Midterm | Chapters 1-7, 8.2, 9-10
On Earth, we have found that forms of life can exist between which of the following ranges in temperature, in degrees Celsius?
0 to 90
Which strategy is not part of the scientific method used in studying frog deformities? Observations of nature lead to questions about those observations Ethics studies and surveys to determine the public perception about frog deformities Use of previous knowledge to develop possible answers to the questions (hypotheses) Evaluation of competing hypotheses by means of experiments
Ethics studies and surveys to determine the public perception about frog deformities
Which of the statements below does not correspond with the list, or the conclusions, of the ecological maxims described in our text? Ecosystems change over space and time. At some point, every population will experience checks on its growth and resource use. Whatever affects one organism can affect others as well. Evolution took place in the past, but it is no longer occurring. These are all correct conclusions.
Evolution took place in the past, but it is no longer occurring.
Organisms which must cope with seasonal temperature changes are exposed to the most severe fluctuations at locations near the northern parts of Africa and Australia, and also near coast lines. Meanwhile, organisms living within central regions of northern continental main-lands such as in Asia, generally undergo much less severe fluctuations in temperature and are shielded by the land masses.
False
A wolf's fur is longer and thicker than that of a squirrel. Why?
a combination of more potential heat loss on the larger surface area of the wolf, combined with a slower metabolism of the wolf
Define Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO)
a long term oscillation in sea surface temperatures and atmospheric pressures in the North Pacific Ocean that has widespread climate effects
Define alkalinity
a measure of the ability of a solution to behave as a base, a compound that takes up protons (H+) or releases hydroxide ions (OH-)
Define acidity
a measure of the ability of a solution to behave as an acid, a compound that releases protons (H+) to thewater in which its dissolved
Define salinization
a process by which high rates of evapotranspiration in arid regions result in a progressive buildup of salts at the soil surface
Define subsidence
a sinking (downward) movement of air in the atmosphere usually over a broad area, leading to the development of a high-pressure cell
Define tolerance
ability to survive stressful environmental conditions
A Pika (alpine rodent) that is experimentally exposed to decreased levels of oxygen initially cannot run as fast as usual, but after two weeks, its performance improves. This is an example of _______ to _______.
acclimatization; hypoxia
Some tiny organisms found in the ocean can change their solute concentrations in response to a change in levels of water salinity. This response is an example of _______ in the form of a(n) _______ adjustment.
acclimatization; osmotic
Define land use change
alternation of terrestrial surface, including vegetation and landforms by human activities such as agriculture, foresting, mining
Define North Atlantic Oscillation
an oscillation in atmospheric pressures and ocean currents in the North Atlantic Ocean that affects climatic variation in Europe, in northern Asia, and the East coast of USA
In wetland sediments (soil underlying standing water), the physiological functioning of organisms is most likely to be negatively affected by _______ conditions.
anoxic (low oxygen) conditions
Define landscapes
areas that vary substantially from one another, typically multiple ecosystems
Define community
association of interacting populations of different species that live in the same area
Define greenhouse gases
atmospheric gases that absorb and reradiate the infrared radiation emitted by Earth's surface including H2O, CO2, CH4, N2O
Kangaroo rats live in hot deserts. They have adaptations to this type of environment that are both the product of natural selection, and also are in the category of short-term acclimatization. What are two ways that they are adapted to a hot desert?
behaviorally limit water loss as well as produce water through food metabolism
Define benthic zone
bottom of a body of water, including the surface and shallow subsurface layers of sediment (home to invertebrates)
Define adaptation
characteristic of an organism that improves its ability to survive or reproduce within its environment
Many species live in area designated within the boundary of Cherry Creek State Park lake of Colorado. If one is specifically interested in studying how the different species interact with one another, it would be a study within the framework of which of the following?
