Ecology

• Primary succession occurs after a large disturbance or on substrate that has not supported life
• Primary succession begins with the establishment of a pioneer species
• Secondary succession occurs on terrain that has previously supported life
• Secondary succession begins with the establishment of grass and shrubs
• Chaparrals are characterized by mild winters and hot, dry summers. They have scattered vegetation and experience droughts and fires
• Taigas are characterized by cold winters with snow, and warm, rainy summers
• The largest terrestrial biome is the taiga
• Tundras are characterized by cold temperatures and little precipitation
• The layers of the ocean are the euphotic zone, diphotic zone, and aphotic zone
• The littoral zone is the part of the euphotic zone where sunlight penetrates all the way
• All animalia are protostomes except echinodermata and chordata, which are deuterostomes
• All animalia exhibit bilateral symmetry except for cnidaria and echinodermata, which exhibit radial symmetry
• Porifera do not exhibit symmetry at all
• Taigas are also known as coniferous forests