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Chapter 4: Terrestrial Biomes and Aquatic Biomes, and Chapter 6: Ecology, Relationships, and Keystone Species
Terrestrial Biome
A geographic region categorized by a particular combination of average annual temperature, annual precipitation, and distinctive plant growth forms (on land)
Aquatic Biome
An aquatic region characterized by a particular combination of salinity, depth, and water flow
Habitat
An area where a particular species lives in nature
Tundra
A cold and treeless biome with low growing vegetation
Permafrost
An impenetrable, permanently frozen layer of soil
Boreal Forest
A biome made up primarily of coniferous evergreen trees that can tolerate cold winters and short growing seasons, sometimes called taiga.
Temperate Rainforest
Coastal biome typified by moderate temperatures and high precipitation
Temperate Seasonal Forest
A biome with warm summers and cold winters, over 1m (39 inches) of annual precipitation, sometimes called Temperate Deciduous Forest
Woodland/Shrubland
A biome characterized by hot, dry, summers and mild, rainy winters
Temperate Grassland/Cold Desert
A biome characterized by cold, harsh winters and hot, dry summers
Tropical Rainforest
A warm and wet biome found between 20 degrees north and 20 degrees south, with little seasonal temperature variation and high precipitation
Tropical Seasonal Forest/Savanna
A biome marked by warm temperatures and distinct wet and dry seasons
Subtropical Desert
A biome prevailing at roughly 30 degrees north and south, with hot temperatures, extremely dry conditions, and sparse vegetation
Annual Plants
Plants that live for only a few months, reproduce, and then die
Perennial Plants
Plants that live for many years
Littoral Zone
The shallow zone of soil and water in lakes and ponds, where most algae and emergent rooted plants grow, and where photosynthesis mainly occurs
Limnetic Zone
A zone of open water in lakes and ponds, where rooted plants can no longer survive and phytoplankton are the only photosynthetic organisms. Extends as deep as sunlight can reach
Profundal Zone
A region of water in very deep lakes where sunlight doesn’t reach and producers can’t survive
Bethnic Zone
The muddy bottom of a lake, pond, or ocean
Oligotrophic
Low productivity, with low levels of nutrients
Mesotrophic
Moderate productivity
Eutrophic
High levels of productivity
Freshwater wetlands
An aquatic biome that’s submerged or saturated by water for at least part of each year, but shallow enough for emergent vegetation growth
Swamps
Wetlands with emergent plants and trees
Marshes
Wetlands with primarily nonwoody plants
Bogs
Acidic wetlands with moss and spruce trees
Salt Marsh
A marsh containing nonwoody emergent vegetation, found a long the coast in temperate climates. Many are found in estuaries
Estuary
An area along the coast where fresh water (rivers) mixes with salt water (oceans) to produce brackish water
Mangrove swamp
A swamp that occurs along tropical and subtropical coasts, and contains salt-tolerant trees with roots submerged in water
Intertidal zones
The narrow band of coastline between the levels of high tide and low tide
Coral Reefs
The most diverse aquatic biome, found in warm, shallow waters beyond the shoreline
Coral bleaching
A phenomenon in which algae inside corals die, causing the corals to die and then turn white
Open ocean
Deep ocean water, located away from the shoreline, where sunlight can no longer reach the ocean bottom
Photic zone
The upper layer of ocean water in the ocean, that receives enough sunlight to carry out photosynthesis
Aphotic zone
The deeper layer of ocean water, that lacks sufficient sunlight for photosynthesisC
Chemosynthesis
A process used by some bacteria in the ocean to generate energy with methane and hydrogen sulfide bonds
Community ecology
The study of interactions between species
Symbiotic relationship
The relationship between two species that live in close association
Competition
The struggle of individuals to obtain a shared limiting resource
Competitive exclusion principle
The principle stating that two species competing for the same limiting resource can’t coexist
Resource partitioning
When two species divide a resource based on differences in their behavior and/or morphology
Predation
An interaction in which one animal typically kills and consumes another animalP
Parasitoid
A specialized type of predator that lays eggs inside other organisms - the host organism
Parasitism
An interaction in which one organism lives on/in another organismP
Pathogen
A parasite that causes disease in it’s host
Herbivory
An interaction in which an animal (consumer) consumes a producer (photosynthetic organism)
Mutualism
An interaction between two species that increases the chance of survival and or reproduction for both speciesX
Commensalism
A relationship between species in which one species benefits and the other species is neither harmed nor helped
Keystone species
A species that is not very abundant, but has large effects on an ecological community
Ecosystem engineer
A keystone species that creates or maintains habitat for another species
Note 
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