community ecology
Define ecosystem
community of organisms plus the physical environment in which they live
Define stress
condition in which an environmental change results in a decrease in the rate of an important physiological process, thereby lowering the potential for an organism's survival, growth, or reproduction
Sensible heat flux includes convection and
conduction
Define biosphere
consists of all life on Earth plus the environments they live in, highest level of biological organization
Define Milankovitch Cycles
cycles of regular changes over thousands of years in the shape of Earth's orbit, in the angle of tilt of its axis, and in its orientation toward other celestial bodies that change the intensity of solar radiation received by Earth
Define lapse rate
decrease in temperature with increasing height above the surface
Define desertification
degradation of formerly productive land in and regions resulting in loss of plant cover and acceleration of soil erosion
Define replication
each treatment, including the control, is repeated more than once
Define convergence
evolution of similar growth forms among distantly related species in response to similar selection pressures
Define detrius
freshly dead or partially decomposed remains of organisms
The rate of a physiological process for a living organism will generally fluctuate within an optimal range, changing in response to climate, external stress, or even conditions internal to the organism. Over what time periods listed below is adaptation considered to operate? (check all/any that apply, any time there are boxes for answer choices)
generations of a population over time
Which of the following could limit the distribution of a plant species in a region? (check all/any that apply, anytime there are boxes for answer choices)
grazing animals, survival of the plant through an extreme drought, the potential for the seeds of a plant to mature prior to winter, the salinity of soil in the region where the plant occurs, the presence of symbiotic relationships with mycorrhizal fungi, which help the plant obtain water or nutrients, survival of flowers after a spring temperature drop and frost
Define population
group of individuals of a specific species that live in a particular area and interact with one another
Define latent heat flux
heat loss due to evaporation
Why does solar radiation have a greater influence with respect to seasonal changes in the northern and southern hemispheres, compared with equatorial zones?
how solar radiation impacts the planet fluctuates over the year due to changes in how Earth's north and south latitudes are facing the sun (due to the orbit of a tilted (on its axis) Earth
Define natural selection
individuals with particular characteristics tend to survive and reproduce at a higher rate
Long term climate change (think hundreds of years)
is associated with variation in Earth's orbital path.
The greatest seasonal variation of temperature is most likely to be seen over which of the following?
land within the central portions of a large continent.
Define biomes
large scale terrestrial biological organization consisting of all living organisms on Earth plus the environments in which they live, located between lithosphere and the troposphere
Define ferrell cell
large scale, #D pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere, located at mid-latitudes between the Hadley and polar cells
Define polar cell
large scale, 3D pattern of a atmospheric circulation in which air subsides at the poles, moves toward the equator when it reaches Earth's surface, and is replaced by air moving through the upper atmosphere from lower latitudes
Two cities near the eastern coast of the US: Boston, Massachusetts, and Albany, New York, are at about the same latitude, but Albany is farther inland away from the Atlantic Ocean. Based on this, you would expect Albany to have _______ humidity and _______ variation in temperature than Boston.
less; more
Define climate
long term description of weather, based on averages and variation measures over decades
El Niño events are associated with
much reduced or absent upwelling in the eastern Pacific Ocean.
Define littoral zone
nearshore zone of a lake where the photic zone reaches to the bottom
The cells of a rainbow trout are about 0.8% salt. One liter of water is about 1,000 grams. Solution X contains 60 grams of salt in 15 liters of water. Solution Y contains 50 grams of salt in 10 liters of water. Solution Z contains 80 grams of salt in 10 liters of water. Which solution is hyperosmotic to the fish?
none of the solutions
Off the coast of California, and in other places near shores, there are large populations of underwater kelp. These are considered to be none of these green algae brown fungi fungi plants ciliates
none of these
Define Zooplankton
nonphotosynthetic plankton (occur throughout pelagic zone)
Define biotic
of or referring to the living components of an environment
Define abiotic
of or referring to the physical or nonliving environment
Define hypoxic
of or relating to a condition of oxygen depletion, usually below a level that can sustain most animals
Define lotic
of or relating to flowing water
Define lentic
of or relating to still water
Define pelagic zone
open water column of a lake or ocean
Define producer
organism that can produce it's own food from an external energy source without having to eat other organisms, or their remains
Define consumer
organism that obtains its energy by eating other organisms or their remains
Define acclimatization
organisms adjustment of its physiology, morphology, or behavior to lessen the effect of an environmental change and minimize the associated stress
Define tides
patterns of rising and falling o ocean water generated by the gravitational attraction between Earth, moon, and sun
Define net primary production (NPP)
per unit of time, the amount of energy that producers capture by photosynthesis and other means, minus the amount they lose as metabolic heat in cellular respiration
