Sci 112 Chapter 6

Front 1

Succession

Back 1

the concept that communities proceed through a series of recognizable, predictable changes in structure over time.

Front 2

Climax Community

Back 2

a relatively stable, long-lasting community that is the result of succession.

Front 3

Primary Succession

Back 3

a successional proogression that begins with a total lack of organisms and bare mineral surfaces or water.

Front 4

Secondary Succession

Back 4

a successional progression that begins with the destruction or disturbance of an existing ecosystem.

Front 5

Pioneer Community

Back 5

the first to colonize bare rock.

Front 6

Successional/ Seral stage

Back 6

each step in the process from pioneer community to climax community

Front 7

Sere

Back 7

the entire sequence of stages from pioneer community to climax community.

Front 8

Biomes

Back 8

terrestial climax communities with wide geographic distrubition.

Front 9

Deserts

Back 9

areas that generally average less than 25 centimeters of precipitation each year.

Front 10

Temperate grasslands

Back 10

widely distributed over temperate parts of the world.

Front 11

Savannas

Back 11

found it tropical parts of Africa, South America, and Australia; characterized by extensive grasslands spotted with occasional trees or patches of trees.

Front 12

Mediterranean Shrublands

Back 12

located near oceans and are dominated by shrubby plants.

Front 13

Tropical Dry Forest

Back 13

the tropical dry forest is another biome that is heavily influenced by seasonal rainfall.

Front 14

Tropical Rainforests

Back 14

located near the equator in Central and South America.

Front 15

Temperate Deciduous

Back 15

have a winter-summer change of seasons and have trees that lose their leaves during the winter and replace them the following spring.

Front 16

taiga, northern coniferous forest, or boreal forest.

Back 16

found throughout the southern half of Canada, parts of northern Europe and much of Russia; an evergreen coniferous forest.

Front 17

Tundra

Back 17

an extremely cold region that lacks trees and has a permanetly frozen subsurface soil.

Front 18

Permafrost

Back 18

a permanetly frozen soil layer.

Front 19

Alpine Tundra

Back 19

Scattered patches of tundralike communities found on mountaintops throughout the world.

Front 20

Freshwater Ecosystem

Back 20

has little dissolved salt.

Front 21

marine ecosystems

Back 21

has a high salt content

Front 22

Pelagic organisms

Back 22

organisms that are not attached to the bottom

Front 23

Pelagic Ecosystem

Back 23

the ecosystem that pelagic organisms are apart of.

Front 24

Plankton

Back 24

aquatic organisms that are so small and weakly swimming that they are carried with the currents

Front 25

Phytoplankton

Back 25

planktonic organisms that carry on photosynthesis.

Front 26

Euphotic Zone

Back 26

the upper layer of the ocean where the sun's rays penetrate the surface.

Front 27

Zooplankton

Back 27

small, weakly swimming animals of many kinds that feed on the phytoplankton.

Front 28

Benthic

Back 28

organisms that live on the bottom of the ocean, attached or not.

Front 29

Benthic Ecosystem

Back 29

the ecosystem in which benthic organisms are apart of.

Front 30

Coral Reef Ecosystems

Back 30

produced by coral animals that build cup-shaped external skeletons around themselves.

Front 31

Mangrove Swamp Ecosystems

Back 31

tropical forest ecosystems that occupy shallow water near the shore and the adjacent land.

Front 32

Abyssal Ecosystem

Back 32

a benthic ecosystem that occurs at great depths in the ocean.

Front 33

Estuary

Back 33

a special catagory of aquatic ecosystem that consists of shallow, partially enclosed areas where freshwater enters the ocean.

Front 34

Emergent plants

Back 34

plants that have leaves that float on the surface or protrude above the water.

Front 35

Submerged plants

Back 35

rooted plants that stay submerged below the surface of the water.

Front 36

Littoral Zone

Back 36

a region in a lake with rooted vegetation.

Front 37

Limnetic Zone

Back 37

a region in a lake that does not have rooted vegetation.

Front 38

Oligotrophic lakes

Back 38

deep clear,cold, nutrient- poor lakes low in productivity.

Front 39

Eutrophic Lakes

Back 39

shallow, murky, warm, nutrient-rich lakes.

Front 40

Biochemical Oxygen Demand

Back 40

the amount of oxygen used by decomposers to break down a specific amount of organic matter.

Front 41

Periphyton

Back 41

attached algae, animals and fungi.

Front 42

Swamps

Back 42

wetlands that contain trees that are able to live in places that are either permanetly flooded or flooded for a major part of the year.

Front 43

Marshes

Back 43

wetlands that are dominated by grasses and reeds.