Ch. 50 Ecology & The Biosphere

Front 1

Define ecology.

Back 1

The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment.

Hint 1

A study of interactions.

Front 2

Distinguish among physiology,ecology,community ecology, and ecosystem ecology.

Back 2

Physiology- how an organism's structure meet the challenges posed by the environment.
Ecology-The scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment.
Community ecology-deals with the whole array of interacting species in a community.
Ecosystem ecology-energy flow and chemical cycling among the various biotic and abiotic components.

Front 3

Describe the relationship between ecology and evolution.

Back 3

The relationship is when environmental factors interact with variation within populations could cause evolutionary change.

Hint 3

Example: Hawks feeding on mice have an immediate impact on the prey population by killing certain individuals, thereby reducing population size(ecologoical effect) and altering the gene pool(evolutionary effect).

Front 4

Explain the importance of temperature,water,light,soil,and wind to living organisms.

Back 4

Temperature is important b/c of its effect on biological processes.Most organisms cannot maintain tissue temperatures if out of their zone of comfort.
Water is important b/c organisms must maintain either an internal or external osmotic environment.
Light is important b/c it provides the energy that drives nearly all ecosystems.It is also important to the development and behavior of the many organisms that are sensitive to photoperiod,relative lengths of daytime and nighttime.
Soil is important b/c it limits the distribution of plants and contributes to the patchiness of the subecosystems.
Wind is important b/c it amplifies the effects of environmental temperature on organisms by increasing heat loss due to evaporation and convection.It also contributes to water loss in organisms by increasing the rate of evaporative cooling in animals and transpiration in plants.

Front 5

Explain the "principle of allocation".

Back 5

Natural selection results in each organism optimizing the seperation of its resources to maximize fitness.

Front 6

Explain why the field of ecology is a multidisciplinary science.

Back 6

Ecology involves genetics, evolution, physiology, behavior, chemistry, physics, geology, and meteorology.

Front 7

Describe the characteristics of the major biomes:tropical forest,savanna,desert, chaparral,temperate grassland,temperate forest, taiga,and tundra.

Back 7

Tropical Forest: Equatorial & subequatorial regions.has many canopy trees& evergreen trees.Animal diversity is high and it is warm year-round and rainfall is relatively constant.
Savanna:Equatorial & subequatorial regions.Warm year-round, fires are common,dry season can last up to 8-9 months, scattered trees with reduced leaf surface area.Large herbivorous mammals and predators.
Desert:Occur in a band near 30 degrees north & south latitude.Low percipitation, temp. is variable seasonally & daily,dominated by low-widely scattered vegetation.
Animals include snakes, lizards,scorpions, rodents, etc.
Chaparral:Occurs in medlatitude coastal regions on several continents.Warm year-round.Dominated by shurbs and small trees. Deer & goats.
Temperate grasslands:South Africa & the plains and prairies of central North America.Dry winters & wet summers.Dominant plants are grasses & forbs.Animals include large grazers and burrowing mammals.
Temperate Forest:Midlatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere. Significant amoutns of percipitation during all seasons.Dominant plants are deciduous trees.Many mammals hibernate in winter,while many bird species migrate to warmer climates.
Taiga:Broad band across northern North America and Eurasia to the edge of the artic tundra.Droughts are common but some coastal taiga are temperate rain forests. Winters are usually cold & long;summers may be hot. Dominate trees are cone-bearing trees. Moose,brown bears, & siberian tigers.
Tundra:Covers expansive areas of the Arctic.Winters are long & cold,summers are short with cool temps.Vegetation is mostly herbaceous,mixture of lichens,mosses,grasses,&forbs.

Front 8

Define Biosphere.

Back 8

The sum of all the planet's ecosystems.

Hint 8

The Global ecosystem.

Front 9

Define conformer.

Back 9

A characterization of an animal in regard to environmental variables.

Hint 9

A conformer allows some conditions within its body to vary with certain external changes.

Front 10

What is the benthic zone?

Back 10

The benthic zone is the bottom of all aquatic biomes.

Hint 10

A substrate made up of sand and organic and inorganic sediments("ooze").

Front 11

Define ecosystem.

Back 11

Consists of all the abiotic factors in addition to the entire community of species that exist in a certain area.

Hint 11

For example: A lake may contain many differnt communities.

Front 12

What is a pelagic zone?

Back 12

The area of the ocean past the continental shelf, with areas of open water often reaching to very great depths.

Hint 12

Open water.

Front 13

Define biome.

Back 13

Any of the world's major ecosystems,classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular habitat.

Front 14

What is a forb?

Back 14

A broad-leaved herb (as opposed to a grass), especially one growing in a field, prairie, or meadow.

Hint 14

A plant located in the Savanna & Tundra.

Front 15

What is the oceanic zone?

Back 15

The region of water lying over deep areas beyond the continental shelf.

Front 16

What is a climograph?

Back 16

A plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region.

Hint 16

A visual of the great impact of climate on the distribution of organisms.

Front 17

What is the abiotic factor?

Back 17

Non-living, components- chemical and physical factors such as temperature,light, water, and nutrients.

Front 18

What is the biotic factor?

Back 18

Living, components- all the organisms, or the biot, that are part of the individual's environment.

Front 19

What is the neritic zone?

Back 19

The shallow region of the ocean overlying the continental shelf.

Front 20

What is the photic zone?

Back 20

Sufficeint light for photosynthesis.

Front 21

What is the abyssal zone?

Back 21

The very deep benthic zone of the ocean.

Hint 21

Deepest regions.