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Climate
the long term prevailing weather conditions at a given place
what has the most significant influence on the distribution of organisms? What are the 4 physical factors?
climate; temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind
abioic
nonliving; referring to the physical; and chemical properties of an environment
biotic
pertaining to the living factors - the organisms - in an environment
what are the 3 things that influence the distribution and abundance of life
cimate, abiotic and biotic factors
rain shadow
caused by mountains and creates deserts on backs of mountains
what are the environmental differences between a north and south facing slope
south facing slopes receive more sunlight than northern facing slopes and are therefore warmer and drier
what does a forest do
it absorbs more sunlight because of its darker color and cools down temperatures through the evaporative loss of water from plants
biomes
any of the worlds major ecosystem types, of ten classified according to the predominant vegetation for terrestrial biomes
what determines biomes
physical environment for aquatic biomes and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that specific environment whereas climate determines terrestrial biomes
what are the layers of the rain forest
canopy, low tree layer, shrub understory, ground layer of beroaceous, forest floor (AKA litter), root layer
climograph
a plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region
disturbance
a natural or human caused even that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it
canopy
the uppermost layer of vegetation in a terrestrial biome
ecotone
the transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another, such as the transition from a forest to a grassland
what are the 2 types of tropical forest
tropical rain forest and tropical dry forest
tropical rain forest
relatively constant rainfall and 2 types and is vertically layered and animal diversity is higher than in any other terrestrial biome
tropical dry forest
6-7 months of dry season and is vertically layered and animal diversity is higher than in any other terrestrial biome
savannah
30-50 cm of rain with dry season that can last up to 9 months. temperatures vary more than tropical forests. there are many scattered trees bc of overgrazing and many have thorns to protect themselves. the dominant herbivores are termites
desert
low precipitation and temperatures vary seasonally and daily (there are both hot and cold deserts). it is dominated by low scattered vegetation and adaptations of plants include tolerance to heat and desecration, water storage, reduced leaf surface area and physical devfences and many plants carry out CAM photosynthesis
chaparral
highly seasonal climate. the dominating organisms are plants that are grasses and forms and many have adaptations to help them survive droughts and fires. large mammals graze and burrowing mammals live here
temperate broadleaf forest
cold winters and humid summers. dominant plants are deciduous trees(they drop leaves before winter in Australia) evergreen and eucalyptus are common in N hemisphere and mammals hibernate while birds migrate
northern coniferous forest
AKA taiga; the largest terrestrial biome and usually has very cold winters. dominated by cone bearing (conifers) and some even depend on fires to regenerate and needle leaves to reduce water loss
tundra
(when on top of mountains its called Alpine Tundra); is mostly herbaceous with a permanent frozen soil layer called permafrost which restricts griwth of plant roots
photic zone
the narrow top layer of an ocean or lake, where light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur (vertical zone)
aphotic zone
the part of an ocean or lake beneath the photic zone where light does not penetrate sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur (vertical zone)
pelagic zone
the open water component of aquatic biomes (vertical zone)
benthic zone
the bottom surface of an aquatic environment (vertical zone
benthos
the community of organisms living in the benthic zone of an aquatic biome
littoral zone
in a lake, the shallow well lit waters close to shore and are shallow enough for rooted plants (horizontal zone)
limnetic zone
in a lake, the well lit open surface waters far from shore too deep for rooted plants (horizontal zone)
thermoline
a narrow stratum of abrupt temperature change in the ocean and in many temperate zone lakes
wetlands
are inundated by water at least sometimes and support plants adapted to water saturated soil
estuary
the transition zone between a river and the sea. nutrients from upstream make these among the most productive biome
lakes
light decreases in depths creating zones. temperate lakes may have a seasonal thermocline where tropical lowland lakes have it year round
what are the 2 types of lakes
ollgotrophic and eutrophic lakes
ollgotrophic lakes
nutrient poor and oxygen rich (less surface area comparatively)
eutrophic lakes
nutrient rich and oxygen poor inadequate some in sump and in winter due to high composition rates
streams and rivers
headwater streams are cold, clear, and turbulent winds downstream in larger rivers the water is warmer and more turbid because of suspended sediment
what are headwater streams
narrow channel, rocky bottoms, and switch between shallow and and deeper pools
river
wide and meandering, silty bottoms from sediments
internal zones
periodically submerged by the tide 2x daily. Oxygen and nutrient levels are high and renewed with each turn of the tide has a rocky or sandy substrate
coral reef
formed largely of calcium carbonate skeletons of coral and require high oxygen levels. require solid substrate for attachment, and animal diversity is that of tropical forests
ocean pelagic zone
vast realm of open blue water. Oxygen content is high. however nutrient levels are lower than in coastal waters. covers 70% of earths surface
marine benthic zone
consists of the seafloor. temperature declines with depth while pressure increases. Oxygen concentrations are generally sufficient to support diverse animal life
what are the producers in environments near deep sea hydrothermal vents
chemoautotrophic
dispersal
the movement of individuals or gametes away from their parent location. this movement sometimes expands the geographic range of a population or species
density
the number of individuals per unit area or volume
dispersion
the pattern of spacing among individuals with in the boundaries of a population
what are the 3 types of dispersion
