Ecology Chapter 4
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Created by:
emilyrose1299 on December 11, 2011
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27 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 biome | regions that have distinctive climates and organisms and that contain many separate but similar ecosystems |
| tropical rain forest | warm, wet biome that occurs in a belt around the Earth near the equator and that contains the greatest diversity of organims on Earth |
| temperate | moderate, not subject to extremes, restrained |
| temperate rain forest | cool, humid biome where tree branches are draped with mosses, tree trunks are covered with lichens, and the forest floor is covered with ferns |
| deciduous | to shed leaves annually |
| temperate deciduous forest | forest in an area of extreme seasonal variation in which trees drop their leaves each fall |
| taiga | biome dominated by conifers and characterized by harsh winters; occurs just below the Arctic Circle, aka Northern coniferous forest |
| conifer | tree whose seeds develop in cones |
| climate | weather conditions in an area- temperature, precipitation, humidity, and winds- over a long period of time |
| savanna | tropical grassland biome with a short rainy season |
| prairie | large area of level or slightly rolling grasslands |
| steppe | large, grassy plains area with few trees in southeast Europe and Asia |
| pampa | large, treeless plain of Argentina and other parts of South America |
| chaparral | coastal biome with a Mediterranean climate and low-lying vegetation |
| desert | biome that receives less than 10 in. of precipitation a year |
| tundra | biome without trees, where grasses and tough schrubs grow in the frozenn soil; extends from the Arctic Circle to the North Pole |
| rain shadow | shadow that occurs when mountains block the passage of rain |
| estivation | process of amphibians burying themselves in the ground and sleeping through dry seasons |
| littoral zone | shallow-water area near the shores of lakes and ponds where sunlight reaches the bottom |
| benthic zone | bottom of a body of water; inhabited by decomposers, insect larvae, and clams |
| wetland | area of land covered by water for at least part of the year |
| marsh | land covered with water; contains nonwoody plants |
| swamp | land covered with water; contains woody plants or shrubs |
| fresh water | water that contains relatively little dissolved salt |
| eutrophic lake | lake with a large amount of plant nutrients |
| estuary | aquatic ecosystem in which fresh water from rivers mixes with salt water from the ocean, forming a nutrient trap |
| coral reef | limestone islands in the sea built by coral animals |
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