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35 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Environmentalism vs. Ecology
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Environmentalism is activism aimed at preserving the environment
Ecology is a scientific study of the relationship between organism and its environment |
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Origins of Ecology
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From: Oecologie
The economy of the environment (costs/benefits) |
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Biotic vs. Abiotic
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Biotic = Living components
Abiotic = Nonliving components ex. Rain, Minerals, Wind |
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Spawn of Environmentalism
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Silent Spring - Rachel Carlson
Exposed neurological effects of DDT on animals and its impact on the environment |
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Randomization and Replication
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Randomization eliminates extraneous variables
Replication increases the sample size |
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Testing Types
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Field Surveys - Observations
Field Experiments - Add variables and controls, manipulate conditions Lab Experiments - Control extraneous variables Models - Study something unobservable |
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Classification of Data
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Categorical - Qualitative
Numerical - Quantitative |
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Categorical Data
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Nominal - No sequence
ex. color, health Ordinal - Sequenced ex. age classes |
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Numerical Data
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Discrete - Obvious divisions
ex. Age Continuous - Continuous variables ex. Length |
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Histogram
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A graph of the frequency of data classifications
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Dependent vs. Independent Variables
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Dependent (y-axis) is affected by the Independent Variable (x-axis)
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Hierarchy of Ecological Systems
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Individual
Population - Same species Community - Group of populations Ecosystem - Biotic and Abiotic components Biome - Broad scale region dominated by similar terrain (ie. Desert) Biosphere - Thin layer about the Earth that links all ecosystems |
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Climate vs. Weather
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Weather is a combination of temperature, humidity, wind, etc. for a particular place and time
Climate is the general average temperature/precipitation for a region (predictable up to 10 years) |
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Amount of time it takes Earth to complete one lap around the sun
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365 days + 5 hours
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Tilt of Earth's Axis
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23.5°
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Seasonal Solstice
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Summer: June 22
Longest day of the year Winter: December 22 Shortest day of the year |
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Seasonal Equinox
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Vernal: March 21
Autumnal: September 23 Equal hours of daylight and night |
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Two factors affecting air temp with altitude
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Environmental Lapse Rate
Adiabatic Lapse Rate |
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Environmental Lapse Rate
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The rate at which temperature decreases with altitude
Earth's surface retains heat that dissipates with increased altitude |
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Adiabatic Lapse Rate
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Air molecules are tightly packed under higher pressure preventing heat from dissipating as easily
Moist air cools at a slower rate than dry air |
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Global Air Masses
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Equatorial Lows (Doldrums)
-Warm air rises, calm area Subtropical Highs (Horse latitudes) -Cool air falls, slight winds Polar Lows |
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Coriolis Effect
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The effect on large bodies of water and air masses as a result of the rotation of the Earth
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Hadley cell's effect on the formation of deserts and rain forests
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Warm air of the equator rises and cools forming precipitation, dry air moves toward horse latitudes
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ITCZ
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Thermal Equator
Differs between summer and winter due to tilt of the Earth's axis |
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Cyclogenesis
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Formation of large circling patterns
Coriolis Effect causes gyres to form (surface currents) |
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Ocean Conveyor Belt System
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Thermohaline Circulation
Top water is warm and wind driven Bottom water is cold, dense, and salty - Slow travel One circulation = 1,000 years |
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Milankovich Cycles
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Earth waddles between 22.5° - 24° causing times of heating and extreme cold (Ice Ages)
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El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO)
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Normal: Cool waters upwell off coast of Peru, strong equatorial current, strong trade winds, warm western pacific waters
El Nino: Waters warm off Peru, weak trade winds, currents in opposite direction, cool dry conditions in western pacific |
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La Nina
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Strengthening of normal conditions
Exact opposite of El Nino |
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5 Main Air Masses
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Maritime Polar - Cool, wet air
Maritime Tropic - Warm, wet air Continental Arctic - Cold, dry Continental Polar - Cool, dry Continental Tropic - Warm, dry |
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Rain Shadow
Slope Effect |
Rain shadow causes the windward side of a mountain to have denser vegetation due to warm air rising, causing precipitation
Slope effect is the varying environments on a slope dependent of its facing direction |
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Urban Heat Dome/Island
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Occurs in large urban areas due to concrete and asphalt emitting more heat
Can cause localized weather patterns (increased rainfall) |
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Green House Effect
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Long wave radiation emitted by the earth is trapped and reradiated back to Earth's surface
Conversion of shortwave to longwave Shortwave radiation only during the day, longwave cannot leave atmosphere |
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Latent Heat
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Amount of energy released or absorbed as it changes states
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Absolute Humidity
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Amount of water in a given volume of air
As air cools, Actual Vapor Pressure > Saturation Vapor Pressure causing clouds to form |
