Ecology Review
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Created by:
mich198953 Plus on September 27, 2012
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28 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 What is the distribution and abundance of organisms? What is the distribution of biodiversity? | ... |
| What determines the make-up of a biological community? | Abiotic factors and variation amongst them, this includes Spatial (local to global) and temporal (daily, monthly, yearly, etc..., ex. El Nino). Organismal trade-offs also determine a biological makeup. |
| Describe and provide examples of Organismal Trade-Offs | Imposed by physics and chemistry in addition to allocation of resources. |
| What is an Ecological Niche? | An organisms role in the ecosystem (E. Odum: habitat is organism's address, niche is occupation). The resources needed such as water, oxygen, food, items for shelter, nesting, etc... Abiotic conditions which an organism can exist under. |
| What is climate? | Long term description of weather (current temp, humidity, precipitation, winds, cloudiness), based on averages and variations measured over decades. Interactions between the atmosphere and hydrosphere in addition to incoming solar radiation. |
| What do you need to do to prove that temperature and precipitation govern the distribution of organisms? | ... |
| What causes variation in temperature and rainfall? | Uneven distribution of solar energy across the planet , physics of air, air circulation via Hadley cells, wind patterns, ocean currents, temporal patterns |
| Describe the movements and interactions of a Hadley Cell | 1: Warm air close to earth absorbs moisture (area's are dry and desert like), 2: Warm air rises, expands while rising (becomes cooler, releases water in form of droplets and clouds) 3: cloud formations form (acting as protective pocket for cooling air), 4: rain falls (these areas are more tropical, especially around the equator), 5: cool air falls, slowly warms back up (process repeated). |
| What percentage of solar input drives the hydrologic cycle? What is the hydrologic cycle? | 23%, the hydrologic cycle is the movement or exchange of water between atmosphere and earth. |
| Describe the physics of air | Warm air: less dense, can hold more water, rises through process of UPLIFT (while rising it becomes cooler). Cool air: more dense, can hold less water, falls back down towards Earth's surface. |
| Describe Earth's wind patterns | ... |
| Describe Earth's ocean currents. How are Ocean currents important for the redistribution of solar radiation? | ... |
| What Causes seasons? | ... |
| Explain Climate variation on a regional scale, including; proximity to bodies of water, ocean currents, and topography. | ... |
| What is a microclimate? | Small scale variation in climate due to small scale environmental variation (biomes) |
| What is a Biome? Why do they exist? | Major community and ecosystem type occurring over a broad geographic area. |
| Describe the types of Aquatic Biomes | MARINE: Coral Reefs (collections of coral living in warm ocean waters, strong dependences between many species here). Intertidal (rocky shoreline, physical envr depends of rise/fall of tides, organisms arrange in zones according to tolerance to many factors), Estuaries (junction between ocean and river, bring in nutritious sediments to ocean, salinity tolerance determines what can live here). FRESHWATER: Oligotrophic lake ( |
| Describe the types of Terrestrial Biomes | ... |
| What are the organismal responses to temperature and water variation? Why do these factors cause organismal responses? | ... |
| Explain behavioral responses | ... |
| Explain acclimation | ... |
| Explain developmental responses | ... |
| Explain evolutionary responses/adaptation | ... |
| How do organisms react to stressful conditions? What are the two options? | ... |
| Describe an organism-environment interaction in "ecological time" and the effects seen in "evolutionary time". | ... |
| Explain tolerance ranges, optimal ranges of temperature, pH, and humidity. | ... |
| Are organisms perfect? If not, why? | ... |
| How is solar energy re-distributed on Earth? Explain oceanic and atmospheric circulation. | ... |
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