biology chapter 34
Terms
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- ecology
- between organisms and their enviornment
- biotic factors
- any living part of an environment
- abiotic factors
- nonliving physical or chemical condition in an environment
- population
- group of individuals of the same species living in a particular area at the same time
- community
- all the organisms living in an area
- ecosystem
- community of living things plus the nonliving features of the environment that support them
- biosphere
- all the parts of the planet that are inhabited by living things; sum of all Earth's ecosystems
- habitat
- an organism's specific environment, with characteristic abiotic and biotic factors
- tropics
- regions between 23.5° N latitude and 23.5° S latitude; warmest temperature zones on Earth
- polar zones
- the regions north of the Arctic Circle (66.5° N) and south of the Antarctic Circle (66.5° S), that receive the smallest amount of direct sunlight year-round
- temperate zones
- latitudes between the tropics and polar regions in each hemisphere
- current
- riverlike flow pattern within a body of water
- microclimate
- climate in a specific area that varies from the surrounding climate region
- biome
- major type of terrestrial ecosystem that covers a large region of Earth
- tropical rainforest
- type of forest near the equator that receives as much as 250 cm of rainfall yearly
- savanna
- grassland with scattered trees; found in tropical regions of Africa, Australia, and South America
- desert
- land area that receives less than 30 centimeters of rain per year
- chaparral
- temperate coastal biome dominated by dense evergreen shrubs
- temperate grassland
- biome characterized by deep, nutrient-rich soil that supports many grass species
- temperate deciduous forest
- forest in a temperate region, characterized by trees that drop their leaves annually
- coniferous forest
- forest populated by cone-bearing evergreen trees; mostly found in northern latitudes
- tundra
- biome in the Arctic Circle or on high mountaintops, characterized by bitterly cold temperatures and high winds
- permafrost
- permanently frozen subsoil
- photic zone
- regions of a body of water where light penetrates, enabling photosynthesis
- phytoplankton
- microscopic algae and cyanobacteria that carry out photosynthesis
- aphotic zone
- deep areas of a body of water where light levels are too low to support photosynthesis
- benthic zone
- bottom of an aquatic ecosystem; consists of sand and sediment and supports its own community of organisms
- ESTUARY
- area where fresh water from streams and rivers merges with salty ocean water; productive ecosystem
- pelagic zone
- open water above the ocean floor
- intertidal zone
- area of shore between the high-tide and low tide lines.
- neritic zone
- area of ocean that extends from the low-tide line out to the edge of the continental shelf
- oceanic zone
- vast open ocean from the edge of the continental shelf outward
- zooplankton
- microscopic animals that swim or drift near the surface of aquatic environments
- hydrothermal vent
- opening in the ocean floor where hot gases and minerals escape from Earth's interior