Chp. 34 - The Biosphere: An Introduction to Earth’s Diverse Environments

Flashcards covering the vocabulary of ecology, environmental factors, climate patterns, and the characteristics of various aquatic and terrestrial biomes from Chapter 34.

Ecology

The scientific study of the interactions of organisms with their environments.

Biotic factors

The living component of the environment, including all of the organisms in an area.

Abiotic factors

The environment’s nonliving component, consisting of physical and chemical factors.

Habitat

The surroundings of an organism, including both the biotic and abiotic factors present.

Population

A group of individuals of the same species living in a particular geographic area.

Community

An assemblage of all the populations of organisms living close enough together for potential interaction.

Ecosystem

An ecological level of study that includes both the abiotic and biotic components of the environment.

Landscapes

Arrays of ecosystems that are usually visible from the air as distinctive patches.

Biosphere

All of the Earth that is inhabited by life, extending from the atmosphere several kilometers above Earth to the depths of the oceans.

Silent Spring

A 1962 book by Rachel Carson that played a key role in awakening environmental awareness regarding pesticide use.

Pronghorn

A herbivorous running mammal of North American open country whose blazing speed likely evolved due to selection pressure from the now extinct American cheetah.

Tropics

The region surrounding the equator between latitudes $23.5^{\circ}$ north and $23.5^{\circ}$ south.

Doldrums

An area of calm or very light winds near the equator created by rising moist air.

Trade winds

Cooling winds that dominate the tropics, blowing from east to west as air moves back toward the equator.

Temperate zones

Latitudes between the tropics and the Arctic Circle in the north or the Antarctic Circle in the south, characterized by seasonal variations.

Westerlies

Prevailing winds in temperate zones that blow from west to east.

Ocean currents

River-like flow patterns in the oceans resulting from prevailing winds, Earth's rotation, unequal heating, and the shapes of continents.

Biomes

Major types of ecological associations that occupy broad geographic regions of land or water.

Pelagic realm

The region of the ocean that includes all open water.

Benthic realm

The seafloor of the ocean, extending from the continental shelf to the deep-sea bottom.

Photic zone

The ocean depth where light penetration is sufficient for photosynthesis to occur.

Aphotic zone

The ocean depth where there is insufficient light for photosynthesis.

Intertidal zones

Marine biomes where the ocean meets the land, characterized by being pounded by waves at high tide and exposed to air at low tide.

Estuaries

Productive marine biomes located where rivers meet the ocean.

Wetlands

Ecosystems that are transitional between aquatic and terrestrial environments.

Tropical forests

Equatorial biomes with warm temperatures and $11-12$ hour days year-round.

Savannas

Grasslands with scattered trees that are warm year-round and receive $30-50\,cm$ of annual rainfall.

Deserts

The driest of all terrestrial biomes, characterized by low and unpredictable rainfall.

Desertification

A significant environmental problem involving the conversion of semiarid regions to desert.

Chaparral

A shrubland biome characterized by cool, rainy winters and hot, dry summers, with vegetation adapted to periodic fires.

Temperate grasslands

Mostly treeless biomes (except near water) with $25-75\,cm$ of annual precipitation and cold winters.

Taiga

The northern coniferous forest; it is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth.

Permafrost

Continuously frozen subsoil characteristic of the arctic tundra.

Polar ice

Terrestrial biome at high latitudes covering land north of the tundra, much of the Arctic Ocean, and Antarctica.