EEB 2244 Final Exam Study Guide.
Ecology - answerthe study of where living things are found and why; the study of the
distribution of and abundance of organisms and the interactions of organisms with their biotic
and abiotic environment
Levels of organization - answerindividual, population, com...
Ecology - answer✔the study of where living things are found and why; the study of the
distribution of and abundance of organisms and the interactions of organisms with their biotic
and abiotic environment
Levels of organization - answer✔individual, population, community, ecosystem, biosphere
first law of conservation of energy - answer✔Energy cannot be created or destroyed
law of conservation of matter - answer✔states that matter can neither be created nor destroyed,
but can only change form
dynamic steady state - answer✔losses and gains of an ecological system are in balance
evolution - answer✔change in the genetic composition of a population over time
natural selection - answer✔- one of the mechanisms behind evolution
- survival of the fittest
- requires heritable trait variation corresponding with variation in fitness
genotype - answer✔genes determining the attribute
phenotype - answer✔physical characteristics of an organism
producers - answer✔(autotrophs) convert light/chemical energy into resources
consumers - answer✔(heterotrophs) obtain their energy from other organisms
scavengers - answer✔consume dead animals
detritivores - answer✔break down dead organic matter into smaller particles
decomposers - answer✔break down detritus into simpler elements that can be recycled
Predation - answer✔An interaction in which one organism kills another for food (+/-)
parasitism - answer✔A relationship in which one organism lives on or in a host and harms it
(+/-)
herbivory - answer✔interaction in which one animal (the herbivore) feeds on producers (such
as plants) (+/-)
mutualism - answer✔A relationship between two species in which both species benefit (+/+)
commensalism - answer✔A relationship between two organisms in which one organism
benefits and the other is unaffected (+/0)
niche - answer✔range of abiotic and biotic conditions an organism can tolerate; reflects an
organism's role in its community
- measured as n-dimensional hyper volume of environmental conditions in which a population
has positive growth --> range of conditions where the population performs well
weather - answer✔describes current conditions; irregular and largely unpredictable
climate - answer✔describes long-term patterns; based on averages and variation measured over
decades
1. unequal heating with latitude and season
2. air circulation and Coriolis Effect
3. ocean currents
4. miscellaneous other impacts of land and water - answer✔spatial climate patterns depend on:
greenhouse - answer✔the process of solar radiation striking earth, being converted to infrared
radiation, and being absorbed and re-emitted by atmosphere gases
solar equator - answer✔latitude receiving the most direct rays of the sun
March Equinox and September Equinox - answer✔0 degrees latitude; geographic equator
June solstice - answer✔tropic of cancer; 23.5 degrees N
december - answer✔tropic of Capricorn, 23.5 degrees S
- warm air is less dense (rises)
- as air rises and expands, it cools (adiabatic cooling) and holds less water vapor
- as air sinks and condenses, it warms again (adiabatic heating) and holds more water vapor -
answer✔properties of air:
polar cells - answer✔- between 60 degrees and 90 degrees latitudes
- contains easterlies
ferrel cells - answer✔less distinct, between Hadley and polar cells
Hadley cells - answer✔between equator and 30 degrees N and 30 degrees S latitudes
Intertropical Convergence Zones (ITCZ) - answer✔where the Hadley cells meet; determined by
the solar equator
Coriolis Effect - answer✔the effect in which wind direction is affected by the speed of the
Earth's rotation and as a result deflects air circulation into the convection cells
- to the right in the North
- to the left in the South
trade winds - answer✔winds experienced near the earth's surface in the Hadley cells
northeast trade winds - answer✔air on surface in northern Hadley cells moves from NE to SW
southwest trade winds - answer✔winds that from SE to NW
westerlies - answer✔general midlatitude movement from west to east
polar easterlies - answer✔movement away from the poles and from east to west associated with
polar cells (similar to Tradewinds)
gryes - answer✔- gravity pulls warmer higher water away from the equator
- clockwise circulation in N, counter-clockwise in S due to trade winds and westerlies
- between continents, influence different climates on land
upwelling - answer✔- upward movement of ocean of cold, high nutrient water that is brought to
the surface
- where surface currents move away from western coastlines
El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) - answer✔A reversal of wind and water currents
(oscillation) in the South Pacific that occurs every 3-7 years in December. as a result, no cold
water upwelling --> warm water = poor fishing harvest; lots of rain in coast desert area
rain shadow effect - answer✔wet warm air moves upward over mountains, cools and loses
moisture (precipitation) on windward side. as this air descends on the leeward side it warms,
absorbs moisture and dries the land
biome - answer✔a geographic region that contains communities composed of organisms with
similar adaptations
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