ENVI Chp 6
tundra
A biome that lacks trees and has permanently frozen soil.
deserts
A biome that receives less than 25 cm (10 in) of precipitation per year
boreal forest
A broad band of mixed coniferous and deciduous trees that stretches across northern North America (and also Europe and Asia); its northernmost edge is integrated with the Arctic tundra.
biome
A kind of plant and animal community that covers large geographic areas. Climate is a major determiner of the ___________ found in a particular area.
benthic , deep
An abyssal ecosystem is a _________ ecosystem and occurs ________ in the ocean.
marine ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems that have high salt content
freshwater ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems that have low amounts of dissolved salts
temperate grasslands
Area that receives between 25 and 75 centimeters (10-30 inches) of precipitation / rain per year. Grasses are the dominant vegetation, and trees are rare.
temperate grasslands
Areas receiving between 25 and 75 cm (10-30 in) of precipitation per year. Grasses are the dominant vegetation, and trees are rare.
temperate rainforest
Areas where the prevailing winds bring moisture laden air to the coast. Abundant rain, fertile soil, and mild temperatures result in a lush growth of plants.
taiga
Biome having short, cool summers and long winters with abundant snowfall. The trees are adapted to winter conditions.
latitude , altitude
Biomes progress from tropical rainforest to tundra with increasing ____________
- they have only a short summer season for growing - of the cold temperatures
Boreal forest trees are slow growing because ____________
- they receive abundant rain (at least 130 cm of rain each year) - they contain a lush growth of plants
Characteristics associated with temperate rainforests:
- they are found in the more northern latitudes - tree types can include coniferous and deciduous types - they have cold winters
Characteristics of boreal forests:
- there is very little salt - temperature is widely variable - flowering plants and insects have major roles to play
Characteristics of freshwater ecosystems:
- vegetation is kept wet year round - temperatures are warm to hot year round - they have high species diversity
Characteristics of tropical rainforests include:
- cool, moist winters - hot season coinciding with a dry season (just say hot, dry summer jfc)
Characteristics that produce a Mediterranean shrubland
- widely dispersed (There is a significant amount of space between plants in the desert) - store water in bodies and roots (cacti store water in their bodies and roots to use during drier periods) - small leaves (small leaves help plants reduce water loss through transpiration)
Characteristics true of of plants in deserts:
precipitation is rare and unpredictable with usually less than 25 cm of rain per year
Deserts occur where ______________
deciduous
Europe and the northwestern United States are both dominated by the temperate ____________ forest.
wildebeests , wild horses , bison
Examples of dominant primary consumers in temperate grasslands:
- They lack trees - They both have low productivity that peaks during short summers
How are alpine tundra and true tundra similar?
woody
Mediterranean shrublands are dominated by _________ shrubs that are adapted to withstand occasional fires and may be dormant during the hot and dry summers
underutilization
NOT a threat to freshwater resources
tropical dry forest
Regions that receive low rainfall amounts, as little as 50 centimeters (20 inches) per year, and are characterized by species well adapted to drought. Trees of this region are usually smaller than those in rainforests, and many lose their leaves during the dry season.
T (By definition, freshwater ecosystems contain less salt than marine ecosystems, and whereas the temperature of the ocean is relatively constant, freshwater temperature can vary widely. Flowering plants and insects also have major roles to play in freshwater ecosystem.)
T OR F Freshwater ecosystems differ from marine ecosystems because the amount of salt is much less, the temperature of the water can change greatly, and the organisms are different.
alpine tundra
The biome that exists above the tree line in mountainous regions.
temperate rainforests
The giant California redwoods occur in locations that receive abundant rainfall and have mild temperatures year-round. These locations are known as __________________
- cannot support long term agricultural production - are easily eroded when the forests are removed
The thin, nutrient poor soils found in tropical rainforests _____________
savanna
Tropical biome having seasonal rainfall of 50 to 150 centimeters ( 20-60 inches) per year. The dominant plants are grasses with some scattered fire and drought resistant trees.
there is more rain than in deserts
Under what conditions do grasslands occur? They occur where ______________.
They are all freshwater ecosystems that are important to biodiversity.
What do lakes, rivers, and wetlands have in common?
dry year-round
What is NOT a characteristic of a tropical dry forest?
