Biology Chapter 18

Which of the following is an example of an evolutionary adaptation?

A portion of a forest burns in a forest fire. As a species of beetles starts to recolonize the area, the lighter-colored individuals in the population are much more visible against the burned bark compared to darker individuals. These lighter individuals are eaten by bird predators at a high rate. After two generations, most of the beetles are darker in color.

Water-storing plants and deeply rooted shrubs are plants that characterize ________.

deserts

A(n) ___ consists of all of the abiotic and biotic factors in an area.

ecosystem

Which ecosystems support life in the absence of sunlight?

hydrothermal vent habitats

Most models predict that continued increases in atmospheric CO2 will cause global temperatures to _____ over the next 100 years.

increase by 2-7 degrees Celsius Submit

An effect of deforestation has been to ________.

increase the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

abiotic factor

A nonliving component of an ecosystem, such as air, water, light, minerals, or temperature.

Which of the following is a true statement?

After a period of below-average rainfall, drought-resistant individuals may be more prevalent in a plant population.

desert

Deep-rooted shrubs; water-storing succulents

____ is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment.

Ecology

From the figure, which part of Earth receives the greatest intensity of solar radiation?

Equator

savanna

Grasses; scattered treees

Which of the following correctly ranks the levels of ecological hierarchy from least inclusive to most inclusive?

Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem, Biome, Biosphere

acclimation def

Physiological adjustment that occurs gradually, though still reversibly, in response to an environmental change.

Which of the following is a true statement?

The increase in average global temperatures over the last century has been attributed to an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Today's atmospheric CO2 concentration is _____.

Today's atmospheric CO2 concentration is _____.

What name is given to the seafloor?

benthic realm

The dominant greenhouse gas is __________.

carbon dioxide

The greenhouse effect causes an increase in global temperatures. This increase is due primarily to ________.

carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases slowing the escape of heat from Earth

Which of these biomes are maintained by fire?

chaparral and savannas

Temperature increases due to global warming have been greatest ________.

close to the poles

tropical rain forest

closed forest canopy; many plants grow atop other plants; woody vines

coniferous forest

cone-bearing evergreen trees

temp broadleaf forest

deciduous trees

Which of these biomes is characterized by little rainfall?

desert

The goal of developing, managing, and conserving Earth's resources in ways that meet the needs of people today without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs is known as __________.

environmentalism

Which location on Earth receives the most solar radiation per unit area?

equator

which biome is one of the most biologically productive of all biomes?

estuaries

True or false. Rain shadows are wet regions on the windward side of mountain ranges.

false

temperate grassland

grasses; no trees

What name is given to the region where ocean meets land?

intertidal zone

biome

is a major terrestrial or aquatic life zone, characterized by vegetation type in terrestrial biomes and the physical environment in aquatic biomes

The photic zone is the shallow water near shore and the upper layer of water away from shore where __________.

light is available for photosynthesis

Estuaries are considered examples of __________.

marine biomes

What name is given to the open ocean?

pelagic realm

Switching from fossil fuels to _____ energy would significantly decrease the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.

solar, nuclear, and geothermal

chaparral

spiny, evergreen shrubs; adapted to frequent fires

What are the two major factors determining the distribution of terrestrial biomes?

temperature and rainfall

The definition of your carbon footprint is __________.

the amount of greenhouse gas emitted as a result of your actions

Human activity, especially __________, significantly alters the amount of atmospheric water vapor available in the water cycle.

the destruction of tropical rain forests

What are estuaries?

transition areas between a river and the ocean

Water moves from land to the atmosphere through ________.

transpiration and evaporation

Which biome is characterized by an extensive canopy that allows little light to penetrate to the ground and by the presence of epiphytes?

tropical rain forest

Which biome is characterized by the presence of permafrost?

tundra

which biome is characterized by permafrost

tundra

With regard to the environment as a whole, when is the worst time to apply pesticide to your lawn?

when it is raining, or is about to rain

In the ocean, communities of plants, algae, and animals are distributed according to the depth of the water and distance from shore. Light reaches organisms in the _________, where microscopic ______ and multicellular algae provide food for the animal community. Light levels in the ________ are too low to support photosynthesis. The seafloor is called the ________. Fishes and marine mammals swim in open water known as the _________. A distinctive biome called a(n) __________ is found where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean.

photic zone phytoplankton aphotic zone benthic realm pelagic realm estuary

Which of these would NOT contribute to a global increase in temperature?

planting trees

A(n)____ is a group of individuals of the same species living in a particular geographic area.

population

Which of these is a biotic component of an environment?

bacteria on the surface of your skin

Cacti are desert plants with C4 metabolism. In addition, cacti bloom at night. This describes _____ adaptation to the hot and dry desert.

behavioral and physiological

A(n) ___ consists of all of the organisms that live in the same area at the same time.

community

Long, snowy winters as well as evergreen trees such as pine and fir are found in ________.

coniferous forests

Which of these is the largest terrestrial biome on Earth?

coniferous forests

All but one of these are causes for increasing carbon dioxide levels. Choose the EXCEPTION.

creating compost piles from vegetable waste

tundra

dwarf shrubs; herbaceous plants; mosses and lichens

Which action would increase your carbon footprint?

eating more beef and less chicken

Most of the temperate grassland in North America has been converted to ________.

farmland

Global warming may trigger all but one of these results to occur. Choose the EXCEPTION.

increased forest clearing for agricultural purposes

If their own solute concentration does not match that of their surroundings, aquatic organisms ________.

may experience problems with water balance

Which is a behavioral response to environmental variability?

migrating to a different location

The figure indicates that ________. (one that shows wind directions and mountains and focuses on rain)

mountains can block the flow of moist air from a coast, causing radically different climates on opposite sides of a mountain range Submit

