EcologyEcosystems and Communities

Weather and climate

• Weather: daily conditions of Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place

• Climate: average conditions year after year

Three climate zones

• Polar • Temperate • Tropical

Sunlight

Most direct sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

90°N North Pole

66.5°N

23.5°N

0°

23.5°S

66.5°S

90°S South Pole

Arctic circle

Tropic of Cancer

Equator

Tropic of Capricorn

Arctic circle

Different Latitudes

• Abiotic (physical) factors determine which autotroph can survive and that, in turn, determines which heterotrophs can survive

• Terrestrial biomes are large geographical areas, characterized by specific climates, which determine a dominant vegetation, which in turn, influences characteristic animals

Greenhouse gases

• Carbon dioxide (CO2)

• Methane gas (CH4)

• Water vapor• Other atmospheric

gases

• Greenhouse effect: trapping heat

Some heatescapesinto space

Greenhousegases trapsome heat

Earth’s surface

Greenhouse Effect

Conditions that shape an ecosystem

• Biotic factors: anything living– Flora– Fauna– Microorganisms

• Abiotic factors: anything not living– Precipitation– Temperature– Humidity

Terms to know:

• Habitat • where an organism lives• Ex: burrowing under ground

• Niche • what an organism does

to survive• Ex: predation• What’s your niche?

Niche

• The role that an organism plays in the ecosystem

• “its job”

• Includes factors such as what the organism eats, how it eats, and what eats it

Warblers and their niches

Bay-Breasted WarblerFeeds in the middlepart of the tree

Yellow-Rumped WarblerFeeds in the lower part of the tree andat the bases of the middle branches

Cape May WarblerFeeds at the tips of branchesnear the top of the tree

Spruce tree

Competition

• When organisms attempt to use the same resources– Water– Space– Food

Competitive exclusion principle

• Resource: food, water, and anything else an organism needs to survive

• Two species cannot occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time because of resource limitations.

Predator-prey relationship

• Mechanism of population control in which a population is regulated by predation

• Predation: interaction in which one organism capture sand feed on another organism

Predation• Orca Seal Predation

Symbiosis

• (living together) relationship formed from a close association with another organism

• Symbiont– Resides within the host

• Host– Houses another organism

Mutualism• Symbiont helps the host

• Symbiont and host both benefit…both are well adapted

• Examples:

Symbiosis: Mutualism

• Both species benefit from the relationship

Sea urchin requiring defense and drift red algae requiring reproductive assistance

Fig and wasp - mutualism

Wasps ready to emerge from a fig. The wasps will leave to pollinate fig flowers, which are, oddly, inside the fig. Notice the long ovipositor which pierces the green fig to lay eggs and pollinate at the same time. Their larvae will thrive inside the fig, protected.

Lichen - mutualism

A lichen on a twig. It’s lichen it there.

3 way mutualism of ant, caterpillar, and Acacia plant

The caterpillars have nectar organs the ants drink from, and the ants allow the caterpillars to eat acacia leaves. The ants provide protection for both plant and caterpillar

Mycorrhizae: mutualism

• Fungus that grows from the tips of plant roots– Fungus absorbs

water and minerals for plants.

– Plant produces sugars for fungus.

– Root cells provide Root cells provide “home”“home”

Commensalism

• Symbiont benefits, but host is neither helped nor harmed

• Examples:

Barnacles on a whale

Orchids living in the trees

Symbiosis: Commensalism

• One member of the association is helped while the other is neither helped nor harmed

Shrimp riding around on sea slug

Clownfish and anemone - commensalism

Symbiosis: Parasitism

• One organism lives in or on another organisms (the host) and consequently harms it

Head lice - parasite

Cocoon and yellow jacket

Galls – plant parasites

Scavenger-carrion relationship

• Carrion: dead and decaying flesh

• Scavenger: organism that feeds on carrion

Vultures and carrionCarrion (from the Latin caro, meaning meat) refers to the carcass of a dead animal.

Bed mites feed on shed skin.

Endosymbiosis

• Two species interact with one living within the another

• Symbiont: usually provides nutrition to host

• Host: usually provides protection

_____

O O O O O O

O O O O O O

Symbionts:

Hosts:

Types?

Succession

• gradual change in species, usually following some disturbance

• Primary S. = occurs on land where no previous growth has occurred

• Ex: after the moving glacier leaves bare rock

Succession:

• Secondary S = occurs in areas where there has been previous growth, that has been disrupted

• Examples of disruptions = fire, farming, logging, etc

Frogs lay eggs in the shallowwater near shore.The eggs hatch in the water as tadpolesand move to the land as adults.

The shore is lined with grasses that provide shelter and nestingplaces for birds and otherorganisms.

The roots of water liliescling to the pond bottom,while their leaves, on longflexible stems, float on thesurface.

The bottom of the pond isinhabited by decomposers andother organisms that feed onparticles drifting down from thesurface.

Fish share the pondwith turtles and other animals. Many of them feed on insectsat the water’s edge.

