gee quiz

Coral Reefs

An example of mutualism in marine ecosystems.

Mutualism

A symbiotic relationship where both species benefit.

Growth Rate of Reefs

Coral reefs grow slowly.

Susceptibility of Reefs

Coral reefs are susceptible to damage, fluctuations, and acidic water.

Importance of Coral Reefs

Coral reefs are important to monitor due to climate change.

Factors Influencing Climate

Includes incoming solar energy, Earth's rotation, global patterns, gases in the atmosphere, and Earth's surface features.

Weather

Refers to short-range (daily) changes in precipitation.

Climate

Refers to long-term patterns of atmospheric conditions over hundreds or thousands of years.

uneven solar heating, rotation of the earth on its axis, properties of air water and land

factors affect air circulation in the lower atmosphere

coriolis effect

rotation of the earth on its axis

circular patterns

prevailing winds and the coriolis effect drive ocean currents in __________

El Nino - Southern Oscillation

When prevailing winds in the tropical ocean weaken and change direction

solar energy flows to the earth

some is reflected back to space and some is absorbed by greenhouse gases which warm the lower atmosphere

greenhouse gases

human activities emit _______ into the atmostphere

the rain shadow effect

mountains can interrupt the flow of winds and affect storms

absorb heat

cities can also have microclimates as they can ______

biome

driven by long term differences in precipitation and temperature over time

human activities

interfere with ecosystem and economic services provided by these biomes

tropical, temperate, and cold

three major types of deserts

tropical

near the equator

temperate

deciduous and coastal coniferous forests

cold forests

northern coniferous forests in the higher latitudes

60%

terrestrial ecosystems are degraded or used unsustainably

marine biomes

aquatic life zones

salinity

Biodiversity in aquatic biomes is determined largely by

coastal zones, open ocean, ocean bottom

The three major marine life zones

Euphotic zone

brightly lit with photoplankton that carry out photosynthesis, large fish)

Bathyal zone

dimly lit, no photosynthesis producers, smaller animals

Abyssal zone

dark and very cold)

Oligotrophic lakes

typically deep and steep sided with a small nutrient supply

Eutrophic lakes

typically shallow and murky with a large supply of nutrients

Cultural eutrophication

Process that adds human generated pollution and agricultural runoff

Deltas

Form at the mouth of the river from sediment the river has carried from upstream, from which wetlands form

Reef balls

useful worldwide, independent of climate

Honeybees

provide one of the most important ecosystem services: pollination

European honeybees

used by farmers almost exclusively in the U.S. for pollinating crops

biological extinction

Species that can no longer be found on earth have suffered

Mass extinction

the extinction of many species

100 and 1,000 times

Current annual rate of species extinction

Speciation Crisis

Limits to long term recover of biodiversity may result as there too few places for new species to evolve

Endangered

few individual survivors

Threatened

enough individuals to survive in the short term

habitat destruction, invasive, population growth, pollution, climate change, overexploitation

HIPPCO

habitat islands

formed by habitat fragmentation