Weather, Humidity, Evolution & Biodiversity Explained

Atmospheric Pressure and Isobars

Isobars: Lines or curves join points with the same pressure. They are represented every 4 mb.

Anticyclones: Areas with higher atmospheric pressure.

Tempests (storms): Areas of below-atmospheric pressure.

Air moves from high-pressure areas to low-pressure areas.

Moisture

• Absolute humidity: The amount of water vapor present in a given volume of air; measured in g/cm³.
• Relative humidity: The ratio between the amount of water vapor that a volume of air contains and the maximum amount that the same volume can contain at the same temperature.
• Dew point: The temperature at which water vapor in air begins to condense.

Weather Forecast

Gale

Gale: In low atmospheric pressure, inward winds carry moisture to form clouds and precipitation will occur.

Anticyclone

Anticyclone: Barometric pressure is high; the wind flows outward. There will be no clouds and sunshine is expected.

Storms tend to move from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean.

Living Unit

Fixism

Fixism: This doctrine convinced naturalists that species have remained as we know them now.

Lamarckian Theory

Lamarckian theory: A vital impulse leads organisms to greater complexity and perceived perfection. Function creates the organ: continued use develops it, while disuse leads to degeneration. The characteristics of an individual are transferred to its descendants.

Darwinian Theory

Darwinian theory: Organisms produce more descendants than can survive. Environmental resources are limited and cannot support indefinite population growth. No two individuals are exactly the same; they differ in traits such as disease resistance. Individuals compete for survival, and those with the most favorable variations will have more descendants.

Classification of Living Things

Devised by Linnaeus: kingdom, phylum (type), class, order, family, genus and species.

Animals

Animals: Multicellular, eukaryotic organisms with specialized cells, heterotrophic nutrition, high sensitivity and mobility. They are classified as invertebrates and vertebrates (vertebrates: mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, amphibians).

Plants

Plants: Multicellular, eukaryotic organisms with autotrophic nutrition. They have limited displacement capacity but cannot perform locomotion.

Fungi

Fungi: Multicellular or unicellular organisms with heterotrophic nutrition and eukaryotic cells. The body is formed by filamentous hyphae. Fungi are classified as mushrooms, molds and yeasts.

Biodiversity in Danger

The growing impact of human activities causes biodiversity loss. For the scientific community, the loss of mammals, birds and other creatures is very important, but even more worrying is the loss of thousands of species of plants, insects and fungi. It is difficult to quantify the pace, although some authors assume that by 2025 many species known today could disappear.