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Flashcards in Ecology Deck (44)
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1
Q

What is ecology

A

Study of how organisms relate to one another and to their environments

2
Q

What is a population

A

Group of same species living together

3
Q

What is a biosphere

A

All ecosystems on earth

4
Q

What are 4 key environmental factors

A

Temperature
Water
Sunlight
Soil

5
Q

What is the Coriolis effect

A

Counterclockwise in northern hemisphere and clockwise in Southern Hemisphere

6
Q

What does the coriolis effect affect?

A

Currents and winds around the world

7
Q

What creates real deserts

A

Rain shadow effect

8
Q

What are monsoons

A

Massive shifts in season winds

9
Q

What are microclimates

A

Special climate conditions in small areas

10
Q

The global concentration of carbon dioxide increasing and temperatures rising has a direct impact on the worlds

A

Climate

11
Q

CO2 and other gases that absorb longer wavelengths of inflated light and radiated heat from earth are responsible for

A

The greenhouse effect

12
Q

Three quarters of the earth is covered by what ecosystems

A

Marine ecosystems

13
Q

Periodic disturbances in ocean currents by warming of waters is known as

A

El Niño

14
Q

The worlds greatest fisheries occur in shallow waters over

A

Continental shelves

15
Q

40% of the worlds photosynthetic productivity occurs in

A

Phytoplankton

16
Q

What is a characteristic of larger lakes in temperate regions

A

Thermal stratification

17
Q

How do dead zones form

A

Dead zones form when excess nutrients enter coastal waters and fertilize blooms of algae

18
Q

What is eutrophication

A

The enrichment of nutrients in an environment

19
Q

How does the conveyor system of circulation work

A

Water alternates from warm to cold and transports from the surface to the bottom through mixing

20
Q

What is thermocline

A

Oxygen gets to bottom of deep lakes and ocean mostly from wind driven mixing

21
Q

What are the most diverse

A

Coral reefs

22
Q

Where does most oxygen come from

A

The ocean

23
Q

What biome does survival depend on water conservation

A

Desert

24
Q

Prairie is another name for what?

A

Temperature grassland

25
Q

What biome contains half of earths plants and animals

A

Tropical rain forest

26
Q

What is the abrupt change in water temperature of large lakes called

A

Thermocline

27
Q

What is not dependent on sunlight as a source of energy

A

Benthic zone

28
Q

What do bacteria living symbiotically inside animals clustered around deep sea hydrothermal vents carry out?

A

Chemosynthesis

29
Q

What is the area of the ocean that is along the coasts of continents and islands less than 300 meters below surface called

A

Neritic zone

30
Q

Photosynthetic organisms of open ocean are confined to?

A

Few hundred meters

31
Q

What does the equatorial region of rising warm moist air of low pressure cause

A

Equatorial rains

32
Q

Most ultraviolet radiation is absorbed by?

A

The ozone

33
Q

Most serious and rapidly accelerating of all global environmental problems is the loss of

A

Biodiversity in tropical forests

34
Q

What plants dominate taiga forest

A

Spruce
Hemlock
Fir

35
Q

Best solids for agriculture occur in

A

Temperate grasslands

36
Q

Why are tropical climates warmer than temperate climates

A

Tropical climates recover suns rays at perpendicular angle

37
Q

Rain shadow effect is caused when

A

Warm air with moisture ascends a mountain after it reaches the top and descends the side

38
Q

Why are elevation and latitude related

A

They have similar effects on temperature. As elevation increases the temperature of the air decreased

39
Q

What is a major cause of thinning of the ozone layer?

A

Chlorofluorocarbons

40
Q

Significant drop in upper atmospheric content of ozone is likely to lead to increase in

A

Skin cancers

41
Q

Abiotic conditions that accounts for differences in temperate grasslands and temperate deciduous forests

A

Precipitation

42
Q

What does not differ for tropics and polar regions

A

Total hours of possible sunlight

43
Q

Biology focal magnification of persistent toxins should be greatest in

A

Secondary carnivores

44
Q

Non biodegradable material that remains in solid waste dumps

A

Plastics