Prelecture worksheet Chapter 50.
Name: ________KEY____________________
1. Define ecology
study of distribution of organisms and their interactions with their environment
2. List the subfields of ecology and provide an example of a question (OTHER THAN THOSE IN THE
BOOK) that might be asked in those subfields
Organismal ecology – what is the nesting behavior of Bald Eagles
Population ecology- what are the dispersal patterns of juvenile American crows?
Community ecology – how do different predators avoid competition in the same habitat
Ecosystem ecology – how does carbon flow in stream systems in the Pacific NW.
Landscape ecology – how do roads disrupt animal migrations?
3. List the factors that might limit a species geographic distribution
biogeographic realms, geographic barriers, behavior, other species, temperature, water, sunlight, wind,
rocks and soil, climate patterns,
4. List four global climate patterns that shape earth’s ecosystems.
Latitudinal variation in sunlight intensity
Seasonal variation in sunlight intensity
Global air circulation and precipitation patterns
Global wind patterns.
5. Circle the appropriate terms
Warm wet air rises / falls at the equator and flows towards / away from the equator. Rising air loses /
gains moisture. High altitude air masses descend / ascend towards earth absorbing / releasing moisture from
the land resulting in deserts areas.
6. Define thermocline
a thermocline is a thin vertical layer in the atmosphere or in a body of water that delineates a rapid
temperature change.
7. Match the aquatic zone to the description
A. pelagic
B. Benthic
C. photic
D. Abyssal
C. littoral
_______1. Zone with highest rate of photosynthesis
_______2. deepest regions of ocean floor
_______3. zone with little or no photosynthesis
_______4. shallow, well lighted water close to shore
_______5. zone with richest amounts of organic sediments
8. Where in Washington state would you expect to find oligotrophic lakes? _high mountain lakes__
9. Where in Washington State would you expect to find eutrophic lakes? ___SEATTLE!______