The Physical Environment

What ultimately determines where organisms can live, the resources available, and the rate at which populations can grow?

The physical environment

true/false : a niche is the abiotic & biotic conditions needed by a species to survive, grow, and reproduce

True

Which of these is not a way that organisms interact with their environment?

1. Organisms interact with temperature in the environment.

2. Organisms gather inorganic nutrients from the environment

3. Organisms gather energy from the environment

4. None of the above

5. All of the above are ways that organisms interact with the environment

5

What is a long term description of environmental conditions, based on averages and variation measured over decades

Climate

Of the incoming solar radiation, how much is absorbed by ozone, clouds, or vapor?

20% or 1/5

true/false : The greenhouse effect is only caused by humans

false

What phenomenon explains the increased amount of nutrients present in the Galapagoes

Upwelling

Some models of climate change suggest that the Gulf Stream is becoming weaker. Such weakening in the Gulf Stream would most likely result in

Cooling in London

Compared with the land at the same latitude, ocean waters tend to be ___ in the winter and ___ in the summer because water has a ___ heat capacity than land

Warmer, colder, higher

Warm air is [more/less] dense than cool air. As air cools, it [sinks/rises]

Less, sinks

Coriolis Effect

The winds appear to be deflected due to the rotation of the earth

Heat capacity

Unit of heat required to increase the temperature of a substance by 1 degree

2 types of circulation

Shallow and deep

In which direction does ocean distribute heat/energy

From the equator toward the poles

Major ocean surface currents are driven by ___ , but modified by the presence of ___

surface winds, land masses

Surface water extends ___ below the surface

75-200m

Speed of the ocean currents is about __-__ of the wind speed

2%-3%

Deep circulation are not ___, rather, they are ___

wind driven, density driven

Density Driven means

Temperature and salinity

true/false : A niche is the abiotic conditions needed by a species to survive, grow, and reproduced

false

What is the current environmental conditions observed

Weather

true/false : the greenhouse effect is a natural phenomenon that has been augmented by the burning of fossil fuels

true

Which statement about oceanic currents is false?

1. Dense downwelling currents move to the equator

2. Because they move so slowly, oceanic currents contribute little to the exchange of heat between the tropics and polar regions

3. Surface currents are more wind driven while deep currents are more density driven

4. Deep oceanic currents meet surface currents at zones of upwelling

   1. Oceanic can have profound effects on climates of regions where they flow

2

Abiotic and biotic conditions needed by a species to survive, grow, and reproduce

Ecological NICHE

What is the most fundamental component of the physical environment

Climate

How can we break down ecological interactions?

Global (atmosphere or currents), Regional (southeast vs northeast U.S.), Local (UCF campus)

What are different ways organisms interact with the physical environment

1. Energy Sources

2. Gas Exchange

3. Temperature

4. Inorganic Nutrients (Nitrogen and Phosphorous)

5. Water + Precipitation

Which living things are the most important for most ecosystems?

Plants

Cycles (daily, seasonal cycles, yearly, decadal) and Long-term trends (temperature, wind, precipitation) are examples of

Climate

Global Climate is driven by energy which is derived from

Solar radiation

1/3 of solar radiation is

reflected back by clouds and aerosols (particles of gas+air)

1/5 of solar radiation is

absorbed by clouds, ozone, vapor

49% of solar radiation is

absorbed by Earth

What are the different types of outgoing energy

Sensible heat, latent heat, long-wave (infared) radiation that is emitted by surface into atmosphere which is then re-radiated back to earth by greenhouse gases

The Greenhouse effect

Is a natural process existing since the beginning of time

Without greenhouse gases…

Earth’s climate would be about 33*C cooler

Many of the greenhouse gases (GHGs) are emitted by

Humans

Where is solar radiation most intense on Earth?

The equator

Energy is spread ____ by ___ and ____

Pole-ward, winds, ocean currents

What causes Atmospheric Circulation

Differential heating of Earth’s surface or uneven heating

Atmospheric Circulation

movement of air on earth; determines Earth’s major climate zones

Atmospheric Circulation : warm rising air; condenses to form precipitation

Low pressure

Atmospheric Circulation : dry, cool, falling air

High pressure

Prevailing winds

Winds flowing from areas of high pressure to areas of low pressure, resulting in consistent patterns of air movements.

true/false : surface water and deep water generally mixes

false

what are the exceptions to surface water and deep water NOT mixing

downwelling and upwelling

Downwelling

cold, saltier, denser water sinks; when water on the surface is denser than water deeper than it causing the surface water to decrease

Upwelling

prevailing winds pull water away from coastline; they bring nutrients that settled in the deep ocean zone back to the photic zone

What establishes global patterns of temperature and precipitation?

Large scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns

Average annual temperatures become ___ from the equator to the poles

progressively cooler

Large scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation patterns are altered by…

ocean currents, continental topography, and distribution of land and water masses

Why does it get colder as you move up a mountain?

1. Pressure in the atmosphere decreases with increasing elevation which decreases the heat capacity of the air

2. Highlands exchange air more effectively with cooler air in the surrounding atmosphere

What reflects the influence of oceans, continents, mountains, and vegetation?

regional climates

Albedo

Amount of solar radiation a surface reflects; light-colored surfaces have highest of this; measure of the reflectivity of the surface

Evapotranspiration

Water loss through transpiration by plants plus evaporation from the soil

Texture

Smooth surface allows for less transfer of energy to the atmosphere by wind than a rough surface

true/false : evapotranspiration cools the land as a form of homeostasis

true

Seasonal and decadal climate variations are associated with

changes in Earth’s position relative to the sun and the strength of atmospheric pressure cells

How are seasonal changes measured

Precipitation and movement of the Intertropic Convergence Zone (ITCZ)

At what temperature, in °C, is water the most dense

4

True/false : ice has a lower density than water and forms on the surface

true

true/false : Oceans and lakes cannot become stratified

false

stratified

arranged in layer; warm surface water on top of colder, denser water results in layers that do not mix

El Nino Events or El Nino Souther Oscillation (ENSO)

longer scale climate variations that occur every 3-8 years and lasts about 18 months; positions of high and low pressure systems over the equatorial Pacific switch thus making the trade winds weaken aka high pressure at the equator

La Nina

Low pressure over the western Pacific, follows El Nino events but less predictable

What is a result of La Nina

Sea surface temperatures a 3°C-5°C cooler in the pacific

What are the major determinants of the Chemical Environment

Salinity, acidity, and oxygen

Salinity

Concentration of dissolved salts in water

Why are oceans salty

volcanic eruptions from long ago introduced lots of minerals to the ocean

pH

Acidity and Alkalinity

Most organisms require O2 for ___, except for some archaea, bacteria, and fungi

metabolism

Hypoxic

Low oxygen

Why are areas with Hypoxic extremely dangerous for living organisms

Without O2, there is less competition for toxic chemicals to dominate

___ and ____ result from differences in solar radiation across surface of the earth

wind and ocean currents

_____ and ______ establish global patterns of temperature and precipitation

large scale atmospheric and oceanic circulation

____ reflect the influence of the distribution of oceans and continents, elevations, and vegetation

regional climates

____ and ____ are associated with changes in Earth’s position relative to the sun

Seasonal and long-term climatic variation