Tropical Ecology (Ch. 1 + Overview)

At what latitude are the tropics located

23°N, 23°S

How much of Earths Biodiversity is located within the tropics

50%

When is the solar equator over the tropic of cancer

During the summer solstice in june

When is the solar equator over the tropic og Capricorn

During the winter solstice in December

When is the sun directly over the equator

During the vernal and autumnal equinoxes

What month does the vernal equinox occur

march

what month does the autumunal equinox occur

september

What percentage of the worlds rainforests are in the neotropics

50%

What percent of the worlds Rainforests are located in Brazil

30%

What are the countries in South America that border the equator

Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil

What countries in Africa border the equator

Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganada, Kenya, Somalia

What are the countries in the Indian Ocean that border the equator

Maldives

What are the countries in the SE Asia that border the equator

Indonesia

What are the countries in the Pacific Ocean that border the equator

Kiribati

How many total countries border the equator

12

How much of the Tropics landmass is in Africa

50%

What defines climate

latitude and altitude

What determines the tropics’ climate and seasonality

Tropical lowlands warm throughout the year and the seasons are determined by rainfall

Is there a cold season

no

At what angle does the sun rays hit the tropics

almost 90°, why it is hotter than temperate regions

Wallaces line

a famous biogeographic province that seperates oriental (Asian) and Australasian zoogeographic regions

What animals can be found in Australasian regions that are not found in Asia

marsupial fauna (babies born early ad develop in pouch)

What animals can be found in oriental regions but not found in Australasia

placental mammals (embryo develops within mohter)

What are the 5 factors that make tropical vegetation most luxuriant

1) Adequate rainfall;

2) rainfall is seasonally uniform;

3) temperature is warm throughout the year;

4) Soil is sandy loam and has organic matter;

5) Terrain is level, and soil is well-drained

Biogeography

Study of geographical distribution of plants and animals

What are the names of the tetonic plates

1) Pacific Plate

2) Juan de Fuca Plate

3) Cocos Plate

4) Caribbean Plate

5) Nazca Plate

6) South America Plate

7) Antarctica Plate

8) Scotia Plate

9) African Plate

10) Arabian Plate

11) Indian Plate

12) Indo-Australian Plate

13) Pacific Plate

14) Philippine Plate

15) Eurasian Plate

16) North America Plate

Pangea

supercontinent with all continents joined together

Subductions

Occur at oceanic trenches when an oceanic plate and a continental plate collide. The oceanic plate descends into the mantle because it is denser

Trench formation

when 2 oceanic plates collide

Formation of fold mountain chains

When 2 continental plates collide

Significance of mid oceanic ridges

At the edges of tectonic plates, plates move apart, creating a rift where mantle material rises and forms new oceanic crust (seafloor). The movements of the plates can carry the continents

Divergent plate boundaries

tetonic plates move apart allowing mantle material to rise

Transform plate boundary

When 2 plates slide past each other, and a fault develops between the friction zone, causing earthquakes

Convergent plate boundary

When the oceanic plates collide and form trenches

What caused the San Andres fault

The North American plate and the Pacific plate are sliding past each other

What is Biome distribution related to

Mean annual rainfall and mean annual temperature

Biomes

• Subdivisions of biogeographical regions that support characterisitc forms of plants and animals

• They occur across the boundaries of biogeographical regions

  • Can be found in different parts of the world and all have similar characteristics; however, the actual species within the biomes vary extraordinarily between regions

Ecosphere

an entire ecological system of planetary proportions

• everything on earth

ecosystem

• subdivision of the ecosphere in which organisms interact with both the environment and each other

• The unit of study in which energy flows from the sun to autotrophs to heterotrophs to decomposers

  • a food web

Autotrophs

ostly plants that get energy directly from sun via photosynthesis

Heterotrophs

gain energy via autotrophs and other heterotrophs

Detritus

organic matter produced by autotrophs and transformed by heterotrophs that ends up as dead organic matter

Detritivores

extract energy and nutrients from detritus

Meterology

the study of the atmosphere

Mean annual temp in tropics

exceeds 18°C daily, usually between 22°C and 35°C

Hadley cells

• The warm, moist air caused by the sun rises in the tropics and goes north and south; the cool dry air sinks at 30°N/S and returns to the tropics at the surface

  • The rising air causes abundant rainfall as it cools

How is the air flow in Hadley cells defelcted

coriolis effect (earths rotation)

Coriolis effect wind patterns

• Wind blows to the left in the Southern Hemisphere

• Wind blows to the right in the Northern Hemisphere

Where is the rate of rotation fastest

at the equator

Where do the trade winds meet

Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

What are characteristics of the ITCZ

• zone of low atmospheric pressure

• Migrates N during June-August

• Migrates S during November- January

• Creates a bimodal rainfall pattern in equatorial regions

At what latitude do deserts mostly occur

30°N/S

What determines rainy seasons in the tropics

where the sun is closest to that region

Why isnt there extreme weather in the tropics compared to temperate regions

water moderates extremes

Why are the intensity and total amount of rain larger in the tropics

There is more energy from the sun, which makes the intensity higher

What are characteristics of the raindrops in the tropics

they are larger and have more potential energy; therefore, more corrosive power

convergent evolution

similar adaptations distantly related

El Niño

The sea surface in the central and eastern Pacific warms causing the air to rise and travel east to west; th air then descends near the coast of North and the warm water piles up along the North American coast

Why are El Niños an issue

• There is drought in tropical South America Africa and Australia

• Increased precipitation outsidede of tropics leading to flooding

• There is no upwelling of nutrients