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51 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Ecology
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The scientific study of the interactions between organism and the environment.
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Climate
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The long term, prevailing weather conditions in a given area.
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Four physical factors that are particularly important components of climate.
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Temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind.
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Climate pattern scales
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Macroclimate and microclimate.
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Macroclimate
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Climate patterns on the global, regional, and landscape level.
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Microclimate
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Climate patterns that are very fine and localized.
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2 of the main contributors to Global climate patterns
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Solar energy
Earths movement in space |
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Latitudinal Variation
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Due to the earths curved shape…sunlight strikes different regions at different angles.
Tropics- Sun strikes more directly=more heat and light per unit of surface area. Higher latitudes- Sunlight strikes at an oblique angle= less heat and light per unit of surface area. |
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3 main factors that can effect Climate patterns
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Seasonal Variation in climate
Large bodies of water Mountain ranges |
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Season Variation
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The earth has a tilt of 23.5 degrees. It has an annual passage around the sun. Due to its change in location in its rotation around the sun, sunlights angle at which it hits the earth changes causing either higher temperatures (spring, summer) or lower temperatures (fall, winter).
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Bodies of water
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Ocean currents influence climate along the coast of continents by heating and cooling overlying air masses that pass across the land. Some currents bring cold water from higher latitudes to the coast thus causing cooler temps while other currents bring warmer water from the equator causing warmer temperatures.
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Mountain ranges
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When warm, moist air approaches a mountain, the air rises and cools, releasing moisture on the WINDWARD side of the peak. On the LEEWARD side, cooler, dry air descends, absorbing moisture and producing a "rain shadow".
They also effect the amount of sunlight able to reach a certain area. South slope-less sun. North slope-more sun (Northern Hemisphere). |
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Rain Shadow
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Dry area on the leeward side of the mountain.
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Microclimate
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Is a local atmospheric zone where the climate differs from the surrounding area.
Example- Trees casting shade below…protects from over sun radiation and wind. |
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Abiotic
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Non-living factors such as temperature, light, water, and nutrients.
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Biotic
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Living factors such as organisms that are part of an individuals environment.
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Explain how unequal heating of the earth produces surface wind and ocean surface currents.
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As the air is heated near the equator it rises creating a pressure difference. It rises and then the meet an equilibrium in pressure and temperature it moves towards to cooler poles thus creating "winds" and "ocean currents".
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What 2 things is contributing to the increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and other greenhouse gases?
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Deforestation and burning of fossil fuels.
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Biomes
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Major life zones characterized by vegetation type (in terrestrial biomes) or by the physical environment (in aquatic biomes).
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climograph
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A plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region.
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How can you explain a variation in where biomes exist when they receive similar precipitation and temperature?
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One may have a distinct wet and dry season compared to another that has regular precipitation.
One may have different abiotic factors such as different bedrock which may greatly affect mineral nutrient availability and soil structure which in turn affects the kind of vegetation that can grow. |
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Ecotone
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The transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another, such as the transition from a forest to a grassland.
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Vertical layering
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In a forest, layers from top to bottom
Upper canopy--->low-tree layer--->shrub understory--->ground layer--->forest floor--->root layer. Different shapes and sizes of plants define this layering. |
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convergent evolution
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The independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages.
Ex. Two cactus species that have developed similarities and appear similar but come from diff. cacti families. |
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Disturbance (biomes)
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A natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. Disturbances, such as fires and storms, play a pivotal role in structuring many communities.
