spacial transition from one type of ecosystem to another
- a zone where two ecosystems overlap
in an _______ you can find species characteristic of _____ ecosystems as well as species found only in the ecotone
ecotone, both
what is an example of ecotone?
- mt sentinel montana an ecotone from forest to grassland, covered by woody shrubs
- Key factor: amount of moisture
- mangrove marsh in florida everglades, mangrove forest at the edge of the water to saw grass dominated plain
key factor: rise in sea level - freshwater riparian zone
key factor: soil moisture
the distribution range of saguaro cactus is limited by duration of periods of _____
frost, it must thaw each day
northern and eastern distribution limits are closely related to boundaries of what?
the sonoran desert
what is the definition of weather?
the pattern of light, temperature and precipitation that influences the dynamics of a population
*the pattern must be relevant to the scale of the life histories of the organisms
biogeochemical cycles involve what?
lithosphere, atmosphere, hydrosphere and biosphere
ex. nitrogen cycle
research at the landscape level includes what ?
investigation of the effects of clear cutting on forest dynamics and water quality
how was forest dynamics and investigates with clear cutting ?
clear cut areas were sprayed with herbacide to prevent regrowth, forested and deforested areas were assesed for nutrient input and output, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium.
what were the outcomes fo clear cutting?
export of nutrients via streamflow increased dramatically, increased leaching and weathering, transpiration decreased, decomposition decreased
how can recovery occur of deforested areas?
enhanced if nutrient loss is limited, especially nitrogen and calcium
terrestrial systems are dependent on what happens in the soil; including?
- soil formation
- soil age
- soil type
