BIOL 134: Tropical Nature Exam | Questions and
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Chapter 1: In the Realm of the Tropics The tropics are characterized by distinct climactic
features. There is little seasonal change in
temperature. Days and nights are about the same
length throughout the year. The intensity of tropical
sunlight is related to the tilt of the Earth. In the
tropics, the beam of sunlight strikes the Earth
perpendicularly and the same amount of energy is
focused on a correspondingly smaller area. In the
tropics, the uniformity of daylength means that
there are no opportunities for heat to build up or
be lost. Winds and ocean currents on a rotating,
tilted Earth help explain major patterns of rainfall.
The trade winds pick up moisture as they flow
across the ocean. Warm air can hold more moisture
than cool air. If the dry season is long enough and
dry enough, trees shed leaves to reduce water loss.
, Chapter 2: Fertility The tropical lowland is what some ecologists
would call a mature ecosystem; it has reached a
steady state in which the products of growth, upon
dying, are quickly transmuted and transported back
to the world of the living.The root systems of the
massive forest giants are bound together with
lowly fungi in complex, mutually beneficial
relationships. In these relationships, known as
mycorrhizal associations, each member of the
association specializes in the production and
uptake of different nutrients: the photosynthetic
trees provide important sources of energy and the
non-photosynthetic fungi provide certain critical
minerals. Animals also contribute to the rapid
recycling of nutrients. With the aid of protozoan
symbionts that dwell in their guts, termites devour
raw cellulose in its crudest form. The waste
products of litter animals are rich in nutrients and in
a form easily used by plants and fungi. It is in the
trees that the nutrient wealth of the rain forest
resides. The ultimate concentration of nutrients
available to foliage feeders is found in the sloth.
The sloth acts as a recycling gardener by feeding
its tree crops with with its own wastes.
Answers | Verified Solutions | 2026 Edition | Pass
Guaranteed
Save
Terms in this set (16)
Chapter 1: In the Realm of the Tropics The tropics are characterized by distinct climactic
features. There is little seasonal change in
temperature. Days and nights are about the same
length throughout the year. The intensity of tropical
sunlight is related to the tilt of the Earth. In the
tropics, the beam of sunlight strikes the Earth
perpendicularly and the same amount of energy is
focused on a correspondingly smaller area. In the
tropics, the uniformity of daylength means that
there are no opportunities for heat to build up or
be lost. Winds and ocean currents on a rotating,
tilted Earth help explain major patterns of rainfall.
The trade winds pick up moisture as they flow
across the ocean. Warm air can hold more moisture
than cool air. If the dry season is long enough and
dry enough, trees shed leaves to reduce water loss.
, Chapter 2: Fertility The tropical lowland is what some ecologists
would call a mature ecosystem; it has reached a
steady state in which the products of growth, upon
dying, are quickly transmuted and transported back
to the world of the living.The root systems of the
massive forest giants are bound together with
lowly fungi in complex, mutually beneficial
relationships. In these relationships, known as
mycorrhizal associations, each member of the
association specializes in the production and
uptake of different nutrients: the photosynthetic
trees provide important sources of energy and the
non-photosynthetic fungi provide certain critical
minerals. Animals also contribute to the rapid
recycling of nutrients. With the aid of protozoan
symbionts that dwell in their guts, termites devour
raw cellulose in its crudest form. The waste
products of litter animals are rich in nutrients and in
a form easily used by plants and fungi. It is in the
trees that the nutrient wealth of the rain forest
resides. The ultimate concentration of nutrients
available to foliage feeders is found in the sloth.
The sloth acts as a recycling gardener by feeding
its tree crops with with its own wastes.
