BIOLOGY 2F03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 5: Torpor, Aestivation, Monarch Butterfly
15 Sep 2017
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5. 1 microclimates macroclimate interacts with the local landscape to produce micro- climatic variation in temperature. By the sun"s uneven heating of the earth"s surface and earth"s permanent tilt on its axis. By the interaction between the macroclimate and the local landscape (mainly albedo, altitude, aspect, vegetation, colour of the ground, and small scale structural features ex. boulders and bur- rows) Microclimate is an imp aspect of environmental variation. Cover and colour affect microclimate through their effects on the local albedo (the reflectivity of the landscape). White objects reflect all visible colours = high albedo; black objects absorb all visible colours = low albedo. Vegetation is usually green, so it absorbs some colours and reflects others = an albedo btw black and white aquatic temps: Show less temp variation than terrestrial env. By reflecting most visible light, snow creates a much cooler microclimate than nearby bare ground.
