Extreme Habitats, Estuaries and Freshwater Wetlands,Dynamic Habitats: Sandy Beach and Coastal Dunes

Question 1 Extreme Habitats
Compare and contrast the biotic and abiotic characteristics of a chemically extreme aquatic habitat like Mono Lake and an
extreme cold aquatic habitat such as the Antarctic Ocean. Include in your answers abundance and biodiversity, interrelations of
the organisms in such habitats, and adaptations for survival and reproductive success.
Question 2: Estuaries and Freshwater Wetlands
Compare and contrast estuarine and freshwater vernal wetlands, the first influenced by tides, the second influenced by periodic
drying. Include in your answer:
a. a comparison of the estuarine and freshwater vernal habitats
b. the influence of tides and drying on the inhabitants and their life cycles
c. the special adaptations of organisms which live in these two communities
d. a description of “community” in relation to aquatic habitats with distinct geographic boundaries (shorelines)
Question 3: Dynamic Habitats: Sandy Beach and Coastal Dunes
Describe these two sandy habitats, sandy beach and coastal dunes. Include in your answer:
a. how the two habitats differ from one another and what food sources are available to the inhabitants (that is, what foods
are at the base of the trophic pyramids of these communities)
b. the influence of shifting sands on the inhabitants of these two habitats and the adaptations of inhabitants to these
conditions
c. the life histories of the plants and animals which live in these unstable habitats.
Question 4: Long, Dry Summers; Short, Mild Winters (25 points)
Describe the characteristics of chaparral plants that adapt them to long, dry summers and short, mild winters. Include in your
answer:
a. the worldwide distribution of chaparral habitats and describe why they occur where they do
b. the influence of fire on the chaparral and adaptations of organisms to a “fire ecology”
c. the specific adaptations of the leaves of Bigpod Ceanothus (Ceanothus megacarpus) for water conservation