They are similar, but the alpine tundra occurs in or near mountaintops (although the general appearance of the alpine tundra is similar to true tundra, many of the species of plants and animals are different)
What is the difference between alpine tundra and true tundra?
- Historically, humans have had little impact on deserts when compared to the other biomes. - Humans have begun building cities in deserts as a result of the ability to divert water for irrigation
What is true of the human impact on desert ecosystems?
it is recycled quickly and incorporated into the living biomass
Which of the following is most likely to occur when plant and other organic matter falls to the floor of a tropical rainforest?
they form the base of the marine food web
Why are phytoplankton a key part of the marine ecosystem?
mediterranean shrubland
Woody shrubs that are fire resistant and adapted to hot, dry summers are prevalent in the ____________
permafrost
___________ is the permanently frozen subsoil that is characteristic in the tundra biome
periphyton
____________ is a complex mixture of algae, cyanobacteria, heterotrophic microbes, and detritus that is attached to submerged surfaces in most aquatic ecosystems
emergent
____________ plants protrude above the surface of the water in lakes, whereas submerged plants are rooted below the water loine.
lichens
_____________ are an important pioneer species that are made up of a mutualistic relationship between a fungus and a photosynthetic organism such as algae
secondary
_____________ ecological succession may be the result of a forest fire, a flood, or conversion of land by humans
- temperature is widely variable - there is very little salt - flowering plants and insects have major roles to play
_____________ in freshwater ecosystems
primary, secondary
______________ succession begins with a total lack of organisms and bare substrate, whereas ____________ succession starts with the destruction of an existing ecosystem
temperate deciduous forests
_______________ show distinct summer / winter seasonality, with trees losing their leaves during the cold winter months
desert
a biome that receives less than 25 centimeters (10 inches) of precipitation / rain per year
tropical rainforest
a biome with warm, relatively constant temperatures where there is no frost. These areas receive more than 200 centimeters (80 inches) of rain per year in rains that fall nearly every day
tropical dry forest
a community with a drought tolerant forest species, hot temperatures year round, and low precipitation for most of the year except for periodic rain to support tree growth describes the _______ biome
steppes
a grassland
pelagic ecosystem
a portion of marine or freshwater ecosystem that occurs in open water away from the shore
successional stage
a stage in succession
seral stage
a stage in the successional process
has extremely cold and short summers, which lead to slow growth rates (taiga is sometimes used as a synonym for boreal forest)
a taiga ______________
coral reef ecosystem
a tropical, shallow water, marine ecosystem dominated by coral organisms that produce external skeletons
benthic ecosystem
a type of marine or freshwater ecosystem consisting of organisms that live on the bottom
eutrophic lake
a usually shallow, warm water lake that is nutrient rich
estuary
an _________ is a partially enclosed bay where freshwater from rivers meets salty ocean water
tundra
an extremely cold climate that lacks trees and exhibits permafrost
submerged plants
aquatic vegetation that is rooted on the bottom and has leaves that stay submerged below the surface of the water
emergent plants
aquatic vegetation that is rooted on the bottom but has leaves that float on the surface or protrude above the water
zooplankton
are small animals that float freely in the ocean. They may live at depth but come up to the euphotic zone to feed on phytoplankton. They are also an important food source for larger invertebrates and fish.
marsh
area of grasses and reeds that is flooded either permanently or for a major part of the year
swamp
area of trees that flooded either permanently or for a major part of the year
periphyton
attached organisms in freshwater streams and rivers, including algae, animals, and fungi
temperate deciduous forest
biome that has winter - summer change of seasons and that typically receives 75 to 150 centimeters (30-60 inches) or more of relatively evenly distributed precipitation / rain throughout the year
altitude
biomes change in a predictable way with increasing latitude as well as ___________, such that it is possible to have cold temperatures on the peaks of tall mountains even at the equator
temperature
biomes that are aligned east and west, roughly following lines of latitude, are likely controlled by ______________
temperate deciduous forest
characterized by distinctive seasons and contain trees that lose their leaves during the winter
taiga, northern coniferous forest, or boreal forest
characterized by short, cool summers and long, cold winters with lots of snowfall; evergreen trees are prevalent
mediterranean shrublands
coastal ecosystems characterized by winter rains and summer droughts that are dominated by low, woody vegetation with small leaves - have climate with wet, cool winters and hot, dry summers. - rainfall is 40 to 100 centimeters (15-40 inches) per year
tropical rain forest
constantly warm temperatures and more than 200 cm of rain per year
temperate rainforest
damp environments that occur along the coasts as winds bring moisture from offshore
oligotrophic lake
deep, cold, nutrient poor lakes that are low in productivity
benthic
describes organisms that live on the bottom of marine and freshwater ecosystems
climax
ecological succession begins with a pioneer community and develops through increasing complexity until it becomes a stable and self-perpetuating ___________ community
high , low
eutrophic lakes are _______ in nutrients, and oligotrophic lakes are _________ in nutrients
phytoplankton
free floating, microscopic, chlorophyll containing organism
grasses and lichens, frost
in a tundra, vegetation includes _______________, and _____________ can occur any month of the year
tropical dry forest
in the ____________________ biome, some trees lose their leaves during extensive dry periods.
