Baylor Biology 1306 Final

What is the name for the scientific study of interactions between organisms and the environment?

Ecology

What sub-field of ecology studies the exchange of energy, materials, and organisms across the biosphere?

Global Ecology

Exchanges between multiple ecosystems encompass what sub-field of ecology?

Landscape ecology

What sub-field of ecology examines how various species interact- specifically predation and competition?

Community ecology

the subfield of ecology that examines factors affecting population size and changes over time is ______ ecology

population

What two variations contribute to the climate and conditions of the tropics?

Earth's curved shape causes latitudinal variation in the intensity of sunlight- the tropics receive the most direct sunlight, there is more sunlight and heat delivered to the surface area of the tropics than areas of higher and lower latitude

Intense solar radiation at the equator creates what patterns of air circulation and precipitation?

The intense solar radiation at the equator causes hot, moist are which is released (precipitated) as it ascends, as that warm air travels north and south, the descending air absorbs moisture, causing arid/ dry zones

The dry and arid climate in descending air causes deserts to occur at what latitudes?

30 north and 30 degrees south

What is the term for the most significant influence on the distribution of organisms on land and in the ocean?

Climate

Climate patterns of the US are to ________climate, whereas climate patterns of the area underneath a log are to ____climate

Macro; micro

Seasonal cycles seen in middle to high altitudes of the globe are caused by ...?

Earth's tilted axis of rotation

True or false: Ocean currents influence climate along the coasts of continents

True

What characteristic of water contributes to its ability to moderate climate of nearby land?

Water's high specific heat

Which side of a mountain (located along a coast) would have more moisture and precipitation?

The leeward (non-ocean) side since cool/ humid air is taken on the shore side and released as precipitation before reaching the leeward side

Temperature, light, wind, and water are examples of _____ factors influencing the distribution and abundance of organisms.

Abiotic

Other living organisms within an environment are examples of ______ factors influencing distribution of organisms

biotic

Major life zones characterized by vegetation type or physical environment are called...

biomes (tropical forest, savanna, grassland)

What is the term given to a plot of the annual mean temperature and precipitation in a particular region?

Climograph

The integration, or overlapping area between biomes is called an ___________

Ectone

How can a disturbance alter a community?

It can remove an organism or alter available resources

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-equatorial/ sub-equatorial regions

-high (constant or seasonal) amounts of precipitation

-High temperature (25-29 Celsius)

-Vertically layered vegetation

Tropical Forest

What terrestrial biome has the highest amount of animal diversity?

Tropical Rain forest

The following characteristics are of what biome?

- occurs normally around 30 degrees north, 30 degrees south

-low precipitation

-high variability of temperatures

-low, widely scattered vegetation

-C4 or CAM Photosynthesis plants

-commonly nocturnal species

Desert

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-seasonal percipitation- long dry season

- warm year round

-dense grasses and scattered trees

-large, plant-eating animals

Savanna

The following characteristics are of what biome?

- midlatitude coastal regions

-highly seasonal precipitation

-shrubs and small trees, high diversity

-browsers (deer and goats)

Chaparral

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-seasonal precipitation, drought is common

-cold winters, hot summers

-grasses and forbs

-grazers and burrowing mammals

temperate grassland

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-largest terrestrial biome on Earth

- cold winters, hot summers

-cone-bearing trees (pine, spruce, fir, hemlock)

-birds, bears, moose

Northern coniferous forest

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-midlatitudinal

- average winters, hot and humid summers

- distinct layers of plants: canopy, understory, shrubs/herbs

- hibernating/ migrating animals

Temperate broadleaf forest

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-high winds and low temperatures

-cold winters and summers

-herbaceous plants- mosses, grasses, and forbs

-frozen layer of soil

-large grazing/ migratory animals

Tundra

What large marine biome amounts to 75% of the Earth's surface?

Ocean

Ecologists distinguish between the two zones in aquatic biomes by what characteristic?

The amount of light present in the zone capable of conducing photosynthesis

Light penetration is to ________ zone, whereas minimal light is to ______ zone.

Photic, aphotic

Minimal distance to the shore is to ______ zone, whereas great distance from the shore is to _______ zone.

Littoral, limnetic

Open water is to ___ zone, whereas water on the bottom is to ___ zone.

Pelagic, benthic

The deepest part of the aphotic zone 2000-6000m deep is the _____ zone.

Abyssal

What are the characteristics of the benthic zone?

Made up of organic and inorganic sediments, occupied by a community of organisms called the benthos

What is the name of the dead organic matter that rains down to the aphotic zone?

Detrius

A jump in temperature from 18 to 6 degrees in a lake is considered a _________.

Thermocline

During what two seasons is water stratified by temperature?

Spring and Autumn (temp. in summer and winter is constant at all depths)

How does turnover influence oxygen and nutrient content in bodies of water?

Turnover, caused by temperature changes sends oxygenated water to the bottom of the body, and brings nutrient rich water from the bottom to the surface.

__________ lakes are to nutrient poor and oxygen rich, whereas ______ lakes are to nutrient rich and oxygen poor.

Oligotrophic, eutrophic

What zone in bodies of freshwater would an ecologist most likely find high amounts of rooted aquatic plants?

Littoral zone

Many phytoplankton, including cyanobacteria would be found mainly in what aquatic zone?

