Biology Test II
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48 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 global warming | the increase, and projected future increase, in the average temerpature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century |
| Greenhouse effect | the entrapment by atmospheric gasses of infrared radiation (heat) that would otherwise be lose to space, resulting in an increased temerature of the earth and its atmosphere; incoming solar radiation is absorbed by the earth's surface, which generates heat and the outward emission of infrared radiation. The latter is absorbed by clouds (water vapor), CO2 and other gases instead of passing into space, leading to warming of the atmosphere. |
| Evidence of increased global temperatures | Air temperature (recent:increase of 1.3 degrees F in last 100 years, geological times) Anthropogenic cause (IPCC stated "evidence of global warming is unequivocal and is very likely due to human induced changes in greenhouse gases" |
| primary greenhouse gases | water vapor (36-70%), carbon dioxide (9-26%), methane )4-9%), nitrous oxide (2-6%) |
| increase in common GHGs | the atmospheric concentration of CO2 increased by 36% and methane by 148% since the mid 1700 |
| levels of atmosphere | troposphere-->tropopause-->stratosphere-->mesosphere-->ionosphere |
| global warming potential | potential of a unit mass of a substance to contribute to global warming relative to the equivalent mass of Co2 (CO2=1 CH4=72 N2O=310) |
| Sources of GHG increases | Fossil fuel burning, burning of tropical trainforests, livestock gases and landfills, fertilizer production |
| Fossil fuel burning | causes increased release of water vapor, CO2, CH4 and N2O, the greenhouse gases that trap and reflect infrared heat energy back to earth like glass panes in a greenhouse, causing global warming |
| Burning of tropical rain forests | for raising beef cattle and agricultural crops; burning reduces the amount of photosynthesis that occurs and hence the amount of CO2 taken from the atmosphere to make plant tissue; |
| Livestock gases and landfill | increase CH4 production;microorganisms produce methane during the breakdown of organic waste within the stomach of livestock and landfills |
| fertilizer production | field use of nitrogen fertilizers produces N2O as a breakdown product in the soil; |
| positive feedback mechanism | when warming trend results in effects that induce further warming |
| Negative feedback mechanism | when the wamring effects inhibit further warming and induce a net cooling |
| Positive feedback | water vapor production, methane, melting ice, increased thickness of the warming, lighter, nutrient-poor, layer of surface sea water |
| negative feedback | increased terrestrial plant growth from increased CO2 |
| Water vapor production | (greatest positive feedback) when the atmosphere is warmed, evaporation and the quantity of water vapor that air can hold increases; since water vapor is a greenhouse gas, the increase in water vapor makes the atmosphere warm further and able to hold more vapor |
| methane | CH4 is tied up in the lattice of frozen water in vast amounts in the frozen tundra, polar ice and deep sea sediment and higher temperatures releases this gas, worsening global warming; this also accelerates the rate of breakdown of the reserves of organic compouds in the permafrost and sea bottom, because of the microorganisms that produce CH4 becoming more active |
| Melting ice | exposes more sea water and land to solar radiation, increasing absorption of solar radiation and heat production, which melts more snow/ice, exposing more land and sea surface and even more warming. Unlike the meling of floating ice/snow, the melting of land ice/snow raises the sea level, which will flood coastal communities and many tropical islands around the the globe before the turn of this century |
| increased thickness of the warming, lighter, nutrient-poor layer of surface sea water | above the thermocline redults in less mizing with the colder, heavier, nutrient rich water below the thermocline, which reduces phytoplankton growth and CO2 uptake in the surface water, and this increases atmospheric CO2 |
| Increased terrestrial plant growth from increased CO2 | can reduce CO2 levels when the plant makes carbohydrates, tying up C in plant tissue |
| abiotic effects from global warming | increased number and intensity of precipitation events (result from higher temperatures and evaporation rates over the ocean and the transport and release of more of this water vapor over land in the form of rain/snow) increase PPT by 2% globally, increase in extreme weather events (flooding, tornadoes, hurricanes, erosion, heating and drought), increased flooding with glacial melting in poles and high mountains (land ice melt will elevate sea levels and cause coastal flooding) |
| Biotic effects of global warming | Impeded movement of animals (loss of access to prey--polar bears use ice flows, loss of habitat-can't adapt to warmer environments) increased species extinction rates (copepods-zooplankton can't live in warmer water; krill-disappearing because of the disappearance of coastal ice sheets under which they trive; coral-dying as a redult of bleaching (lose symbiotic algae that feed coral), increased spread of disease (warmer temperatures favor the survival of spruce bark beetles and budworm moths that are causing wide-spread loss of spruce worldwide) phenological issues involving climate change,( change in timing of a biotic event with chang in climate, asynchronous change in the phenologies of interacting species |
| Phenology | science of climate effects on the annual timing of biotic events, or the lack thereof |
| change in timing of a biotic event with chang in climate | time of flowering has advanced about 1 week earlier over the past 50 years in NA; this can reduce pollination effectiveness and therefore crop yield if the pollinators cue their reproduction based on photoperiod rather than environmental temperatures |
