Exam 52: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere

The ocean ecosystems affect the biosphere by ________. I.producing a substantial amount of the biosphere's oxygen II. adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere III.being the source of most of Earth's rainfall IV.regulating the pH of freshwater biomes and terrestrial groundwater

Which aquatic biome listed here is one of the most productive on Earth, and why?

Imagine some cosmic catastrophe jolts Earth so that its axis is perpendicular to the orbital plane between Earth and the sun. The most obvious effect of this change would be ________.

Which of these environmental factor(s) is/are the key determining factor(s) that control(s) the biotic structure of aquatic biomes?

Which lake zone would be absent in a very shallow lake?

In the region of the Rocky Mountains, imagine that one local variety of Ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) predominantly occurs between 5,000-8,500 feet in elevation, where it can best tolerate temperatures and precipitation. If future climate change in this region causes the temperature to increase and rainfall to decrease, then which of the following changes might an ecologist predict about the variety's range?

The success of plants extending their range northward following glacial retreat is primarily determined by ________.

Wetlands are standing bodies of freshwater, just like lakes and ponds. However, wetlands are different from lakes and ponds because wetlands have ________.

Turnover of water in temperate lakes during the spring and fall is caused by which of the following?

What would be the effect on climate in the temperate latitudes if Earth were to slow its rate of rotation from a 24-hour period of rotation to a 48-hour period of rotation?

Studying species transplants is a way that ecologists ________.

A fish swimming into an estuary from a river would have which of the following as its greatest physiological challenge?

Which of the following types of organisms is likely to have the widest geographic distribution?

In creating global climate patterns, which of the following factors is the primary cause of all of the other factors that are listed?

Two plant species live in the same biome but on different continents. Although the two species are not at all closely related, they may appear quite similar as a result of ________.

Which of the following statements best describes the interaction between fire and ecosystems?

When climbing a mountain, we can observe transitions in biological communities that are analogous to the changes ________.

A certain species of pine tree survives only in scattered locations at elevations above 2,800 meters in the western United States. To understand why this tree grows only in these specific places, an ecologist should ________.

When climbing a mountain, we can observe transitions in biological communities that are analogous to the changes

The eight climographs show yearly temperature (line graph and left vertical axis) and precipitation (bar graph and right vertical axis) averages for each month for some locations on Earth. Which climograph shows the climate for location 3?