biology ch 50

the study of how organisms interact with their environment

• organisms
• populations
• communities
• ecosystems

exporing the morphological, physiological, and behavioral adaptations that allow individuals to live successfully in a particular area

a group of individuals of the same species that live in the same area at the same time

focus on how the numbers of individuals in a population change over time

consists of the species that interacct with each other within a particular area

ask questions about the nature of the interaction between species and the consequences of those interaction

consists of all the organisms in a particular region along with nonliving components

non living components (air, water, soil)

study how nutrients and energy move among organisms and between organisms and the surrounding atmosphere and soil or water

the effort to study, preserve, and restore threatened populations, communities, and ecosystems

living components (organism and other species)

the total amoung of carbon fixed by photosynthesis per unit area per year

shallow waters along the shore

offshore and comprises water that receives enough light to support photosynthesis

made up of the substrate

regions of the littoral, limnetic, and bethnic zones that receive sunlight

portions of a lake or pond that do not receive sunlight

a gradient in temperature

• shallow water habitats where the soil is saturated with water for part of the year
• bogs, marshes, swamps

• bodies of water that move constantly in one direction
• oxygen levels tend to be high in fast moving streams
• cold water holds more oxygen than warm water

• form where rivers meet the ocean
• freshwater mixes with salt water
• most productive environment on earth

continuous body of salt water and are remarkable uniforn in chemical composition

between tides

extends from intertidal zone to depths of about 200m

the gently sloping submerged portion of a continental plate

the open ocean o deepwater region beyond continental shelf

bottom of the ocean

intertidal and sunlit regions of the neritic and oceanic and bethnic zones

areas that do not receive sunlight

major groupings of plant and animal communities defined by a dominant vegetation type

the prevailing long term weather conditions found in an area

consists of the specific short term atmospheric conditions of temperature, moisture, sunlights, and wind

net primary productivity o the total amount of carbon that is fixed per year minus the amount of fixed carbon oxidized during cellular respiration

the total mass of living plants

the uppermost layer of branches

plants that grow entirely on other plants

pronounced annual fluctutions in temperature

biom that lies poleward from the subarctic

perennially frozen state

a major cycle in global air circulation

the study of how organisms are distributed geographically

geographic distribution of species

the movement of an individual from the place of its birth