ECO 1003 Final

Biome

a large biological community that occupies a distinct physical and climatic region including all interacting species in it

all areas of the planet ______ warm at the same rate (temperature)

do not

minimum temps are rising ______ as maximum temps (temperature)

twice as fast

precipitation is _________ in the tropics and _______ in the subtropics and temperate zones

decreasing, increasing

tropical oceans are ________ in salinity and temperate oceans are ________ in salinity (precipitation)

increasing, decreasing

repackaging (precipitation)

when precipitation events are less frequent, but stronger and heavier, because of warming in the atmosphere (warmer air holds more moisture)

frequency of droughts are ________ because of repackaged precipitation

increasing

ice melting rapidly in the arctic causes

changes in ecology + national security

ocean heat energy is rising, causing ___________ to get stronger

storms and other weather

oceans absorb ___ of all anthropogenic CO2 emissions, which makes the ocean acidic

25%

sea level rises due to

warmer water and its expansion

#1 threat to biodiversity

habitat loss: through agricultural conversion and urban development

#2 threat to biodiversity

climate change

#3 threat to biodiversity

pollution: industry, residential, agricultural

Neutral radiative balance lattitude

35 deg N + S

tropic zone

0 deg - 23.5 deg

subtropic zone

23.5 deg - 35 deg

temperate zone

35 deg - 55 deg

subpolar zone

55 deg - 66.5 deg

polar zone

66.5 deg - 90 deg

dominant photosynthesizer

the organism that creates the energy to support the entire ecological system in a biome

photosynthesis

The process by which plants use light energy to convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose.

Element(s) that enter during photosynthesis

CO2

Element(s) that exit during photosynthesis

Water and oxygen

Stomata

pores for gas exchange in leaves, essential for photosynthesis

Stomata ____ during the day and are _____ at night

open and close, closed

Respiration

breaking apart glucose and using it

primary producers

organisms that consume through photosynthesis, 1st trophic level

primary consumers

also herbivores, consume primary producers

secondary consumers

also primary predators, consume primary consumers

tertiary consumers

also secondary predators, consume secondary consumers

quaternary consumers

also tertiary predators, consume tertiary consumers

topography

features of the surface: mountains, canyons, valleys

rain shadow effect

prevailing winds blow ocean air and moisture onto land from the windward side of a mountain onto the leeward side of a mountain and forms a rain shadow

windward side

side of a mountain where wet air rises, condenses, and precipitation falls, supports vegetation

leeward side

side of a mountain where cool dry air descends, less vegetation

maritime climate

land regions near oceans (less temperature variation)

continental climate

land region inside maritime climate (greater temperature variation)

onshore breeze (sea breeze)

during the day, local wind blows hot air from the sea towards the shore

offshore breeze

at night, local wind brings cold air from the shore to the ocean

upwelling

cold water being pulled to the surface because of surface winds (only in oceans)

tolerance

evergreen plants keep leaves year round

avoidance

deciduous plants can tolerate a lot of weather variations, but drop leaves during harsher seasons

first step in land plant evolution

green algae

second step in land plant evolution

nonvascular plants

third step in land plant evolution

non-seed plants (vascular)

fourth step in land plant evolution

seed plants (vascular), confiers

emergent canopy

The layer of a forest formed by the tallest trees, whose crowns rise above and extend beyond the main, continuous canopy layer, exposing them to direct sunlight.

canopy (upper and lower)

The forest layer formed by the dense, leafy crowns of trees, below the emergent canopy

understory

The forest layer beneath the canopy, made up of shrubs, small trees, and young/shade-tolerant plants that grow in the reduced light conditions filtered down from the canopy above.

ground cover

The lowest layer of forest vegetation, consisting of low-growing plants, herbs, mosses, ferns, and seedlings that carpet the forest floor, typically adapted to low light levels since most sunlight is intercepted by the layers above.

tropical rainforest

(0deg - 10deg) very rainy year round, mostly in the southern hemisphere

tropical dry forest

(10deg - 23.5deg) moderately rainy year round, more deciduous plants

tropical savanna

(10deg - 23.5deg) fairly dry year round, many small grassland shrubs and large herbivores

canopy architecture

trees spread their leaves apart to avoid each other (avoids disease spread)

desertification

expansion of deserts because of human activity

arid desert

very low precipitation, sparse vegetation, high evaporation rates, and extreme temperature fluctuations between day and night,

semi-arid desert

slightly more precipitation than an arid desert, supporting sparse but somewhat more abundant vegetation, while still experiencing significant water limitation and temperature extremes.

grasslands (temperate)

strong seasonality, allows for high soil fertility (most of these have been converted into agriculture land)

evergreen forests (temperate)

trees keep leaves year round

deciduous forests (temperate)

trees loose leaves and grow new ones

mediterranean shrub lands

hot/dry summers and cool/wet winters, very rare globally

taiga (boreal forest)

cold winters, evergreen trees and shrublands

tundra (cold desert)

cold temps and low precipitation, short growing season, small ground cover

mountains

elevation influences climate: valleys, foot hills, sub alpine, alpine, glacier/snow, occurs in all biomes

as elevation ________: precipitation ______ and temperatures _________

increases, increases, decrease

only _____ of all freshwater is usable (in lakes and rivers), the rest is in storage (glaciers, ground cover, permanent snow cover)

0.3%

watershed

one region that is connected by the flows of freshwater, a chain of tributaries

tributary

one stream or river that feeds into another larger stream or river

transpiration

water evaporating during photosynthesis

groundwater

water in the soil that flows slowly, usually these are towards the surface

aquifers

deeper groundwater, pumped for drinking water through wells

rivers

“lotic” water, classified by their stream order

headwaters

starts of rivers (order 1)

aquatic zone

visible water in rivers

riparian zone

vegetation and soil surrounding rivers: plants roots stabilize the riverbank, plants shading cools the water, litter falls onto aquatic zone for animals to eat, zone absorbs some nutrients from the soil before entering rivers

lakes

“lentic” water (pooled), light decreases with depth

thermal stratification

layers of water temperature in lakes (changes seasonally)

turnover

thermal stratification changing seasonally (in fall/spring)

wetlands

saturated low land area (valleys), stores a lot of carbon in soil, more than any other biome

estuary

where freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans mix

brakish water

combination of salt and freshwater

intertidal zone

closest to the shore (vertically)

nertic zone

inbetween intertidal and oceanic zones, goes to 200m of depth and has reefs and kelp forests (vertically)

oceanic zone

the rest of the ocean, varies by depth (vertically)

phelagic realm

all water in the ocean except for the benthic realm

benthic realm

very bottom floor of the ocean, all along it

photic zone

top layer of ocean (horizontally)

aphotic zone

middle layer of ocean (horizontally)

abyssal zone

bottom layer of ocean (horizontally)

neap tide

weak low/high tides, twice a month, when the moon is perpendicular to the sun

spring tide

extreme low/high tides, twice a month, when the moon is parallel to the sun

king tide

extreme spring tides, once a month

kelp forests

in tropical - subpolar zones, found near coast lines, vertical structure

coral reefs

in tropical - subtropical zones, in warm waters, home to 25% of all marine organisms

coral bleaching

coral’s process of dying from conservation issues

taxonomy

classification system for organisms

linnaean taxonomic system

kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species, subspecies

population

a group of individuals in a location that changes in number overtime

life history

record of an individual’s major life events in growth + development. birth, juvenile, adult, death