studies climate due to the position of the earth relative to the sun:

where climatetogether with topography and soils determines vegetation type:

are mounds or ridges of sand deposited by wind. Sand dunes are the most significant landtorms created by wind.

Hummocks ot various sizes develop along the coast trom strong on-shore winds. Inland part is generallyc o v e r e d with vegetation.

This theory supposes that differential displacements within the earth's crust create elastic strains greater than the rock can endure.

It is calculated from amplitude measurements, expressed in decimal numbers on a logarithmic scale. • the most commonly used scale is the Richter (M) scale.

It describes the degree or shaking at a specified place. • Most widely used scale is the modifiedMercalli scale (MM)

Is a tracture along which differential movement of rocks has occurred.

refers to slow differential slippage of two sides of thefault.

refers to the vibration of the ground occurring during an earthquake. The frequency and amplitude of the vibrations produced on the surface depend upon the amount o mechanical energy released on the focus, the distance to and the depth of thefocus, and the structural properties of the soil and bedrock of the site.

a physical process which causes three damaging types of ground failure:

- OcCurS when liquetled soil or blocks of intact material are transported on a layer of liquefied soil. - the most catastrophic type of ground failurec a u s e d by liquefaction. - flows may be very large (1.6s q km), may move distances at great velocities reaching several kph.

It is the bottom of the ocean

A region of freshwater that is shallow and close to the shore

It is the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen to ammonia

Amount of biomass produced over some interval of time

1 Ecosystem ecologists have simplified the trophic structure of ecosystems by arranging species into trophic levels based on the predominant source of their feeding 2 Trophic level is the position in a food pyramid and is determined by the number of transfers of energy from primary producers to that level

It is the result of compressing a community food web into a series of trophic levels

1 Highest rates of terrestrial primary production generally occur under cool, moist conditons 2 AET Actual Evapotranspiration is the total amount of water that evaporates and transpires off a landscape during a year and measured in millimeters of water per year

– Influence of consumers on ecosystems are known as

1 As energy is transferred from one trophic level to another, energy is increased due to limited assimilation, respiration by consumers and heat production 2 Due to the losses, the quantity of energy in an ecosystem decreases with each successive trophic level, forming a pyramid-shaped distribution of energy among trophic levels

1 When energy is changed from one form to another, some is degraded in the form of heat. 2 This law of thermodynamics is true for all physical-chemical systems, including living ones

1 Ecosystem changes during succession include increases in biomass, primary production, respiration, and nutrient retention 2 Community stability may be due to disturbance or community resistance or resilience in the face of disturbance

occurs in areas where disturbance destroys a community without destroying the soil

late successional community whose populations remain stable until disrupted by disturbance

Commensalism is the relationship between two organisms whereby...

Plants require nutrients, what class of nutrients are referred to has ‘macronutrients’?

What does the term ‘food chain’ in ecology mean?

Which of the following factors has no effect on plant growth?

When do ecologists consider a species to be extinct?When do ecologists consider a species to be extinct?

What is a climax plant community?

Which statement is TRUE about eutophic water bodies?

What does the term ‘Net Primary Production’ mean, as applied in ecology?

What is the role of plant litter in nutrient cycling?

11. Species diversity of an area refers to ...

An animal that displays territorial behaviour means that .....

This is the orderly process of one plant community gradually or rapidly replacing another

This is the management of natural resources aimed at restoration and maintenance of balance between human demands and requirements of other species.

This is south of the tundra and is dominated conifers. It is also referred to as boreal forest. It is a huge evergreen in Northern America and Northern Europe. Dominate plants consist of spruce, fir and pine

This is biome consists of a coniferous forest that occurs in the mid latitudes where annual precipitation is high, cool weather and dense fog.

Here summers are hot, winters are pronounced and annual precipitation is 750-1250mm. It is dominated by a dense canopy of broad leaved trees with an undergrowth of saplings and shrubs.

This biome occurs in the mid latitudes where precipitation is moderate. The dominant vegetation is grasses. This is also referred to as prairie in North America, steppe in Eurasia and veld in south Africa

This biome occurs on temperate environments with plenty of rainfall combined with mild winters and dry summers. This typically called the Mediterranean climate but also occurs in other parts of the world. It is characterised by thickets of evergreen shrubs and small trees.

This biome occurs where there is very little rainfall. _________ occur in all the continents mostly along the Tropic of Capricon and the Tropic of Cancer. The worlds largest is the Sahara while the Atcama in Chile is the driest.

