Ecology Exam 1

chp 1, 2, 3, 4

Ecology

study of the relationships between organisms and their environment

April 22, 1970. After the first Earthrise photos were taken

When is Earth day?

resource scarcity, declining biological diversity, and climate change

How does the growing human population strain the environment?

Ernst Haeckel in 1866

Who made the term “ecology”?

1. Temperature

2. moisture

3. concentration of gases (O2 and CO2)

4. Light intensity

How do organisms usually interact with the environment?

1. Mating

2. Predator and prey

How do organisms usually interact with the environment?

ecosystem

a collection of parts that function as a unit

biotic

• organisms in the forest

living components

abiotic

• atmosphere, climate, soil, water

nonliving (physical and chemical) components

population

a group of individuals of the same species that occupy a given area

community

the populations of different species interacting in an ecosystem

landscape

an area of land or water composed of a patchwork of communities and ecosystems which are linked by dispersal of organisms and exchange of materials and energy

biomes

broad-scale regions dominated by similar types of ecosystems

• rainforests, grasslands, deserts

biosphere

the highest level of organization; the thin layer that surrounds the Earth that supports all of life

weather

occurs at a specific time and place and is a combination of — temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, cloudiness, and any other atmospheric conditions

climate

long-term average pattern of weather and may be local, regional, or global

solar radiation

the electromagnetic energy coming from the sun

higher

shorter wavelength equates to _____ energy

longer

_____ wavelength equates to less energy

Ultraviolet, visible, near infrared

what lights are in the solar radiation area (100-5000 nm)?

far infrared

what light is in the thermal radiation area (5000+ nm)

ultraviolet

what wavelength/light is 100-400 nm

visible

what wavelength/light is 400-700 nm

near infrared

what wavelength/light is 800-5000 nm

purple

400 nm color

blue

450 nm color

green

500 nm color

yellow

570 nm color

orange

590 nm color

red

700 nm location

Some energy that reaches Earth is reflected back into space

What happens to solar radiation when it reaches the Earth?

Albedo

What determines how much solar radiation is reflected from the Earth?

Albedo

describes the refleectivity of a surface

• 0.0-1.0 scale

80-90%

What is snow’s albedo?

5%

what is a forest’s albedo?

30%

What is the global annual albedo?

it can be emitted back into space or absorbed by greenhouse gases

What happens to the energy absorbed by Earth

terrestrial longwave radiation

the longwave radiation emitted from the earth

greenhouse gases

carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane

absorbs longwave radiation then emits it downward toward the earth’s surface, keeping it warm

what do greenhouse gases do?

net radiation

absorbed incoming solar (shortwave) radiation - terrestrial (longwave) radiation emmited back into space

net radiation

What determines surface temperature?

if the amount of absorbed incoming shortwave radiation exceeds the amount of outgoing longwave radiation (vice versa for going down)

How can surface temperature increase?

15C

what temperature does the average net radiation keep earth?

the equator and decreases towards the pole

Where is the highest net radiation found?

the angle is greater and the incoming solar radiation is spread over a larger area

why does radiation decrease toward the poles?

by travelling through more of the atmosphere

how is more solar radiation reflected?

one year

how long does it take for the earth to orbit the sun?

one day

how long does it take for the earth to rotate on its axis?