Topic 12
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22 Terms
Ecology
The study of interactions between organisms and their environment.
Organismal ecology
Focuses on how an individual organism’s structure, physiology, and behavior meet environmental challenges.
Population ecology
Studies how populations change over time and the factors affecting population size and growth.
Community ecology
Examines how species interactions, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and organization.
Ecosystem ecology
Investigates how energy flows and chemicals cycle between organisms and their environment.
Landscape ecology
Looks at how factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms occur across multiple ecosystems.
Global ecology
Analyzes how regional exchange of energy and materials influences the functioning and distribution of organisms across biospheres.
Abiotic factors
Non-living environmental components that affect the distribution and selection of organisms.
Climate
Long-term conditions of temperature, precipitation, evaporation, and light.
Weather
Short-term patterns of atmospheric conditions.
Evapotranspiration
The process that influences plant productivity by affecting moisture and temperature.
Solar radiation
The energy received from the sun, which drives atmospheric and climatic patterns.
Biomes
Major ecological communities classified by distinct vegetation types and conditions.
Rain shadow effect
A regional effect where moist air rises over a mountain range, cools, and causes heavy precipitation on the windward side, leaving the leeward side dry.
High pressure systems
Areas where warm, dry air descends, resulting in less cloud formation and precipitation.
Low pressure zones
Regions where warm, moist air rises, leading to cloud formation and more precipitation.
Tropical rain forests
Biomes characterized by high rainfall and biodiversity.
Temperate forests
Forests that experience distinct seasons and moderate temperatures.
Deserts
Biomes characterized by low precipitation and drought-resistant vegetation.
Taiga
A biome dominated by coniferous trees and characterized by low temperatures.
El Niño
A climate pattern that describes the unusual warming of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
La Niña
A climate pattern that describes the unusual cooling of surface waters in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.