Exam 48: Biomes and Global Ecology

Patterns of primary productivity in marine environments are not delineated in the same way as in terrestrial environments. Why are there regions of high primary productivity at 60° N and 60° S in the oceans, when these are not regions of high productivity on land?

After warm air rises from the equator, it cools and moves toward the poles. When the cool, dense air begins to fall back to the surface of Earth, it moves toward:

Theoretical predictions suggest that the North Pole should be cooler than it actually is. What helps to warm regions at high latitudes?

Why don't we see pronounced seasons at the equator?

In terrestrial ecosystems, nitrogen is returned to the atmosphere by:

Some of the characteristics used to describe biomes include precipitation and:

The pelagic zone includes the photic zone and the aphotic zone.

If phosphorus concentrations were to suddenly increase in a marine ecosystem, which of the following would likely occur?

Two people place flags simultaneously on the surface of the Earth: one flag just north of the South Pole (at approximately 85 degrees), and one flag at the equator (approximately 0 degrees). Which of the statements is a CORRECT reflection of their speed?

Microorganisms are important to the carbon cycle because, without them:

On land, _____, which are broad, ecologically uniform areas, are recognized by their characteristic vegetation that reflects adaptation of form and physiology to climate.

Examination of the amber nuggets on Hispaniola reveals:

Which of the following groups of biomes is listed in order of greatest to lowest potential evapotranspiration ratio?

Some biologists believe that the latitudinal gradient in species diversity reflects the fact that high latitudes recently lay beneath large glaciers. If there had been no recent ice age, would we still expect to see a latitudinal diversity gradient?

At the equator, the Coriolis effect is much smaller than at the poles.

Sunlight hits the Earth MOST directly at:

Primary producers fix phosphorus into biologically useful molecules just like they fix carbon and, in some cases, nitrogen.

Is the nitrogen cycle different in marine than in terrestrial biomes?

If you stand at the equator and throw a ball north (really hard), which direction will it deflect relative to where you were standing when you threw the ball?

This biome is situated around the equator and boasts the greatest biodiversity of any biome.