BIOLOGY 1B Chapter Notes - Chapter 52: Secondary Succession, Photic Zone, Camouflage
Document Summary
The most significant influence on the distribution of organisms on land and in the oceans is climate, the long-term prevailing weather conditions in a given area. Macroclimate describes patterns on the global, regional and landscape level. Global climate patterns are determined largely by the input of solar energy and earth"s movement in space. Changing angle of the sun affects local environments. Ocean currents influence climate along the coats. Due to the high specific heat of water ocean and large lakes tend to moderate the climate of nearby land. Mountains influence air flow over land and affect the amount of sunlight. Microclimate describes very fine, localized patterns reaching an area. Many features in the environment influence the microclimate by casting shade, altering evaporation from soil, or changing wind patterns. Biomes are major life zone characterized by vegetation type or by the physical environment. A climograph is the plot of the annual mean temperature and precipitation in a region.
