Climograph
Plot of temperature and precipitation
Biotic Factors
Components of an environment that include all the living organisms that are a part of an individual's environment
Abiotic Factors
Components of an environment that include factors such as temperature, light, water and nutrients.
Ecotone
An area of intergradation between one type of terrestrial ecosystem and another, which may be represented by regions of overlap in a climograph (transition area between two biomes.)
Dispersal
The movement of individuals away from centers of high population density or area of origin
Thermocline
A narrow stratum of rapid temperature change that separates a uniformly warm upper layer from a uniformly cold lower layer
Distribution
The geographic range of a species
Photic
These zones receive sufficient light for photosynthesis
Aphotic
These zones are deeper and do not receive enough light for photosynthesis
Winter
Time of year when lakes in temperate regions have colder temperatures near the surface
Summer
Time of year when lakes in temperate regions have colder temperatures near the bottom
Solstice
Time of year when one of the hemispheres tilts toward the sun and one tilts away.
Equinox
Time of year when the equator directly faces the sun
Benthic
This zone is at the bottom of all aquatic biomes and consists of sand and organic sediments
Ecosystem Ecology
Study of the entire community of different species, plus the abiotic factors
Population Ecology
Study of factors affecting how many individuals of a particular species live in an area
Landscape Ecology
Study of arrays of ecosystems, and how they are arranged in a geographic region
Organismal Ecology
Study of how an organism's structure and physiology fit the environment
Biosphere (Global Ecology)
Study of the sum of all the planet's ecosystems
Community Ecology
Study of the whole array of interacting species in a community
Lakes
Consist of oligotrophic (nutrient poor, oxygen rich) or eutrophic (nutrient rich, oxygen poor) types; may be a few meters squared to several kilometers squared
Wetlands
An area covered with water for a long enough period to support aquatic plants
Streams And Rivers
Most prominent characteristic is current. Headwaters have higher oxygen content and mouths have higher nutrient content.
Estuaries
Transition area between rivers and seas; characterized by complex flow patterns
Intertidal Zones
Periodically submerged and exposed by the tides
Oceanic Pelagic Biome
Vast realm of open blue water, constantly mixed
Marine Benthic Zone
Consists of the seafloor below the surface waters
Tropical Forest
Rainfall is constant and temperatures are warm year-round.
Equatorial and subequatorial regions
Desert
Precipitation is low and temperatures are variable seasonally and daily.
Deserts occur in bands near 30 degrees latitude or at other latitudes in the interior continents
Savanna
Rainfall is seasonal, temperatures warm year-round; scattered trees
Equatorial and subequatorial regions
Temperate Grassland
Precipitation highly seasonal; winters cold, summers hot; dominated by grasses and forms
The veldts of South Africa, the puszta of Hungary, the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the steppes of Russia, and the plains and prairies of central North America ar
Chaparral
Precipitation highly seasonal, cool except for summer; dominated by shrubs and small trees
This biome occurs in midlatitude costal regions on several continents
Coniferous Forest
Winters cold and long; dominated by cone-bearing trees
Largest terrestrial biome
Extending in a broad band across northern North America and Eurasia to the edge of the arctic tundra
Tundra
High wind and cold temperatures, summers short with cool temperatures; lichens, mosses, grasses and forms
Tundra covers expansive areas of the Arctic, amounting to 20% of Earth's land surface. High winds and low temperatures produce similar plant communit