Exam 29: Earths Diverse Ecosystems

The ________ is the zone near the shore of a lake where a diverse group of organisms lives and where light and nutrients are abundant.

Thick, water-storing leaves and stems and wax-coated leaves are adaptations to:

The limiting factor for growth in deserts is ________.

You are called to investigate a lake in your home town, where the residents fear that a broken pipe from the local sewage treatment plant has turned the formerly pristine lake eutrophic. What three things would you measure, or observe, in the lake to determine whether it is eutrophic?

Similar groups of plants are found in areas where the ________ is similar.

Every year certain parts of California have fires that sweep rapidly through the area, burning or endangering homes. What type of biome is found there, and why does it burn so frequently?

The striking dissimilarities in plant communities among different biomes that have the same average yearly amount of rainfall can be explained by the fact that:

The near-shore region of large lakes that supports the greatest diversity of plant and animal life is the ________ zone.

What is the ecological significance of shallow bays and coastal wetlands such as estuaries and salt marshes?

Which of the following North American biomes has been almost completely destroyed by agricultural use?

As large tracts of rain forest disappear due to human activities, the region tends to become drier. Why?

In which biome are soils stabilized and enriched by cyanobacterial networks?

The open-water zone of a lake is divided into the ________ and ________ zones.

Eutrophic lakes have high nutrient levels. True or False?

Desert wildflowers typically bloom in early fall. True or False?

In the tropical deciduous forest, the amount of ________ defines the seasons.

The destruction of the ozone layer increases the amount of damaging ________ that reaches Earth's surface.

Scientists observing coral-reef communities have noted declines in coral reefs in regions that have both agricultural runoff and rising water temperatures. What are the possible reasons for these observations?

Seasonal variations in temperature are due to the tilt of Earth on its axis. True or False?

Explain why there are enormous deserts in the area of the United States known as the Great Basin, which is east of the Sierra Nevada Mountains and west of the Rockies.