reef
individual coral polyps form the basis of large coral _______ ecosystems, offering a safe refuge for a large diversity of reef fishes and marine invertebrates
climax community
last stage of succession; a relatively stable, long lasting, complex and interrelated community of plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria
acids
lichens contribute to the formation of soil on bare substrate by producing ________ that break(s) down rock into smaller particles.
savanna
lions, hyenas, and leopards are important carnivores in the ________ biome.
estuary
marine ecosystems that consist of shallow partially enclosed areas where freshwater enters the ocean
benthic , pelagic
marine organisms can be grouped into two broad categories based on their location. _________ communities occur on the seafloor, and _______ zones are located in the water column
mangrove swamp ecosystems
marine shoreline ecosystems dominated by trees that can tolerate high salt concentrations
lake
open water where vertical zonation may be observed
permafrost
permanently frozen ground
pelagic
referring to those organisms that swim in open water
limnetic zone
region that does not have rooted vegetation in a freshwater ecosystem
littoral zone
region with rooted vegetation in a freshwater ecosystem
Succession
regular and predictable changes in the structure of a community, ultimately leading to a climax community
northern coniferous forest
see boreal forest
primary succession
succession that begins with bare mineral surfaces or water
secondary succession
succession that begins with the destruction or disturbance of an existing ecosystem
- characterized by trees that lose their leaves during the winter - common along the east coast of the united states - seasonal with a winter/summer change
temperate deciduous forests are _____________
prairies
temperate grasslands
with lines of latitude (recall that there is a strong temperature variation across all lines of latitude)
temperature controlled biomes often occur in bands that run _____________
mediterranean
the _________ shrublands have been heavily impacted by humans because of their favorable climate and proximity to the ocean
euphotic
the ___________ zone is the layer of the ocean where the sun's rays penetrate, making photosynthesis by phytoplankton possible
littoral
the ____________ zone in lakes contains rooted vegetation, whereas the limnetic zone does not
pioneer
the _________________ community is made up of the first organisms to establish themselves following a disturbance; they are the first living things in the succession process to help make the substrate more habitable for future colonizers
biochemical oxygen demand
the _________________ is the amount of dissolved oxygen needed by aerobic decomposers to break down organic material in a body of water
biochemical oxygen demand (BOD)
the amount of oxygen required by microbes to degrade organic molecules in aquatic ecosystems
succession
the change in species composition in an ecological community over time is called ________
abyssal ecosystem
the collection of organisms and the conditions that exist in the deep portions of the ocean
pioneer community
the early stages od succession that begin the soil building process
sere
the entire sequence of stages in ecological succession
pioneer
the first organisms to colonize an area following a disturbance make up the _____________ community
sere
the sequence of successional stages from pioneer to climax community is called a(n) ___________
euphotic zone
the upper layer in the ocean where the sun's rays penetrate
- agricultural runoff - eutrophication - sewage
threats to freshwater resources
plankton
tiny aquatic organisms that are moved by tides and currents
fast growing and reach enormous size
trees in temperate rainforests are __________
zooplankton
weakly swimming microscopic animals
marsh
wetlands dominated by grasses and reeds
swamp
wetlands with trees
savannas have a sparse tree cover in addition to the grass covered areas
what is the difference between grasslands and savannas?
they have nutrient rich soils desirable for agriculture
why have large portions of grasslands been converted to farmlands?
