Ecology and Climate: Study Guide for BIO 1306 Exam 4

Study Guide - Smart Notes

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Q1. What defines the study of ecology at the organismal, population, community, ecosystem, landscape, and global levels? Give an example of a research question at each level.

Background

Topic: Levels of Ecological Study

This question tests your understanding of the hierarchical organization of ecology, from individual organisms to the entire biosphere, and your ability to distinguish the types of questions asked at each level.

Key Terms:

Organismal Ecology: Focuses on how an individual organism's physiology, behavior, and morphology help it survive and reproduce in its environment.
Population Ecology: Examines groups of individuals of the same species, especially factors that affect population size and composition.
Community Ecology: Studies interactions between different species living in the same area.
Ecosystem Ecology: Looks at energy flow and nutrient cycling among organisms and their physical environment.
Landscape Ecology: Investigates how spatial arrangement of ecosystems affects ecological processes.
Global Ecology: Examines ecological phenomena at the biosphere scale, including global climate change and biogeochemical cycles.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define each level of ecological study in your own words, focusing on the scale and main questions addressed.
For each level, think of a research question that fits its scope. For example, for organismal ecology, consider how a specific adaptation helps an animal survive.
For population ecology, consider questions about population growth, density, or regulation.
For community ecology, focus on interactions like predation, competition, or mutualism.
For ecosystem, landscape, and global ecology, think about energy flow, nutrient cycling, spatial patterns, and global processes.

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Q2. What determines where species live in terrestrial vs. aquatic ecosystems?

Background

Topic: Species Distribution

This question asks you to consider the factors that influence where organisms are found in different types of ecosystems.

Key Terms:

Terrestrial Ecosystems: Land-based environments (e.g., forests, deserts).
Aquatic Ecosystems: Water-based environments (e.g., lakes, oceans).
Abiotic Factors: Non-living factors like temperature, water, sunlight, soil, salinity.
Biotic Factors: Living factors like competition, predation, disease.

Step-by-Step Guidance

List abiotic factors that are important in terrestrial ecosystems (e.g., temperature, precipitation, soil type).
List abiotic factors that are important in aquatic ecosystems (e.g., salinity, water depth, light penetration).
Consider how biotic factors (like competition and predation) might differ between terrestrial and aquatic systems.
Think about how these factors interact to limit or enable species distributions.

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Q3. What are biotic vs. abiotic factors contributing to an ecosystem that influence species distribution? (e.g., salinity, predation, etc. - which are biotic or abiotic?)

Background

Topic: Ecosystem Components

This question tests your ability to distinguish between living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) factors in an ecosystem and how they affect where species are found.

Key Terms:

Biotic Factors: Living components (e.g., predation, competition, disease).
Abiotic Factors: Non-living components (e.g., temperature, salinity, sunlight, soil).

Step-by-Step Guidance

List several examples of biotic factors and explain how each could influence species distribution.
List several examples of abiotic factors and explain their influence.
For each example given (e.g., salinity, predation), classify it as biotic or abiotic.
Think about how these factors might interact to affect where species are found.

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Q4. What is the reason for Earth’s seasons?

Background

Topic: Earth's Tilt and Orbit

This question tests your understanding of the astronomical causes of seasonal changes on Earth.

Key Terms:

Axial Tilt: The angle (about 23.5°) at which Earth's axis is tilted relative to its orbital plane.
Revolution: Earth's yearly orbit around the Sun.
Solar Radiation: The amount of sunlight reaching different parts of Earth during the year.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Recall the tilt of Earth's axis and how it affects sunlight distribution.
Explain how Earth's orbit around the Sun causes different hemispheres to receive more or less sunlight at different times of year.
Connect these changes in sunlight to temperature and seasonal changes.

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Q5. What causes climate variations on the windward vs. leeward side of a mountain?

Background

Topic: Mountain Climate Effects

This question focuses on how mountains influence local climate, especially precipitation patterns.

Key Terms:

Windward Side: The side of the mountain facing the prevailing wind; typically wetter.
Leeward Side: The side sheltered from the wind; often drier (rain shadow effect).
Orographic Precipitation: Rainfall produced when moist air rises over mountains and cools.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Describe what happens to moist air as it moves up the windward side of a mountain.
Explain why precipitation occurs on the windward side.
Describe what happens to the air as it descends the leeward side and why this side is drier.

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Q6. What is a Hadley cell? What are westerlies and trade winds? What are key features of climate at the equator, tropics, 30° N/S, and 60° N/S? What roles do air pressure and wind patterns play in global air circulation and precipitation?

Background

Topic: Global Atmospheric Circulation

This question tests your understanding of large-scale wind patterns and their effects on climate zones.

Key Terms:

Hadley Cell: A large-scale atmospheric convection cell in which air rises at the equator and sinks at about 30° N/S.
Westerlies: Prevailing winds from the west found in mid-latitudes (30°–60° N/S).
Trade Winds: Steady winds blowing from east to west in the tropics (between the equator and 30° N/S).
High/Low Pressure: Areas where air is descending (high) or rising (low), affecting precipitation.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Describe the movement of air in a Hadley cell and how it creates wet and dry zones.
Explain where trade winds and westerlies are found and their directions.
Identify the typical climate characteristics at the equator, 30° N/S, and 60° N/S.
Discuss how air pressure and wind patterns influence precipitation and climate at these latitudes.