This tropical grassland with scattered trees. Africa has the world’s largest _________ but is also found in South America, Australia and India. The African ___________ is rich wildlife and is largely used by pastoralists.

This biome occurs where the temperatures are warm throu- ghout the year and precipitation is high and uniformly distributed. The soils are nutrient poor and most trees are evergreen flowering plants.

These are associated with the climate high up on mountains. As we shall see in unit 3.0 the climate here is challenging to plant life as result of low temperatures, high incoming shortwave radiation among other factors. They occur on in New Guinea and East Africa, paramo in South America, , steppes of the Tibetan plateaus and other similar subalpine habitats around the world.

_____________are aerial plants for example trees, shrubs and lianas with the perennating organs (buds) >25cm above the ground. _____________are small or dwarf shrubs, herbs, mosses or ferns with the perennating bud 0-25cm from the ground

is the process that leads to adaptation of a population to its environment, the modern concept emphasizes differential reproduction rather than survival

1 Diversing (Disruptive)selection Takes place when the extremes of phenotypic differences are favoured relative to intermediate phenotypes. 2 Stabilizing selection This is common when there is environmental change taking place. This type natural selection favours phenotypes at one extreme over the other and results in the distribution curve of phenotypes shifting in that direction

is the sum total of gene1c informa1on contained in the genes of individual organisms

has low temperature, intense short radiation and drought conditions are the main challenges. Plants have adapted by having shiny leaf surfaces, pubescence, leaf rosettes etc.

argued that whether a species increased or decreased in succession was not dependent on other species but on its environmental requirements, this is known as the indivi- dualistic view of community development

Which of the following is the definition of ecology

These are the living factors in an ecosystem

These are the nonliving factors in an ecosystem

Often defined as the “average weather” or the weather for long periods of time

Species that is not only native to a geographic area but also restricted to that same habitat

Meaning of E.N.S.O.

A group with a single species, the individuals of which can and freely interbreed

Ability of a system to survive for some specified time; environmentally sound economic growth balanced over a period of time.

The term “landscape ecology” is credited to

It refers to an event that causes a significant change from the normal pattern in an ecological system.

The natural science that studies the earth – its composition, the processes that shaped its surface and its history:

The branch of science that deals with the origin of nature and distribution of landforms

The study of places and the relationships between people and their environments.

Earth is made up of rocks including soil, sand, silt, and dust; rocks are composed of minerals; minerals are made up of atom.

The ecosystem as the basic functional unit of ecology, involves:

In 1935, the term ecosystem was first proposed by:

A periodic departure in a one way outward move

In the early 1700s, Antoni Van Leeuwenhoek pioneered the study of _________ and _____________.

The definition of ecosystem includes all except o

All the living organisms of earth interacting with the physical environment as a whole

Raymond Lindeman and G. Evelyn Hutchinson studied the

Frederick E. Clements and Victor E. Shelford pioneered the study of ___________.

English botanist Richard Bradley studi

. All the populations inhabiting a specific area at the same time.

Smallest homogeneous unit visible at the spatial scale of a landscape.

___________ are transitions from one type of ecosystem to another.

The smallest ecological distinct unit in mapping and classification of landscape; relatively homogeneous, they are spatially explicit landscape units used to stratify landscape into ecologically distinct features

______________ is climatic variation on a scale of a few kilometers, meters, or even centimeters, usually measured over short periods of time

A dormant state that some animals enter during the summer; involves a reduction of metabolic rate.

Transport of material due to the random movement of particles.

The water released during cellular respiration is called

PAR is wavelengths of light between 400 and 700 nm that photosynthetic organisms use as a source of energy. PAR stands for:

_______________ are prokaryotes distinguished from bacteria on the basis of structural, physiological, and other biological features

How do ecologists quantify PAR?

Movement of an organism away from light

Movement of an organism toward light

Which of the following statements about ecology is incorrect?

Which of the following levels of organization is arranged in the correct sequence from most to least inclusive?

Ecology as a discipline directly deals with all of the following levels of biological organization except

Which of the following are important biotic factors that can affect the structure and organization of biological communities?

The main reason polar regions are cooler than the equator is because

Anything that absorbs more Carbon than it releases?

Anything that releases more Carbon than they absorb?

A body of impenetrable rock or sediment saturated with groundwater.

A process included in the water cycle where water moves within the soil?

A process of vegetation interrupting the fall of precipitation onto the soil surface. This reduces raindrop impact which reduces the detachment of soil particles

In the nitrogen cycle, the process by which nitrogen in converted to nitrate and ammonium forms. This could take place during lighting and can be done by mircoorganisms (Nitrogen fixing bacteria)