unit 1 part 1 (1.1.1 - 1.1.3 Flashcards
What determines temp and precipitation and is why biomes exist in predictable patterns on earth?
latitude
Define flow
determines which plants and orgs can survive; how much oxygen can dissolve
What is the littoral zone
a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light
shallow water w/ emergent plants
What is the profundal zone
a region of water where sunlight does not reach, below the limnetic zone in very deep lakes
too deep for sunlight to reach; not very productive
What is the limnetic zone (lake)
well-lit, open-water area of a lake or pond
light can reach (photosynth); no rooted plants, only phytoplankton
What are some benefits of wetlands
They store excess water (lessening floods), recharge groundwater, filter pollutants, and are highly productive
What are estuaries
areas where rivers empty into ocean
have high productivity due to nutrients in sediments and are brackish
What is a biome
area with a specific climate and certain types of plant and animal communities; share combo of avg temp and precip.
How do you differentiate biomes?
avg annual temp and precipitation
what determines what plants can survive where?
Soil nutrient availability
What biome has the best soil?
Temporal Forests; their soil is nutrient rich bc of surplus in organic, dead matter; the warm temp/moisture is also ideal (for decomposition)
What characterizes an aquatic biome?
salinity, depth, temperature, flow
What is the benthic zone?
murky bottom (of lake); has nutrient rich sediments & dead/decomposing matter
Can you define a wetland?
an area that has soil submerged in water for a large portion of the time but is shallow enough for emergent plants
What are some examples of wetlands?
Swamps, marshes, bogs
What is a salt marsh?
an estuary habitat along the coast in temperate climates
True or false: coral reefs are the most biodiverse biome on earth
true
What is the photic zone?
the well-lit upper layer of body of water; sunlight can reach here
Describe the difference between photic and aphotic (abyssal) zone
aphotic zone: light cannot reach
photic: well-lit
as related to dissolved oxygen levels, warmer water temps hold…
less dissolved oxygen and, therefore, support fewer aquatic organisms
What is symbiosis
Any close and long-term interaction between two organisms of different species
What categories can symbiosis be broken into?
mutualism(+,+), commensalism(+, 0), parasitism (+,-)
What reduces population size bc of a lack of available resources, leading to fewer surviving organism?
competition
What makes tundra soil so “bad”?
since the soil is frozen, nutrients in dead matter cannot be broken down, leading to low soil nutrients. Additionally, there is low water availability and few plants survive here
Can biomes shift?
Yes; they shift in location as climate changes
Tell me about Open Ocean
low in productivity but is so large that the organisms that do survive (algae and phytoplankton) produce a lot of O2 and absorb a lot of atm. CO2
