Unit 2: The Living World

Question 1

What is a biome?

Answer 1

A group of land ecosystems with similar climates and organisms

Question 2

How is a biome determined?

Answer 2

Their climate (Temperature and precipitation)

Question 3

What are all the Biomes?

Answer 3

Rainforest: Tropical and Temperate
Deserts
Grasslands
Savana
Chaparral
Deciduous Forest
Boreal Forest
Tundra
Freshwater Ecosystems: Rivers, Streams, Ponds and Lakes
Marine Ecosystems: Estuary, Intertidal Zone, Neritic Zone, Open Ocean (Surface and Deep zone)

Question 4

How many rainforests are there?

Answer 4

Tropical and Temperate

Question 5

What are characteristics of a Tropical Rainforest?

Answer 5

• Close to the equator
• Warm and Humid
• High Precipitation
• Diverse plant growth

Question 6

What are characteristics of a Temperate Forest?

Answer 6

Moderate Temperature
Northwestern coast
Huge Trees: Cedars, Redwoods
More than 300 cm of rain

Question 7

What are deserts? What are the conditions?

Answer 7

An area that receives less than 25 cm of rain per year
Often undergo large shifts in temperature throughout the day
More nocturnal organisms

Question 8

What are Grasslands? And the conditions?

Answer 8

Prairies
An area that is populated mostly by grasses and non-wood plants
25-75 cm of rain, so droughts and fires are common

Question 9

What is a Savanna?

Answer 9

Grasslands that are located closer to the equator (Africa). Covered in tall trees
10-30 in of rain

Question 10

What is a Chaparral? And conditions?

Answer 10

It’s a Coastal Biome with hot/dry summers and mild/rainy winters
15-39 in of rain
Low as 10 degrees Celsius
Plants: scrub oaks and drought resistant shrub

Question 11

What is a deciduous forest?

Answer 11

Deciduous trees: trees shed their leaves (Oaks and Maple)
Receive enough rain so growing season lasts 5-6 months

Question 12

Boreal Forest (Taiga)

Answer 12

Mostly contains coniferous trees(Fir and Spruce)
Very cold winters
Warm and dry summers

Question 13

What is a Tundra? And their conditions

Answer 13

Extremely cold and dry biome
Some rainfall (desert vibes)
Most soul is frozen all year long (permafrost)
Summer thaws top layers of soil
Rainwater cannot soak into permafrost leading to shallow ponds

Question 14

What are the 4 Freshwater Ecosystems?

Answer 14

Rivers, Streams, Ponds and Lakes

Question 15

What are characteristics Rivers and Streams?

Answer 15

Few plants are algae can grow because of currents
animals rely on seeds and leaves to fall into the water as food

Question 16

What are characteristics of Ponds and Lakes?

Answer 16

Bodies of standing still freshwater
Lakes > Ponds

Question 17

What is a pond?

Answer 17

Shallow enough for sunlight to hit the bottom

Question 18

What are lakes?

Answer 18

Too deep for plants to grow on, so algae grows and floats

Question 19

What are the 4 Marine Ecosystems?

Answer 19

Estuary
Intertidal Zone
Neritic Zone
Open Ocean

Question 20

What is an estuary?

Answer 20

Freshwater river meets saltwater ocean (Mississippi River)

Question 21

What is the intertidal zone?

Answer 21

Area between the highest high tide line and lowest low tide line

Organisms have to survive the pounding waves water level changes

Question 22

What is the Neritic Zone? Characteristics of it too!

Answer 22

Area below the low tide line which extends over the continental shelf

• sunlight passes through the zone for photosynthesis
• Many Living things
• coral reefs form in warm water

Question 23

What are the two parts of the Open Ocean?

Answer 23

Surface Zone
Deep Zone

Question 24

What is the surface zone?

Answer 24

The first few hundred meters deep of the ocean

Question 25

What is the deep zone?

Answer 25

Below the surface zone (Totally dark and Bizarre organisms)

Question 26

What is a climatograph?

Answer 26

Graphs and summarize only two of the factors: monthly measurement of temperature and precipitation

Question 27

What is a native species?

Answer 27

Naturally found in an ecosystem

Question 28

What is a non-native species?

Answer 28

“Introduced species” into a new environment, but does not necessarily mean it causes harm (Neutral)

Question 29

Invasive Species

Answer 29

Nonnative species that causes harm to the environment or displaces/replaces a native species

Question 30

What is a keystone species?

Answer 30

Ecosystem that depends on a species to survive
Ecosystem would drastically change without them
Example: YSP wolf

Question 31

What is an indicator species?

Answer 31

Animal/plant that can be used to infer habitat conditions

Question 32

What is a foundation species?

Answer 32

“Ecosystem engineer”
They sustain their habitat
Ex) Corals, beavers and earthworms
Typically also producers
First species that begin the ecosystem

Question 33

What is predation?

Answer 33

Animals that consume other animals

Question 34

What is competition?

Answer 34

Two species that share a limited resource

Question 35

What is mutualism?

Answer 35

Both species benefit (food, shelter)

Question 36

What is commensalism?

Answer 36

Benefits one species with little to no effect on the other

Question 37

What is ammensalism?

Answer 37

One is inhibited/destroyed while others are unaffected

Question 38

What is saprotrophism?

Answer 38

Extracellular digestion in processing dead or decaying organic matter

Question 39

What is parasitism?

Answer 39

One (parasite) feeds on the body of, uses energy, of another

Question 40

What is Herbivory?

Answer 40

Animals consume producers

Question 41

What type of harm can invasive species cause and describe it

Answer 41

Environment- disrupt food webs
Economy - cost of controlling invasive species and their damages
Human health - spread of disease or physical harm

Question 42

What has the largest carbon storage?

Answer 42

Oceans

Question 43

What starts the Nitrogen Cycle?

Answer 43

Nitrogen fixating Bacteria