After reading the paragraph below, answer the questions that follow. As fungi play important roles in ecosystem processes as decomposers and symbiont partners, scientists are interested in understanding how global climate change may affect fungal diversity. In 2007-2008, scientists visited the maritime Antarctic, an area of the Southern Hemisphere that is noted to be warming the fastest, to conduct a survey of fungal diversity along a climatic gradient (the most prevalent weather conditions of a region along an incline). Twenty-nine soil samples were taken along the gradient. Fungal diversity was measured in operational taxonomic units (OTUs); one OTU = one cluster, or group, of organisms. Here is a portion of the data collected:Source: Newsham, K. K., Hopkins, D. W., Carvalhais, L. C., Fretwell, P. T., Rushton, S. P., O'Donnell, A. G., & Dennis, P. G. (n. d.). Relationship between soil fungal diversity and temperature in the maritime Antarctic. Nature Climate Change, 6, 182-186.In this frigid Antarctic region, there is a thin soil layer that defrosts during the year. However, the rest of the soil in the region, called permafrost, stays frozen. Which of the following characteristics would best help plants to survive in this soil-poor climate?a. evascular tissue system that allows for faster transport of nutrientsb. flowers with reduced carpels that allow for development of small ovariesc. shallow root systems that can grow in the active layer of soil and avoid the permafrostd. thin seed coat layers that will break if water from the permafrost becomes available for use

Neurotransmitters are messengers responsible for communication between neurons. they are released from synaptic vesicles and are received by receptors.  the communication is referred to as neurotransmission. the following statement is true about neurotransmitters: a. they're stored in synaptic vesicles in the axon.

Environmental science studies the interactions between the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment, including their effects on all types of organisms. earth science (also known as geoscience), is an inclusive term for all sciences related to earth (geology, meteorology, oceanogr maphy, etc).  although environmental and earth science cover essentially the same material, environmental science places greater emphasis on the biological realm, while earth science places greater emphasis on the physical realm.    environmental and earth science study the interactions of four major systems or “spheres” (figure 8.6).  the  geosphere  consists of the core, mantle and crust of the earth.the  atmosphere  contains all of the earth’s air and is divided into troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere and ionosphere.the  hydrosphere  contains all of the solid, liquid and gaseous water on earth, extending from the depths of the sea to the upper reaches of the troposphere where water is found.  ninety-seven percent of the hydrosphere is found in salty oceans, and the remainder is found as vapor or droplets in the atmosphere and as liquid in ground water, lakes, rivers, glaciers and snowfields.  the  biosphere  is the collection of all earth’s life forms, distributed in major life zones known as biomes:   tundra, boreal forest, temperate deciduous forest, temperate grassland, desert, savannah, tropical rainforest, chaparral, freshwater, and marine.although the four systems have their unique identities, there is substantial interaction between them.  environmental scientists study the effects of events in one sphere on the other spheres. for example, a volcanic eruption in the geosphere may cause profound direct and indirect effects on the hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere as follows: example 1 (volcano)    on may 18, 1980, mount saint helens, in the state of washington, erupted.  this event altered the surrounding environment, and provided scientists with an opportunity to study the effects of volcanic eruptions on the geosphere, hydrosphere, atmosphere and biosphere.  such studies are vital because volcanic eruptions will continue to occur, and will have increasing impact on humans as people continue to settle lands closer to dormant volcanoes. the following are but a few of the myriad of interactions resulting from a volcanic