Climate And Other Niche Axes - Lecture 14

Species have ____ of tolerance along environmental gradients

Ranges

What Is A Lethal Zone?

A range/zone where an organism has low or 0 performance (dies)

What Are The 3 General Environmental Gradients?

1. Survival

2. Growth

3. Reproduction

Which Environmental Gradients Is The Broadest?

Survival

True Or False: The Reproductive Environmental Gradient Is The Narrowest

True

What Is The Ecological Niche?

A species role and job in the environment, needs and tolerance

Explain: “the niche is an n-dimensional hypervolume”

There are many factors to survival

EX. Climate, food, predators, etc

What Is Latitude?

Distance North and South of the equator

What Are The Seasonal Conditions In Higher Latitudes

Summer-Winter seasons

What Are The Seasonal Conditions In Lower Latitudes

Wet/Rainy-Dry seasons

What Determines Rainfall?

Atmospheric circulation

What Is Atmospheric Circulation?

The global movement of air caused by uneven heating of Earth.

What Determines Biomes?

Latitude (seasons) & Atmospheric Circulation

What Degree Does The Sun Hit The Equator At?

90 Degrees

Explain How Rain Works (Hadley Cells)

Hot air at the EQUATOR rises away from the earth’s surface & cools as it rises (5-10 k/ degree celcius)

When it rains the rain drops warm as they fall

True Or False: The Intertropical zone is where the 2 hadely cells meet

True

Is the Intertropical Zone Static Or Dynamic?

Dynamic, as it shifts 23.5 degrees seasonally

What Is Thermal Inertia?

Places that heat up in the summer and cool down faster than other places

Does Water Have High Or Low Thermal Inertia?

High, water cools/heats slowly

How Does Thermal Inertia Affect Maritime Areas

They cool/heat slowly so they have cooler summers and warmer winters

Which Direction Does The Earth Spin?

West - East

What Moves Faster The Poles Or The Equator?

The Equator

Explain The Movement Of The ITCZ throughout the year

It is southern in January-June and move northern during July-December

The ITCZ Moves More Over _________ Than _______

Asia, Americas

Why Does The ITCZ Have More Movement Over Asia Than The Americas

Asia Has More Landmass At Equatorial Latitudes

Describe The Seasons For Areas With Strong Monsoonal Seasonality

Summers: Very Wet 

Winters: Very Dry

What Does It Mean For Something To Have Strong Monsoonal Seasonality?

It has a big difference between wet and dry season (More movement over the ITCZ)

The Movement Of The ITCZ Generates _______ In The Tropics

Seasonality

Why Are Tropicals In The Americas Always Wet?

It is in the ITCZ, and it doesn’t move a lot in the tropical zones

What Is Coriolis Affect

The earth’s rotation deflects winds

Why Do Air Masses Move More Slowly At The Poles?

It can circle around the earth much faster in a smaller amount of time because there is a smaller circumference

Is There More Land Mass In The Southern Or Northern Hemisphere, And At What Latitude?

Northern Hemisphere at 40 Degrees North

Winds tend to veer _______ 

Eastward (the same direction as the earth’s spin)

How Does Land Affect Wind Speed?

Land Acts as a windbreak which is why it’s not as windy at 40°N as compared to 40°S

Where Is The Roaring 40s?

40°S

What Is Primary Productivity?

Amount of plant growth

What Is A Biome

Regions with specific combinations of temperatures and moistures
EX. Rainforests, deserts, etc

True Or False: Latitudes Have No Effect On Biomes

False, latitudes determine biomes

The Worlds Majors Deserts Occur At ______

30°S/N

True Or False: Land Masses Changes Temperatures More Easily Than Water

True

What Is Orographic Precipitation?

When the wind that hits the upward side of the mountain it rises up and turns into rain and pours down on one side of the mountain

What Is The Rain Shadow

The Wind falls on the leeward side of the mountain and as it descends it gets warm, and absorbs moisture

Describe The Climate Conditions For The Upside And Leeward Side Of A Mountain

Upside: Wet, rainy, moist

Leeward: Dry, hot

True Or False: Animals Always Correspond To Biomes

False, Not always; they can transcend biomes

What Is An Ecological Niche Model

Uses data from species to predict where species can live