| asynchronous change in the phenologies of interacting species | the time of egg hatching in the winter month and the time of bud burst of the pedunculate oak in the Netherlands diverge, leaving the newly hatched larva without flower petals to feed upon |
| community | consists of the living, interacting organisms in a given location. It has an evological separateness or identity to it as defined by the close networking or interactions among organisms composing it |
| ecosystem | a community and its abiotic environment; |
| biome | a major terrestrial ecosystem defined by global climate patterns and characterized by distinct assemblages of animals, plants, and regional abiotic variables; |
| major factors determining global weather | solar radiation (air updraft and rain near equator, air downdraft and dry at 30 degrees north and south) earth's rotation and tilt (west and eat rotation and therefore prevailing breeze and ocean currents from east to west at equator) ocean conveyor (global oceanic surface currents, like wind direction) |
| Tundra | mostly above tree line; not enough nutrients/sunlight for much production of woody tissue; begins 60 degrees north latitude, be is mostly above arctic circle, can extend south to arizone (~35 degrees north latitude);cold and damp, with low evaporation and precipitation rates, low solar radiation reduces evaporation and increases dampness; high carbon stores in permafrost; low biodiversity; not much vegetation; resident snoy owls and arctic fox feed on lemmings |
| conifer (boreal) forests | mostly cold and dry, but greater solar radiation permits more woody tissue production; catastrophe prone forests (shallow root growth promotes greater wind throw damage, insect devastation) needles reduce dehydration and needle retention in the fall conserves energy; spire-shaped trees with limbs angled downward and larger branches closer to the ground;redwood--tallest tree in the world;many browsing animals eat needles, leaves, buds and twigs and keep many areas in early succession |
| temperate deciduous forests | 30-45 degrees north/south, more coastal than the temperate grasslands; moderate seasonal temperatures (drier in summer, wetter in winter), after leaves die in the fall, most energy is processed by invertebrates and fungi with a large release of CO2 in northern latitudes, many detritivores, rich soils and thicker humus because of moisture and rich community of decomposers, skunk, raccoons, red fox, white-tailed deer, black bear, deed mouse |
| grasslands | savanna, weldt, pampas, steppes, prairie; similar latitudes with deciduous forests, except much drier and more inland; largely converted to agriculture because of rich soils, warm and dry, low relief vegetation, greater solar radiation, wind pollination, fire is important for maintenance and nutrient re-cycling |
| desert | dray and hot (30 degrees N&S latitudes), caries from total wandering dunes to rugged terrain, plants and animals with water conserving structure, animals like the horned lizard diamond back rattle snake and kangaroo rat are adapt to living in very conditions |
| tropical rain forests | (within 20 degrees of the equator), most biodiversity; warm and moist year round, complex structure of vegetation (buttress roots, big leaves, epiphytes) soils thing because of rapid decay of organic debris and uptake; several layers of trees, lots of vines, consumers mostly live in trees, tremendous selection pressure resulting from predation and competition, sloth, bats, macaw, parrots, cats, tree iguanas, ants, termites |
| aquatic ecosystems: freshwater | vernal pools (spring thaw puddles in the woods mainly created by 'windthrow' toppling of old trees; dry up by late summer but exist long enjough for the life cycle of frogs and salamanders)' pongs (year round water basins) wetlands (bogs, swamps, low pH) creeks/streams, Rivers (support many fish, algal films) lakes (littoral zone; limnetic zone, profundal zone, benthic zone) |
| littoral zone | :shallow enough and receiving enough sunlight to support rooted aquatic plants; rooted plants, fish, amphibians, invertebrates |
| limnetic zone | entire layer of sunlit water surrounded by the littoral zone but not having rooted aquatic plants; plankton and larger fish |
| profundal zone | without direct sunlight below the limnetic zone |
| benthic zone | bottome substrate of the lake, sunlit and unlit |
| brackish water | mixed salt fresh water; fish, oysters, crabs (salt marches--very high salt conditions, salt-tolerant plants and animals, bays, esuaries--stratification of lighter freshwater over saltwater) |
| marine ecosystems | intertidal, neritic zones, oceanic zone, photic and aphotic zones, abyssal zone |
| intertidal zone | highest nutrient content but harshest living periodic exposure to dehydration, UV radiation and wave action |
| Neritic zone | gentle water than intertidal, sunlight for photosynthesis, nutrient recycling from bottom; many organisms have phytoplankton symbionts (kelp forests--provide safe haven for sea otters, a keystone species that controls sea urchin populations that would otherwise destroy the kelp forests. Kelp forests require clear, cold (50F), nutrient rich water; coral reefs--coral polyps build CaCO3 skeletons (reefs) that provide structural refuges for the second most biodiverse habitat known next to rainforests; recent CO2 build up creating acid conditions not favorable for CaCO3 precipitationif water gets too warm, coral cannot survive) |
| Oceanic zone | entire ocean seawar from the neritic zone (mostly nutrient-poor because of dead organisms float down below the thermocline to the ocean flood;bottom zone is most nutrient part of the ocean; iron enrichment can cause a burst of phytoplankton in the surface water of the oceans; floating algae; |
| photic and aphotic zones | below about 1000' |
| abyssal zone | the bottom of the ocean, abbyssal plain with geothermal vents |
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