23 Terms
Contributors in Ecology
Ecology
Contact metamorphism
Biology; Ecology
Alteration of rock by localised high temperatures and fluids circulating near a cooling mass of extrusive igneous rock (a pluton).
Philtre feeder
Biology; Ecology
An organism that screens its food from water. Baleen whales do this by forcing seawater past the baleen plates they use instead of teeth.
Geostrophic winds
Biology; Ecology
Global winds; they blow above 1,000 metres up and are driven more by pressure/temperature factors than by surface features or conditions.
Throwaway mentality
Biology; Ecology
The belief that we can use up resources, throw away the remains, and move on to fresh ones. It is a holdover of the frontiersman mindset.
Eurybathic
Biology; Ecology
Able to tolerate different depths in water (like a sperm whale, which can ride on the surface or dive deeply). Contrast with Stenobathic.
Rain shadow
Biology; Ecology
A rainless region on the lee side of a mountain. Clouds have often been drained of rainwater by the time they reach it over the mountain.