clumped dispersion, uniform, and random
clumped dispersion
individuals are aggregates in patches (most common)
uniform dispersion
evenly spaced pattern that can result from direct interactions between individuals in the population. animals often exhibit this as a result of antagonistic interactions (territorially)
random dispersion
the position of each individual in a population is independent of other individuals. occurs in the absence of strong attractions or reputations among individuals
territoriality
a behavior in which an animal defends a bounded physical space against encroachment by other individuals, usually of its own species
demography
the study of changes over time in the vial statistics of populations especially birth and death rates
life table
a summary of the age-specific survival and reproductive rates of individuals in a population
cohort
a group of individuals of the same age in a population
survivorship curve
a plot of the number of members of a cohort that are still alive at each age; one way to represent age specific mortality
Type I survivorship curve
flat at the start , reflecting low death rates during early and middle life and then drops steeply as death rates increase among older age groups
Type III curve
drops sharply at the start, reflecting very high death rates for the young, but flattens out as death rates decline for those few individuals that survive the early period of die off
type II curve
intermediate, with a constant death rate over the organisms life span
exponential population growth
growth of a population in an ideal, unlimited environment, represented by a J-shaped curve when population size is plotted over time
intrinsic rate of increase
® in population models, the per capita rate at which an exponentially growing population increases in size at each instant in time
When can the intrinsic rate of increase occur
possibly when populations are introduced into new environments whose numbers were drastically reduced by an event and are rebuilding
logistic population growth
population growth that levels off as population size reaches carrying capacity
life history
the traits that affect an organisms schedule of reproduction and survival
K-selection
selection for life history traits that are sensitive to population density (selection for traits that are advantageous at high densities)
R-selection
selection for life history traits that maximize reproductive success in uncrowded environments
density independant
referring to any characteristics that is not affected by population density
density dependant
referring to any characteristic that varies with population density
intrinsic factors
those operating within an individual organism
population dynamic
the study of how complex interactions between biotic and abiotic factors influence variation in population size
metapopulation
a group of spatially separated populations of one species that interact through immigration and emmigration
pathogens
an organism or virus that causes diseases
zoonotic pathogen
a disease causing agent that is transmitted to humans from other animals
vector
an organism that transmits pathogens from one host to another
evaportranspiration
the total evaporation of water from an ecosystem, including water transpired by plants and evaporated from a landscape, usually measures in millimeters and estimated for a year
species area curve
the biodiversity pattern that shows that the longer the geographical area of a community, the more species it has
disrurbance
a natural or human caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it. disturbances such as fires and storms play a pivotal role in structuring many communities
non equilibrium model
a model that maintains that communities change constantly after being buffeted by disturbances
intermediate disturbance hypothesis
the concept that moderate levels of disturbance can foster greater species diversity than low or high levels of disturbance
ecological succession
transition in the species composition of a community following a disturbance; establishment of a community in an area virtually barren of life
primary successtrion
a type of ecological succession that occurs in an area where there were originally no organisms present and where soil has not yet formed
secondary succession
a type of succession that occurs where an existing community has been cleared by some disturbance that leaves soil or substrate in tact
species diversity
the number and relative abundance of species in a biological community
species richness
the number of species in a biological community
relative abundance
the proportional abundance of different species in a community
biomass
the total mass of organic matter compromising a group of organisms in a particular habitate
introduced species
a species moved by humans, either intentionally or accidentally, from its native location to a new geographic region
trophic structure
the different feeding relationships in an ecosystem which determine the route of energy flow and the pattern of chemical cycling
food chain
the pathways along which food and energy is transferred from trophic level to trophic level, beginning with producers
food web
the interconnected feeding relationships in an ecosystem
foundation species
species that has strong effect son its community as a result of its large size, high abundance, or pivotal role in community dynamics. these may provide significant habitat or food for other species; they may also be competitively dominant in exploiting key resources
keystone species
a species that is not necessarily abundant in a community yet extra strong control on community structure by the nature of its ecological role or niche
ecosystem engineers
an organism that influences community structure by causing physical changes in the environment
bottom up control
organisms being controlled by what they eat
top down control
organisms being controlled by what eats them
interspecific interations
a relationship between individuals of 2 or more species in a communituy
competition
a -/- interaction that occurs when individuals of different species compete for a resource that limits the survival and reproduction of both individuals. can also occur between members of the same species which is considered interspecific competitition
competitive exclusion
the concept that when populations of 2 similar species compete for the same limited resource, one population will use the resources more efficiently and have a reproductive advantage that will eventually lead to the elimination of the other population