 | Term | Definition |
| |
Natural selection |
Organism that fits the environment best survive and reproduce at a greater rate than organisms that do not fit the environment. |
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Tundra |
mosses, lichens, grasses. northernmost areas of North America, Asia, Europe |
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Rainforest |
200 to 400 cm of rain per year. South Americas, Southeast Asia, Africa, Central America. temps remain constant around 25 C throughout year. |
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Taiga |
North America, Sweden, Norway. coniferous forest (fir, pine, spruce) |
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Grassland |
many continents, grasses and small leafy plants. hot summers, cold winters. |
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Temperate Deciduous |
US, Southern Canada, most of Europe, Japan, China, Australia. Forests of oak, maple, beech, birch. shed leaves in autumn, humus floor. trees grow quickly in spring. |
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Desert |
Central American, Africa, Middle East, North America, Australia. less than 25 cm of rain a year, cold at night, hot in day. cacti. |
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Intertidal zone |
most difficult to live in, in all beaches. sunlight and water. |
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Neretic zone |
Coral reef, seaweed, extends from low tide to the edge of the open sea. |
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Open sea zone |
phytoplanton make up 80 to 90 % of photosynthetic activity. dolphins, whales, sharks, not many nutrients, closer to shore is more fish, but affected by pollution. |
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Deep sea zone |
high pressure, total darkness, cold temps. |
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Climax Community |
fairly stable collection of organisms (plants and animals) that result from ecological succession |
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Community |
organisms that live together in an environment |
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Abiotic factors |
Physical features |
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Biotic factors |
Living organisms |
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Estuaries |
found at the boundary between fresh and salt water |
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Ecosystems |
physical features and living organisms |
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Ecological succession |
gradual change in living communities that follow a disturbance |
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Biome |
group of ecosystems that has a characteristic climax community |
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Biosphere |
the part of the Earth in which life exists. |
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Ecology |
scientific study of interactions among organisms and between organisms and their environment |
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analogous structure |
fin of a shark/fin of a dolphin |
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homologous structure |
the wing of a bird/arm of a man |
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variations |
different features in organisms of the same species caused by mutations |
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convergent evolution |
unrelated organism living in similar environments evolve similar structures |
| |
divergent evolution |
populations of species that were once similar become isolated and become increasingly different over time |
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