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for mrs costons class
What are biomes defined by?
Typical climates, flora, and fauna prevalent in those regions.
What is the water cycle?
The continuous movement of water through the environment.
What does the carbon cycle involve?
The exchange of carbon among the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere, and atmosphere.
Describe the nitrogen cycle.
A series of processes by which nitrogen and its compounds are interconverted in the environment and in living organisms.
What is the phosphorus cycle?
The movement of phosphorus through the lithosphere, hydrosphere, and biosphere.
How is biodiversity calculated?
By measuring species richness and the evenness of individuals among those species.
What are the types of biodiversity?
Genetic, species, and ecosystem diversity.
What are some factors affecting biodiversity?
Habitat loss, climate change, invasive species, overexploitation, etc.
What is upwelling?
The process that brings nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean to the surface.
What is the rain shadow effect?
A phenomenon where dry areas develop on the leeward side of a mountain range due to prevailing winds.
What is the Coriolis effect?
The apparent deflection of moving objects caused by the rotation of the Earth.
What does an ecological pyramid represent?
It shows the biomass or productivity at each trophic level in an ecosystem.
What is natural selection?
The process where organisms better adapted to their environment tend to survive and produce more offspring.
What is ENSO?
A climate pattern that describes the fluctuating ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific.
What is the littoral zone?
The area near the shore where sunlight penetrates.
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