Limnetic zone

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-Inundated by water at least part of the time

-supports plants well-adapted by water-saturated soil

-high amounts of nutrients, low oxygen

-extremely productive biome

Wetland

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-fast and turbulent headwaters

-fishes and invertebrates

Streams and Rivers

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-varying salinity

-productive biomes

-saltmarsh grasses and algae

-worms, oysters, crabs

Estuaries

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-periodically exposed or submerged by the tide

-high oxygen and nutrient levels

-marine algae

-sponges, crustaceans, worms, oysters

Intertidal Zones

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-open water constantly mixed with wind currents

-high oxygen, low nutrients

- phytoplankton

-zooplankton (shrimp, jellies), fish

Oceanic Pelagic Zone

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-photic zones

-high nutrient and oxygen levels

-unicellular, mutualistic algae

-corals/ cnidarians

Coral Reefs

The following characteristics are of what biome?

-low oxygen and sunlight levels

-soft sediments

-photosynthetic organisms, deep-sea hydrothermal vents

-chemoautotrophs that obtain energy by oxidizing dissolved sulfate

-Marine Benthic Zone

List four factors affecting the distribution of a species

dispersal, behavior, biotic factors (other species), abiotic species (water salinity)

What term refers to the movement of an individual or a species moving away from their area of origin?

Dispersal

What is the difference between weather and climate?

Weather is the day to day temperatures, whereas climate is the average temperatures over a longer period of time (years)

What are the four components of climate?

temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind

What is the Coriolis Effect?

The Coriolis Effect describes the turn of the wind to the right in the Northern Hemisphere caused by earth's rotation.

A group of individuals of a single species living in the same general area is called a _________.

Population

The number of oak trees per square kilometer in Minnesota is an example of the _______ of a population

density

What is the mark-recapture method?

A portion of the population is captured, marked, and released. Later, another portion is captured and the number of marked individuals within the sample is counted.

What equation models the mark- recapture method?

N= sn/ x

N= population size

s= # in first sampling

n= # in 2nd sampling

x= # of marked individuals

Sea stars grouped together where food is abundant is an example of ______ dispersion

Clumped

Dandelions growing from windblown seeds into a field is an example of ________ dispersion

Random

What factor contributes greatly to uniformly dispersion?

antagonists social interactions (territoriality)

The vital statistics of populations and how they change over time

Demography

The fate of a cohort can be summarized by a _____- _______.

Life Table

What is a plot of the proportion of individuals still alive at a given age?

Survivorship curve

What trends can be seen in a graph of a survivorship curve?

How can demographers determine the reproduction rates for a population or species?

Estimating the number of breeding females

What is a reproductive table?

An age-specific summary of the reproductive rates in a population

What is the equation for the per capita rate of increase?

change in N/change in T= B - D

change in population size is N, time interval is T, B is # births, D= # of deaths

When does zero population growth occur?

When the per capita birth and death rates are equal

Limiting factors including resources, energy, and shelter contribute to the _________ ______ of a given environment.

Carrying capacity (K)

The logistic growth of a population typically has what shape?

A sigmoid (s-shaped) shape, minimal and then steep growth

What is the Allee effect?

When populations are too small, they may have difficulty reproducing

The coho salmon lay many eggs upstream early in life, and then travel to the ocean. This is an example of what type of reproduction pattern?

Semelparity (ONE, big-bang reproduction)

A female loggerhead turtle will lay 4 eggs, every two years for 20 years. This turtle's type of reproduction is called _______.

Iteroparity

When is semelparity often favored?

Where the survival rate is low, unpredictable environment

What two pressures influence the number and size of offspring?

plants and animals who are more likely to die young produce more offspring, and high predation rates could cause high amounts of offspring

High density/ density dependent traits are to __-_____, whereas low density/ density independent traits are to __-_____.

K-selection, R-selection

List examples of density-dependent regulation?

competition for resources, disease, predation, territoriality, intrinsic factors, toxic wastes

What term describes when numerous populations are linked?

Metapopulation

A shift from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates is called...

Demographic transition

How do birth and death rates compare to each other in industrialized populations?

Near equilibrium

What are two factors for the decreasing birth rates in recent years?

Women's education and use of contraception

The aggregate land and water used by an individual is called the _______ _______.

Ecological footprint

The trophic level that ultimately support all other trophic levels are the...

primary producers

Autotrophy is to _______, whereas heterotrophy is to _______.

primary producers; secondary/tertiary consumers

Consumers that get their energy from detritus are called ____.

detritivores/ decomposers

What is the name for the total amount of light energy transferred to chemical energy by autotrophs in a given time period?

Primary Production

In total, about what percentage of visible light that strikes photosynthetic organisms is able to be converted to chemical energy?

1%

What term accounts for the total amount of energy produced by primary producers?

GPP: gross primary production

Net primary production refers to the GPP, minus the ___ of the ecosystem.

Autotrophic respiration- the amount of energy used by autotrophs themselves

On average, what fraction of GPP is NPP?

1/2

What is the term given to the total biomass accumulation in a given time?

NEP- net ecosystem production

NEP= GPP - ___?

Rt (total organismal respiration)

True or false: light is the most limiting factor regarding rates of primary production..

False: the limiting factor for primary production is a limiting nutrient

What are the two most common limiting nutrients in aquatic systems?

Phosphorus and Nitrogen

What process occurs when nutrients (P/N) become highly concentrated in a body of water, thereby increasing the growth of organisms including algae or cyanobacteria?

Eutrophication

IN terrestrial ecosystems, what are the two main factors controlling primary production?

Temperature and moisture

What is the name for the total amount of chemical energy available in food for consumers?

Secondary production

What percentage of plant material injested by a caterpillar is used for secondary growth?

1/6/ 17%