Which nutrients often limit the distribution and abundance of photosynthetic organisms?

nitrogen and phosphorus

On land, plants depend on the availability of two important inorganic nutrients that they obtain from the soil: __________ and __________.

nitrogen; phosphorus

What can moderate climate by absorbing heat when the air is warm and releasing heat when the air is cold?

oceans and lakes

A(n) ____ is an individual living thing, such as a plant, an animal, or a bacterium.

organism

In an aquatic ecosystem, what name is given to the region where photosynthesis can occur?

photic zone

In what part of the ocean are phytoplankton found?

photic zone

The figure shows regions of an ocean. In what region do phytoplankton live?

photic zone

Terrestrial ecosystems are grouped into biomes primarily on the basis of __________.

vegetation type

What is one important difference between savannas and temperate grasslands?

Temperate grasslands are mostly treeless.

___ factors are nonliving factors that make up an environment.

abiotic

Which of the following statements about tropical atmospheric circulation is true?

As warm air rises, air at the top of the atmosphere is pushed poleward and cools.

___ factors are living factors that make up an environment.

Biotic

The interior of a car gets hot quickly on a warm sunny day. Solar radiation enters through the windows. It is absorbed by the seats and other materials inside the car. Some of it is radiated as heat. Much of the heat is retained by the windows, which letlight in but don't let heat out as easily. Now apply this analogy to the global atmosphere. What is the role of CO2?

CO2 acts like the car windows; it lets sunlight through, then traps the heat that is radiated by Earth.

Policymakers banned the routine use of DDT as an insecticide in the United States, partly because of clear scientific evidence showing that DDT was a threat to wildlife. Today, scientific consensus holds that CO2 released by humanactivities promotes global warming. Why haven't U.S. policymakers banned CO2 pollution?

CO2 pollution stems from fossil fuel use, a technology that is central to modern economies. Measures to restrict CO2 pollution could entail major economic costs and are strongly opposed by many interests.

Which best describes how the atmosphere's CO2 content was regulated before the Industrial Revolution?

CO2 was released by organisms as a by-product of cellular respiration; a similar amount of CO2 was absorbed by plants and other producers. Submit

An ecologist is studying the diet of a group of desert-dwelling scorpions, which have many types of potential prey (insects, small mammals, etc.). She tracks the scorpions to see how much they eat of each prey species.

Community

evolution def

Descent with modification; the idea that living species are descendants of ancestral species that were different from present-day ones; also defined more narrowly as the change in the genetic composition of a population from generation to generation. Evolution is the central unifying theme of biology.

A group of snails (of the same species) lives in a garden that also includes beetles and tomato plants. What level(s) of ecological organization does the group of snails belong to?

Ecosystem

Salmon eggs hatch in freshwater streams and, during their first year of life, the young salmon migrate distances up to 1,000 km in order to reach the ocean. Here they spend up to 5 years where they feed and grow, acquiring more than 95% of their biomass. During the summer of their maturing year, they begin the long journey back to their home streams to spawn. Although it is still uncertain how salmon navigate back to their spawning grounds, current hypotheses suggest that they have a highly developed sense of smell that allows them to remember odors they encountered on their migration to the ocean. They then use these odors to help them navigate back to the streams where they were born. At the spawning grounds, females use their tails to form a hollow cavity in the stream gravel where they lay up to 8,000 eggs. The males fertilize the eggs, and both adults typically die soon thereafter. At different times in their lives, salmon can be found in all but one of these biomes. Choose the EXCEPTION.

a wetland biome

A student decides to take up jogging to improve her aerobic capacity. During the first few weeks of exercise, she is only able to jog for about 1.5 miles before tiring. However, after three months, she is able to jog 4 miles with ease. This physiological change is an example of __________.

acclimation

Salmon eggs hatch in freshwater streams and, during their first year of life, the young salmon migrate distances up to 1,000 km in order to reach the ocean. Here they spend up to 5 years where they feed and grow, acquiring more than 95% of their biomass. During the summer of their maturing year, they begin the long journey back to their home streams to spawn. Although it is still uncertain how salmon navigate back to their spawning grounds, current hypotheses suggest that they have a highly developed sense of smell that allows them to remember odors they encountered on their migration to the ocean. They then use these odors to help them navigate back to the streams where they were born. At the spawning grounds, females use their tails to form a hollow cavity in the stream gravel where they lay up to 8,000 eggs. The males fertilize the eggs, and both adults typically die soon thereafter.

acclimation

What term applies to the physical and physiological changes experienced by astronauts who spend months in space?

acclimation

Scientists have documented that spring seasons starting earlier due to climate change have resulted in some caterpillar species beginning their maturation stage earlier than normal. There are bird species that need the caterpillars to feed their chicks. However, since the caterpillars are maturing before the chicks hatch (and therefore cannot be used for chick food), the birds are experiencing a drop in their lifetime reproductive success. Interestingly, scientists have also documented that the individual birds that are successful in altering their egg-laying patterns to align with earlier spring seasons have the greatest lifetime reproductive success. These phenomena are examples of ________.

an evolutionary response to climate change

Desert owls are inactive during the day and active at night. They also have small bodies. This describes _____ adaptation to the hot and dry desert.

anatomical and behavioral

Horned lizards are desert animals that are active during the day. Their skin and kidneys are efficient at conserving water; when they get hot, they move to the shade so they can cool off. This describes _____ adaptation to the hot and dry desert.

anatomical, behavioral, and physiological Submit

Latitudes between the tropics and the Arctic Circle (in the north) and between the tropics and the Antarctic Circle (in the south) are called __________.

temperate zones