Ecology and the Biosphere Crossword Puzzle

QUESTIONS LIST:

• canopy : the uppermost layer of vegetation in terrestrial biome.
• thermocline : a narrow stratum of rapid temperature change in the ocean and lakes.
• tundra : a terrestrial biome at the extreme limits of plant growth.
• disturbance : a natural or human-caused event that changes a biological community and usually removes organisms from it.
• wetland : a habitat that is inundated by water that supports plants adapted to water-saturated soil.
• biomes : classified according to the vegetation and characterized by the organisms to that particular environment.
• coral reefs : the tropical ecosystems created by the hard skeletal structures secreted primarily by cnidarians.
• ecosystem : all the organisms in a given area as well as the abiotic factors with which they interact.
• population : a localized group of individuals of the same species that can interbreed.
• estuary : the area where a freshwater stream or river merges with the ocean.
• biotic : pertaining to the living organisms in the environment.
• benthic zone : the bottom surface of an aquatic environment.
• abiotic : nonliving matter.
• tropics : latitudes between 23.5° north and south.
• eco tone : the transition from one type of habitat or ecosystem to another.
• permafrost : a permanently frozen soil layer.
• photic zone : the narrow top layer of an ocean or lake, where light penetrates sufficiently for photosynthesis to occur.
• detritus : dead organic matter.
• ecology : the study of how organisms interact with each other and their environment.
• deserts : terrestrial biomes characterized by very low precipitation.
• savanna : a tropical grassland biome with scattered individual trees and large herbivores, maintained by occasional fires and drought.
• turnover : the mixing of waters as a result of changing water temperature profiles in a lake.
• climograph : a plot of the temperature and precipitation in a particular region.
• climate : the long-term prevailing weather conditions.