NAME __________________________________________________
CH. 3 COMMUNITIES, BIOMES AND ECOSYSTEMS STUDY GUIDE ANSWER KEY
TOPIC: PRIMARY & SECONDARY SUCCESSION
1. Name the pioneer species that begins primary succession on a rocky area? A: LICHEN
2. Name the event most likely to start primary succession? A: VOLCANIC ERUPTION
3. Explain why secondary succession generally occurs faster in an area than primary succession? A: BECAUSE THE SOIL
IF ALREADY PRESENT
4. What type of succession is most likely to occur after a burned forest or a flood? A: SECONDARY SUCCESSION
5. Write the correct sequence in the primary succession of species colonizing a newly formed volcanic island. A: BARE
ROCKS, LICHEN, ANNUAL PLANTS, PERENNIAL PLANTS & GRASSES, SCHRUBS, SHADE-INTOLERANT TREES (SOFT
WOOD), SHADE-TOLERANT TREES (HARDWOODS)
A
B
C
6. At which stage in the figure above are the most pioneer species found? Stage A, B, C or D? A: B
TOPIC: DEFINITIONS
1. What is the definition of a biological community?
2. What is the definition of secondary succession?
3. What is the zone of tolerance?
4. Describe limiting factors.
5. What is the definition of a biological community?
D
6. What is the definition of weather?
TOPIC: BIOMES –USE THE FOLLOWING GRAPH TO ANSWER SOME OF THE BIOME QUESTIONS
1. What determines whether a zone is photic or aphotic? A: DEPTH OF WATER
2. Name the terrestrial biome that has the greatest biodiversity. A: TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
3. Describe the unique properties for the tundra biome. A: PERMANENTLY FROZEN SOIL CALLED PERMAFROST,
TREELESS
4. The precipitation on a tropical savanna increased from 100 to 200 centimeters per year but temperature
remained the same, what biome would replace the savanna? A: TROPICAL SEASONAL FOREST
5. Name the biome that has a forest with broad-leaf evergreen trees, mosses, and orchids, 20-25°C temperatures,
and where the ˃300 cm of rainfall per year. A: TROPICAL RAIN FOREST
6. State the reason why trees cannot take root in the tundra. A: PERMAFROST PREVENTS TREES FROM TAKING
ROOT
7. Describe a boreal forest. A: AREA SOUTH OF THE TUNDRA, DOMINATE SPECIES IS THE PINE
8. Describe a desert. A: AREA WHERE RATE OF EVAPORATION EXCEEDS THE RATE OF PRECIPITATION, CACTI
9. Describe a temperate forest. A: AREA DOMINANTE BY OAK, MAPLE, HICKORY, & BEECH TREES
10. Describe a tropical savanna. A: MOSTLY GRASSES & SEE ELEPHANTS, GIRAFFES, ZEBRAS, FOUND IN AFRICA
11. Describe a tropical rain forest. A: GREATEST VARIETY OF SPECIES, ORCHIDS, HUGE AMOUNTS OF PRECIPITATION
12. Look at the graph above and identify the biome that gets an average precipitation of ˂100 cm. of precipitation
and a temperature span of -5° - 30°C.
13. Explain why the temperate grassland biomes have been destroyed by human activities and name those
activities. A: VERY FERTILE SOILS, EASY TO BUILD ON BECAUSE NOT MUCH NEEDS TO BE REMOVED. EX:
FARMLANDS
14. State the optimal range of tolerance for the brook trout? A: ABOUT 13-18 DEGREES C.
15. State the range of tolerance where the brook trout are the least active? A: EITHER 10 DEGREES C OR 20
DEGREES C
TOPIC: CLIMATE & WEATHER
1. What single feature is primarily responsible for the variation of climate in different parts of the world?
A: LATITUDE
2. The climates of Earth’s tropical, temperate, and polar zones are primarily determined by what?
A: LATITUDE
3. What is the definition of weather?
4. Identify several factors that determine the climate of a region? A: ELEVATION, CONTINENTAL LANDMASSES,
OCEAN CURRENTS
5. Compare and contrast weather and climate. A: WEATHER IS HAPPENING RIGHT NOW IN THIS ONE PLACE & IS
ALWAYS CHANGING. CLIMATE IS THE AVERAGE OF ALL THOSE DAYS OF WEATHER FOR TEMPERATURE,
PRECIPITATION, HUMIDITY, ETC.
6. Explain why there is a climatic difference between the cities of Fairbanks, Alaska and Honolulu, Hawaii.
A: LATITUDE WHICH ALLOWS HAWAII NEAR THE EQUATOR TO HAVE MUCH MORE DIRECT SUNLIGHT KEEPING
IT WARMER VERSUS ALASKA WHICH GETS MUCH LESS DIRECT SUNLIGHT WHICH CAUSES IT TO BE MUCH
COLDER.