Biology 3
Santa Monica Mountains Field Trip Worksheet
Dr. Mary Colavito
Complete this worksheet as an aid to studying for the Final Exam.
1. Southern California has a “Mediterranean Climate”.
a. Describe the major features of this climate.
b. Name three other areas of the world that have a “Mediterranean climate”.
2. The dominant type of vegetation in a Mediterranean climate is usually
Chaparral or something similar. Describe two ways that Chaparral plants
are adapted to a “Mediterranean climate”.
a. Name two dominant plant species that are found in the true Chaparral.
b. Name two dominant plant species that are found in the Coastal Sage Scrub (Soft
Chaparral).
c.
What are some differences between the True Chaparral and Coastal Sage
Scrub?
3. What are some differences between a North-facing slope and a Southfacing slope in the Santa Monica Mountains? Why are those differences
present?
4. Fire plays an integral role in the life of the Chaparral Ecosystem.
Describe two important ways in which Chaparral plants may recover
after a fire.
5. What is the voice of the Chaparral? Describe its vocalization.
6. Name two dominant plants found the Oak Woodland.
7. Name two dominant plants found in the “Streamside Woodland”.
8. What two tree frog species are found in the Streamside Woodland
environment? Describe their vocalizations.
9. Which types of birds find the Oak Woodland or Streamside Woodland to
be particularly important nesting habitats?
10. Name three types of symbiosis. Give an example of each kind of
symbiosis from what you learned and observed in the Santa Monica
Mountains.