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Q7. What weather patterns, latitudes, and air patterns are associated with high pressure and low pressure atmospheric conditions?

Background

Topic: Atmospheric Pressure and Weather

This question asks you to connect atmospheric pressure systems with typical weather and their locations on Earth.

Key Terms:

High Pressure: Descending air, usually associated with dry, clear weather.
Low Pressure: Rising air, usually associated with clouds and precipitation.
Latitude: Position north or south of the equator, affecting climate zones.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Identify where high and low pressure zones are typically found (e.g., 30° N/S, equator, 60° N/S).
Describe the typical weather associated with each pressure system.
Connect these patterns to global wind and precipitation belts.

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Q8. What are the four major physical components of climate?

Background

Topic: Climate Components

This question tests your knowledge of the main physical factors that define climate in a region.

Key Terms:

Think about temperature, precipitation, sunlight, and wind as the main components.

Step-by-Step Guidance

List the four major physical components of climate.
Briefly describe how each component influences the environment.

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Q9. What is a disturbance in relation to a terrestrial biome?

Background

Topic: Biome Dynamics

This question asks you to define what a disturbance is and how it affects terrestrial biomes.

Key Terms:

Disturbance: An event (e.g., fire, storm, human activity) that changes a community by removing organisms or altering resource availability.
Biome: A large ecological area with characteristic climate, plants, and animals.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define what a disturbance is in ecological terms.
Give examples of disturbances in terrestrial biomes.
Explain how disturbances can affect the structure and composition of a biome.

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Q10. What are two main ways that humans contribute to climate change, and what is climate change?

Background

Topic: Human Impact on Climate

This question tests your understanding of the definition of climate change and the main human activities that drive it.

Key Terms:

Climate Change: Long-term alteration of temperature and typical weather patterns in a place.
Greenhouse Gases: Gases like CO2 and methane that trap heat in the atmosphere.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define climate change in your own words.
Identify two major human activities that contribute to climate change (e.g., burning fossil fuels, deforestation).
Briefly explain how each activity leads to changes in the climate.

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Q11. What does a climograph measure and what factors affect a biome?

Background

Topic: Biome Classification

This question asks you to explain what a climograph is and what environmental factors influence biomes.

Key Terms:

Climograph: A graphical representation of basic climatic parameters, typically temperature and precipitation, at a certain location.
Biome: A major ecological community type defined by climate and dominant vegetation.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Describe what a climograph shows and how to interpret it.
List key factors (e.g., temperature, precipitation, soil, disturbance) that affect the distribution of biomes.

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Q12. What are the key distinguishing features/definitions of the following terrestrial biomes: Tropical Forest, Desert, Savanna, Chaparral, Temperate Grassland, Northern Coniferous Forest (Taiga), Temperate Broadleaf Forest, and Tundra?

Background

Topic: Terrestrial Biomes

This question tests your ability to recognize and describe the main characteristics of major terrestrial biomes.

Key Terms:

For each biome, consider climate, dominant vegetation, and typical animal life.

Step-by-Step Guidance

List each biome and write a brief definition or description of its climate and vegetation.
Identify one or two key features that distinguish each biome from the others.
Think about where each biome is typically found on Earth.

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Q13. What is zonation in aquatic environments? Define the littoral, limnetic, photic, aphotic, pelagic, abyssal, and benthic zones.

Background

Topic: Aquatic Ecosystem Structure

This question asks you to describe how aquatic environments are divided into zones based on depth, light, and distance from shore.

Key Terms:

Littoral Zone: Near shore, shallow, well-lit.
Limnetic Zone: Open water, well-lit, away from shore.
Photic Zone: Sunlit upper layer where photosynthesis occurs.
Aphotic Zone: Deeper layer where little or no sunlight penetrates.
Pelagic Zone: Open water away from the bottom.
Abyssal Zone: Deepest, very cold and dark.
Benthic Zone: Bottom surface of an aquatic environment.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define each zone and describe its main characteristics (e.g., light, depth, location).
Explain why these zones are important for different types of aquatic life.

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Q14. What are the key features/definitions of estuaries, coral reefs, oligotrophic lakes, and eutrophic lakes?

Background

Topic: Aquatic Biomes

This question tests your knowledge of important aquatic habitats and their characteristics.

Key Terms:

Estuary: Where freshwater meets saltwater; highly productive and variable.
Coral Reef: Marine ecosystem with high biodiversity, built by coral animals.
Oligotrophic Lake: Deep, nutrient-poor, clear water, low productivity.
Eutrophic Lake: Shallow, nutrient-rich, high productivity, often murky.

Step-by-Step Guidance

Define each aquatic biome and list its main features.
Compare and contrast oligotrophic and eutrophic lakes.
Explain why estuaries and coral reefs are important for biodiversity.