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Ch 52
Question | Answer |
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ecology | the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the environment |
biological hierarchy | - organismal ecology - population ecology - community ecology - ecosystem ecology - landscape ecology - global ecology |
organismal ecology | includes the subdisciplines of physiological, evolutionary, and behavioral ecology, is concerned with how an organism's structure, physiology, and behavior meet the challenges posed by its environment |
population ecology | analyzes factors that affect population size and how and why it changes through time |
community ecology | examines how interactions between species, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and organization |
ecosystem ecology | emphasizes energy flow and chemical cycling between organisms and the environment |
landscape ecology | focuses on the factors controlling exchanges of energy, materials, and organisms across multiple ecosystems |
global ecology | examines how the regional exchange of energy and materials influences the functioning and distribution of organisms across the biosphere |
climate | the long term prevailing weather conditions in a given area |
microclimate | very fine, localized patterns in climatic conditions |
abiotic | nonliving |
biotic | living factors |
climate change | a directional change to the global climate that lasts three decades or more |
climograph | a plot of the annual mean temperature and precipitation in a particular region |
ecotone | may be wide or narrow |
canopy | the low-tree layer, the shrub understory, the ground layer of herbaceous plants, the forest floor (little layer), and the root layer |
disturbance | an event such as a storm, fire, or human activity that changes a community, removing organisms from it and altering resource availability |
Types of Biomes | - Tropical Forest - Desert - Savanna - Chaparral - Temperate Grassland - Northern Coniferous Forest - Temperate Broadleaf Forest - Tundra |
photic zone | there is sufficient light for photosynthesis |
aphotic zone | region where little light penetrates |
pelagic zone | photic and aphotic zones together |
abyssal zone | the part of the ocean 2,000-6,000 m below the surface |
Types of Aquatic Biomes | - Lakes - Wetlands - streams and rivers - estuaries - intertidal - oceanic pelagic zone - coral reefs - marine benthic zone |
dispersal | the movement of individuals or gametes away from their area or origin or from centers of high population density |