Ecology - From Individuals to Ecosystems - Admission/Application Essay Example

Ecology - From Individuals to EcosystemsQuestion 1: This can be seen to be where the sun heats the entire Earth, and because there is an uneven distribution of heat across the Earth's surface, the equatorial and tropical regions receive more energy from the sun than the mid-latitudes and Polar Regions. The Sun's rays hit the equator at a direct angle between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. The closest point depends on the exact time of the year (Begon et al, 2006). Everywhere else, the Sun's rays hit at an angle to the surface and are therefore less intense.

The presence of mountains or hills forces the air carrying the water vapors to rise and form clouds in the colder regions of the sky causing the vapors being carried in these clouds to condense in the form of rain. When the air comes up, its temperature plummets and as a result, meets with colder air, and condenses to form rain droplets which then fall to the earth as rain. It's warmer at the tropics as the sun`s energy has less atmosphere to get through. The further you move from the equator, the greater the angle the sunlight hits the atmosphere at, thus making it travel a longer distance and consequently loses more energy.

Question 2: The division of the earth that gets the most unswerving sunbeams at any prearranged point is called the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). This zone gets direct sunlight which causes air to become unstable and rise, resulting in its pressure dropping. The low pressure subsequently causes air to rise and as it rises it cools and condenses into clouds rapidly forming precipitation and thus the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is responsible for the wet season in the tropicsThe Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone is always in an area where the sun is overhead or nearly overhead, which would be in the summertime in the tropics (Begon et al, 2006).

In areas of the tropics where the sun is not directly overhead are areas of high pressure which are not conducive to cloud production or precipitation. These regions are both to the north and south of the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone and are called the doldrums. They move seasonally parallel alongside the Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone. The Doldrums are accountable for the dry period in the tropics. The tropical wet and dry forests are on either side of the rain forests along the equator and savannahs in the Northern hemisphere are to the north of the wet and dry forests, and in the southern hemisphere to the south of the wet and dry forests.

This is because the wet and dry forests spend more time in the ITCZ than savannahs (Begon et al, 2006). Works CitedBegon, M.,Townsend, C.R.,Harper J.L. (2006). Ecology: from individuals to ecosystems. New York: John Wiley & Sons.