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DSST Test 26-50
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| 26 The abiotic components of an ecosystem consist of the physical and ______ factors that affect biomes and aquatic life zones. | Chemical. These chemical factors include the level of salt in water, which will affect life in it. |
| 27 The biosphere and its ecosystems can be divided into the ________ and biotic components. | Abiotic. The abiotic components refer to the nonliving aspects of the environment, like water and air. The biotic components refer to the living parts like plants and animals. |
| 28 ______ biomes are critical ecologically because they make up 20% of the Earth’s land surface and house forests, contain specific species not found anywhere else and play an important role in the hydrologic cycle. | Mountain. They also serve as a sanctuary for animals from low-lying areas who have been forced to higher ground and affect sea levels via the increase or decrease in glacial ice, stored in the mountains of Antarctica. |
| 29 Even though ______ ______ forests only cover 2% of the Earth’s land space, it is the habitat for an estimated 50% to 80% of all land species. | Tropical rain. The multiple layers of specific plants and animal life that can be accommodated in a tropical rain forest are considerable and hence permit extensive biodiversity. |
| 30 The main types of forest biomes are the tropical rain forest, temperate forest and ______ forest. | Boreal. Boreal or polar is one of the types of forest biome and has a sub-arctic climate with a skyline dominated by coniferous evergreen trees. There are not very many species living here as it is too cold. |
| 31 The chaparral biome has adapted to withstand and regenerate itself following occasional _____. | Fires. Many plants have adapted to storing food reserves in hardy roots and sprouting seeds only after fire. |
| 32 Temperate grassland biomes have very cold winters, hot and dry summers with sparse and uneven rainfall that produces _______ soil. | fertile. The grasses above ground die and decompose every year and this creates fertilizer for the soil. |
| 33 The African tropical savannas are home to large number of _______ and browsing animals who have adapted their eating habits in such a way as not to compete with other animals. | grazing. Grazers eat grass and herbs and browsers eat leaves and shoots. |
| 34 A popular type of grassland biome is called a _______, which is characterized by a year round warm climate, two dry seasons and plentiful rainfall the rest of the year. | Savanna. These are the typical characteristics of a savanna. The largest savannas are found in Africa, Australia and South-East Asia |
| 35 Tropical grasslands are typified by a prolonged _____ season, low to medium rainfall and high mean temperatures. | Dry. This is the nature of grasslands and they can be found in a wide belt either side of the Equator. |
| 36 There are three main types of grassland biomes are the tropical, temperate and _____. | Tundra. The tundra or polar grasslands are concentrated just south of the arctic polar cap. There is little precipitation (which falls as snow), is very cold and windy |
| 37 The plant life in the desert ecosystem have adapted by developing waxy leaves to minimize water loss, deeply growing roots to tap into groundwater and becoming _________ in drier periods. | Dormant. Mosses and lichens tend to do this as a conservation and survival technique |
| 38 A desert biome is characterized by scattered annual rainfall of less than ____ and sparse, broadly spaced low vegetation. | 25cm or 10 inches. This is one of the characteristics of a desert biome and climate. |
| 39 Natural ecosystems do not have specific boundaries and are not genuinely self-sustaining because one ecosystem will tend to join up with a neighboring one in a transitional area known as an ________. | Ecotone. An ecotone describes an area containing a mixture of species between two or more ecosystems. An example of an ecotone is the marsh or wetland found between dry land and water. |
| 40 The biosphere can be divided up into ______ and aquatic life zones. | Biomes. Biomes describes the portion of the biosphere that is covered by land and includes the forests, deserts and grasslands that have a particular climate and life forms that have adapted to those conditions |
| 41 Carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor are all examples of ________ gases. | Greenhouse. These gases create the natural greenhouse effect as they assist in the reduction of heat flow back into space. This keeps the Earth warm enough to maintain life. |
| 42 The sun plays an important role in sustaining life on Earth in that it provides warmth, light, stimulates photosynthesis, promotes the _____ of matter and determines the climate and weather systems. | Cycle. The sun promotes the cycling of matter. The Earth is basically closed off to space and hence all matter on Earth must be recycled. This matter includes atoms, ions and molecules that are necessary for living organisms to survive on. |
| 43 The stratosphere contains sufficient quantities of ______ to filter out the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays; thereby permitting life on Earth. | Ozone. Ozone (O3) performs this critical function. |
| 44 The Earth’s life-giving system is made up of the atmosphere, troposphere, stratosphere, ________, lithosphere and biosphere | Hydrosphere. The hydrosphere consists of the Earth’s water sources, liquid, solid and vapor in the air. |
| 45 The ________ describes all of the planet’s ecosystems. | biosphere. This is the definition of a biosphere. |
| 46 An ecosystem is a natural or artificially created _______ of varying species interacting with one another and the nonliving environment. | Community. A community describes a place where populations of various species live together in the same space and is an intricate network of animals, plants and organisms. |
| 47 Organisms are classified into ______, which can be differentiated by the way the way they reproduce | Species. This is the way that organisms are classified. The two types of reproduction are asexual reproduction and sexual reproduction. |
| 48 Populations alter their size, age distribution, density and ______ makeup to adapt to changing environmental conditions. | populations. A population relates to an interacting group of the same species occupying a particular area at the same time. For example, a group of maple trees in the same forest. Ecologists focus on populations because of their impact on the environment. |
| 50 _______ describes the study of the interaction between organisms and their nonliving environment. | ecology. This is the definition of ecology – it examines interactions in the natural world |
Created by:
Lucasstafki