Exam 53: The Physical Environment and Biogeography of Life

An ecologist's goal is to maintain the health of an aquatic ecosystem by identifying potentially damaging factors before they cause problems.In her research on a pristine lake ecosystem, she would be most likely to study which topic in the natural setting rather than in a laboratory?

In the Amazon rainforest, deforestation is leading to the formation of forest fragments with abrupt edges starkly different from both the original forest and from the new, deforested landscape.These changes will likely cause the fragments to have _______ species diversity.

What is the primary distinction between ecology and environmentalism?

Circulation patterns of surface ocean waters are called _______.

Which city in the Northern Hemisphere has the least amount of daylight on the shortest day of the year?

In the _______ biome, temperatures fluctuate considerably between summer and winter, and precipitation is fairly constant throughout the year.Species diversity is relatively rich; it includes large animals such as black bears and many bird species that migrate to avoid the cold winters.

The world's biogeographic regions, originally proposed by Alfred Russel Wallace, divide Earth into groups of species that often change dramatically over relatively small distances.Today, we know that these assemblages of organisms have come together over millions of years primarily through the process of

Earth is tilted 23.5° on its axis with respect to the sun.As Earth revolves around the sun, this tilt results in

The region of the oceans most likely to have benthic ecosystems based on photosynthesis is the

Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain patterns of species diversity based on latitude.Applying one of these hypotheses, where might one expect to find the greatest species diversity, and why?

During a week in the summer, an area had two days of thunderstorms, two days that were cloudy and humid, and three days that were hot and sunny.This is a description of the area's

Scientists have proposed three hypotheses to explain patterns of species diversity at different latitudes.Using the tropics as an example, explain how more than one of the proposed hypotheses might account for species diversity in this region.

Given what is known about temperature differences in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and the impacts of global warming, which statement about future conditions in the two hemispheres is most likely correct?

Which region of Earth receives the most heat and light per unit area?

Loss of worldwide biodiversity is a serious problem.How would ecological measurements attempting to quantify the loss of biodiversity be likely to differ from quantification studies in other fields of science?

Carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are important factors in Earth's atmosphere because they

A person wishes to manage an ocean habitat to maintain its beauty and species diversity while still providing a sustainable fishery for people living in the area.This person would best be described as a(n) _______.

A rapidly flowing river is dammed for a hydroelectric project.Describe what happens to the water, in terms of oxygen, temperature, and sediment, as it changes from a flowing stream to a still body of water.

Alfred Russel Wallace deduced that dramatic differences in flora and fauna between the islands Bali and Lombok were the result of the

Plastic pollution entering the oceans tends to collect and swirl in vast circles within the major oceans and remain there for years.This is due to the presence of circulation patterns called _______.