Define phytoplankton
photosynthetic plankton (limited to photic zone)
Define hyporheic zone
portion of the substrate below and adjacent to a stream bed where water movement still occurs, either from the stream or rom groundwater moving into the stream
Define atmospheric pressure
pressure exerted on a surface due to the mass of the atmosphere above it
Define climate envelope
range of climate variables, including temperature, humidity, precipitation, and solar radiation, that are associated with a species geographic distribution
Define interdial
referring to the portion of the shoreline that's affected by the rise and fall of the tides
Define avoidance
response to stressful environmental conditions that lessens their effect through some behavior or physiological activity that minimizes an organisms exposure to the stress
Define macrophytes
rooted or floating aquatic vascular plant
Define plankton
small of ten microscopic organisms that live suspended in water; although many are mobile, none can swim strongly enough to overcome water currents
Define scale
spatial or temporal dimension at which ecological observations are made
Define physiology ecology
study of the interactions between organisms and the physical environment that influence their survival and persistence
Define permafrost
subsurface soil layer that remains frozen year round for at least 3 years
Define photic zone
surface layer of a lake or ocean where enough light penetrates to allow photosynthesis
Define nekton
swimming organisms capable of overcoming ocean currents
Define heat capacity
the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of a substance
Define albedo
the amount of solar radiation that a surface reflects
Define Coriolis effect
the apparent deflection of air or water currents when viewed from a rotating reference point like Earth s surface
Define maritime climate
the climate typical of coastal terrestrial regions that are influenced by an adjacent ocean, characterized by low daily and seasonal variation in temperature
Define continental climate
the climate typical of terrestrial areas in the middle of large continental land masses at high altitudes, characterized by high variation in season temperatures
Define salinity
the concentration of dissolved salts in water
Define rain-shadow effect
the effect of a mountain range has on regional climate by forcing moving air upward, causing it to cool and release precipitation on the windward slopes, resulting in lower levels o precipitation and soil moisture on the leeward slope
Define environmental science
the interdisciplinary field that incorporates concepts from the natural sciences (including ecology) and the social sciences (politics, economics, ethics)
Define upwelling
the rising of deep ocean waters to the surface
Define uplift
the rising of warm, less dense air in the atmosphere due to heating of Earth's surface
Define evapotranspiration
the sum of water loss by transpiration and by evaporation
Define weather
the temperature, humidity, precipitation, wind, and cloud
Define convection
the transfer of sensible heat through the exchange of air and water molecules as they move from one area to another
Define Hadley cell
the tropical uplift of air creates a large-scale pattern of atmospheric circulation in each hemisphere
Define the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ).
the zone of maximum solar radiation, atmospheric uplift, and precipitation within the typical zone
Define conduction
transfer of sensible heat through the exchange of kinetic energy between molecules due to a temperature gradient
Define savanna
vegetation type dominated by grasses with intermixed trees and shrub
Hot deserts are characterized by which of the following? Low solar availability as an important constraint on the abundance of desert plants. The lack of plants having succulent stems. Lack of plants that use the typical C3 photosynthesis (i.e. no plants with deciduous leaves) Moderate to high water availability in only some months of the year. They are usually located within 10 degrees of the equator.
Lack of plants that use the typical C3 photosynthesis (i.e. no plants with deciduous leaves)
Which statement about producers is false? Changes in plant production can have large impacts on ecosystem function. They are responsible for NPP. Producers do not require an outside energy source because they make their own food. They can be eaten by consumers
Producers do not require an outside energy source because they make their own food.
Define ecology
Scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment
Define evolution
A change in the genetic characteristics of a population (not an individual) over time and descent with modification change over time in the frequencies of different alleles in a population
If no greenhouse gases were present in our atmosphere, Earth would be about _______ than it is now.
33 C degrees cooler
Which statement about evolution by natural selection is true? Individuals can evolve by natural selection during their lifetime. Populations change only through natural selection. Adaptations are the result of evolution by natural selection. Natural selection does not act (have an influence on) the genes or traits of individuals.
Adaptations are the result of evolution by natural selection.
Conifers are very prevalent, as well as pines and spruce trees, in these regions. This is also one of the largest biomes in terms of square kilometers of area, and does not receive a lot of precipitation, but is still very moist because of the presence of permafrost.
Borreal forests?
How do connections in nature lead to unanticipated side effects in the case of amphibian deformities?
Increased nutrients to ponds stimulate the growth of algae and provide the snails with a more abundant food source, which also increases the number of Ribeiroia.