As a result of disturbances, biomes often exhibit extensive patchiness, with several different communities represented in a single area. |
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Tropical Forest
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-Terrestrial Biome
-Distribution-Equatorial and subequatorial regions -Precipitation- 200-400 cm annually (tropical rain forest) 150-200 cm annually (tropical dry forests) -Temperature- 25-29 C -Plants- Tropical forests are vertically layered. High competition for sunlight. -Animals- Highest diversity of all terrestrial biomes. -Human impact-Rapid growth is leading to over- development. |
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Desert
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-Terrestrial Biome
-Distribution- Near 30 degrees north and south latitude -Precipitation- Low and highly variable. Generally less than 30 cm/year. -Temperature- Variable both seasonally and daily. High (hot deserts)-50 C. Low (cold deserts)- -30 .C -Plants- Low, widely scattered vegetation. Bare ground is common. (Cactus, deep rooted shrubs, C4 or CAM photosynthesis). -Animals- Snakes, lizards, scorpions, ants, beetles, birds, seed eating rodents. |
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Savanna
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-Terrestrial Biome
-Distribution- Equatorial and subequatorial regions. -Precipitation- Seasonal rainfall. 30-50 cm/yr. Dry season 8-9 months. -Temperatures- Warm year round. 24-29 C. -Plants- Grasses, forbs (non-woody plants), trees (thorny and fire adapted). -Human Impact- Earliest humans lived here. Fires we create help maintain it. Ranching and hunting have led to decline in large mammal populations. |
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Chaparral
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-Terrestrial biome
-Distribution- Midlatitude coastal regions. -Precipitation- Rainy winters and dry summers. 30-50 cm/year. -Temperature- Fall, winter and spring=cool. 10-12 C Summer=30-40 C -Plants- Shrubs, small trees, grasses and herbs. High diversity. Resistant to fires. -Animals- Deer, goats, birds, reptiles, insects. -Human Impact- Heavily settled and urbanized. Humans contribute to fires. |
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Temperate Grassland
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Terrestrial Biome
-Distribution- Plains and prairies of central North America, pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, velds of S. Africa. -Precipitation- Seasonal. Dry winters, wet summers. 30- 100 cm/year. -Temperatures- Cold winters..-10 C. Hot summers.30 C -Plants- Grasses and forbes. Adapted to drought/fire. -Animals- Large grazers and burrowing animals. -Human Impact- Agriculture. Great farmland. |
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Northern Coniferous Forest
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-Terrestrial biome
-Distribution- Largest biome on earth. Broad band across northern North America and Eurasia to Arctic tundra. -Precipitation- 30-70 cm/year. Droughts are common. Some coastal coniferous forests are temperate rain forests receiving over 300 cm/year. -Temperature- Cold winters, Hot summers -50 C to 20 C. -Plants- cone-bearing trees (pine, spruce, fir, hemlock). -Animals-moose, bear, tiger, birds, bad insects. -Human Impact-Logging |
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Temperate Broadleaf
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-Terrestrial Biome
-Distribution- Midlatitudes in Northern Hemisphere. Also small areas in Chile, S. Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. -Precipitation- 70-200 cm/year. -Temperature- Winter=0 C. Summer=35 C -Plants- Distinct vertical layers. Closed canopy--->strata of understory trees--->shrub layer--->Herb Layer. Deciduous trees (drop leaves). -Animals- Hibernating mammals, birds, insects use vertical layers. -Human Impact- Heavily settled. Logging and land clearing for development. |
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Hadley Cell
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Global cell of air movement between 0 and 30 degrees
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Ferrel Cell
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Global cell of air movement between 30-60 degrees
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Polar Cell
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Global cell of air movement between 60-90 degrees
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June Solstice (aka summer solstice)
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The tilt of a planet's semi-axis, in either the northern or the southern hemisphere, is most inclined toward the star (sun) that it orbits.
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December Solstice (aka winter solstice)
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The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees.
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September Equinox
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Is the moment when the sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading southward.
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March Equinox
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Is the equinox on the earth when the Sun appears to cross the celestial equator, heading northward.
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Gyre
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Any large system of rotating ocean currents, particularly those involved with large wind movements
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Weather vs Climate
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Weather generally refers to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods of time.
Weather (5 minutes) Climate (30 years) |
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Scope of Ecology
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Global--->Landscape--->Ecosystem--->Community--->Population--->Organismal
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Global
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The biosphere--sum of all the planets ecosystems and landscapes.
Focuses on how the regional exchange of energy and materials influence the functioning and distribution of organism across the biosphere. |
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Landscape (or seascape)
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A mosaic of connected ecosystems.
Focuses on factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, and organism across multiple ecosystems. |
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Ecosystem
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Community of organisms in an area and the physical factors with which they interact.
Focuses on energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and the environment. |
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Community
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A group of populations of different species in an area.
Focuses on how interactions between species, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and organization. |
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Population
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A group of individuals of the same species living in an area.
Focuses on factors that affect population size and how and why it changes through time. |
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Organismal
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Includes the subdisciplines of physiological, evolutionary, and behavioral ecology---
Focuses on organisms structure, physiology and behavior. |
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What factors limit a biomes geographical size?
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Temperature, annual precipitation, species of plants and animals found therein, location on earths axis.
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What is responsible for moving heat from the tropics to higher latitudes?
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Ocean currents.
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Terrestrial biome is mainly characterized by...
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Vegetation type
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