Plankton and the organisms thatfeed on them live near the surfacewhere there is enough sunlight forphotosynthesis. Microscopic algaeare among the most importantproducers.

Frogs lay eggs in the shallowwater near shore.The eggs hatch in the water as tadpolesand move to the land as adults.

The shore is lined with grasses that provide shelter and nestingplaces for birds and otherorganisms.

The roots of water liliescling to the pond bottom,while their leaves, on longflexible stems, float on thesurface.

The bottom of the pond isinhabited by decomposers andother organisms that feed onparticles drifting down from thesurface.

Fish share the pondwith turtles and other animals. Many of them feed on insectsat the water’s edge.

Plankton and the organisms thatfeed on them live near the surfacewhere there is enough sunlight forphotosynthesis. Microscopic algaeare among the most importantproducers.

What is a biome?

• A complex of terrestrial communities that covers a large area

• Characterized by certain soil and climate

• Plants and animals have special adaptations that make them especially suited for their particular biome.

• See pages 100-104 for characteristics of each biome.

AdaptationAdaptation• An organism whose An organism whose

variations can withstand variations can withstand the environmental factors the environmental factors is said to be “adapted” to is said to be “adapted” to the environmentthe environment

• An organism that can An organism that can compete with others of its compete with others of its species for mates & species for mates & resources is also adaptedresources is also adapted

• How are each of the How are each of the organisms seen here organisms seen here adapted to their adapted to their ecosystem?ecosystem?

Tropical rain forest

Tropical dry forest

Tropical savanna Temperate woodlandand shrubland

Desert

Temperate grassland

Boreal forest(Taiga)

Northwesternconiferous forest

Temperate forest

Mountains andice caps

Tundra

Geographic distribution of biomes

BIOME Climate Vegetation Animals

Tropical Rain f.

Tropical Dry f.

Trop. SavannaTemp.Grassland

DesertWood/Shrubland

(chaparral)

Temperate forest

NW Coniferous f.

Boreal (Taiga)

Tundra

Tropical Rain Forests• Most diverse life• Warm temperatures• Most annual rainfall

Of all biomes

Tropical rainforest

Tropical Dry Forest

Tropical Dry Forest

• Warm

• Alternating wet and dry periods

• Tall trees with dense canopy

• Tigers, monkeys, elephants snakes, lizards

• Parts of Africa, south and Central America, Australia

Tropical Savannah

Tropical Savannah

• Warm temps

• Seasonal rainfall

• Tall grasses

• Drought and fire resistant shrubs

• Lions, leopards, cheetahs, giraffes, antelope, zebra

• Large parts of Africa, southern Brazil,

N Australia

Desert• Most arid (driest) biome• Rainfall is the most dominant limiting factor• Can have the greatest daily temperature

range

Do pigs live in the desert?

Grasslands• Large communities covered with rich soil, grasses

and similar plants• Winters are cold, summers are hot

Temperate woodland & shrubland

Temperate woodland & shrubland

• Hot dry summers

• Thin nutrient poor soil

• Woody evergreen shrubs - Chaparral

• Coyotes, foxes, mountain lions, quail, lizards and snakes

• West coast, North and South America, South Africa

Temperate (deciduous) ForestDominated by broad-leafed hardwood trees that

lose their leaves annually• Four seasons; cold winters,

Mild springs and falls,

warm/hot, summers

Temperate (deciduous) Forest

Northwestern Coniferous Forest

Northwestern Coniferous Forest

• Mild temperatures, abundant precipitation during fall, winter and spring

• Dry summers

• Rocky acidic soils

• Douglas fir, spruce, hemlock, redwood

• Bears, elk, deer, owls, bobcats, weasel

• Pacific Coast of US and Canada from California to Alaska

Boreal / Taiga

• Also called the Boreal Forest or Northern Coniferous Forest

• Usually warmer and wetter than the tundra

• Long harsh winters and short mild summers

Tundra

Tundra

• Strong winds, Low precipitation, short soggy summers, long cold dark winters, permafrost

• Small ground-hugging plants, lichens, sedges, short grasses, arctic willow

• Musk-ox, arctic fox, caribou, lemmings

• Northern North America, Asia and Europe

Aquatic ecosystems

• Freshwater– Flowing water: rivers, streams, creeks, and

brooks– Standing water: ponds and lakes, abundant

in plankton

• Estuaries: areas where saltwater mixes with freshwater

• Marine: saltwater (oceans, gulfs, intercoastals)

Aquatic biomes

• Photic zone = the portion that is shallow enough for light to penetrate

• Ex: intertidal zones, estuaries, coral reefs

Intertidal zone

• Organisms in these areas are exposed to constant, daily changes in environment.

• Zonation: banding of certain organisms, as a result of competition

Coastal ocean

• Extends from low tide mark to edge of continental shelf

• Kelp forest: clusters of large brown algae, vital to the ecosystem

Coral reefs

• Hard corals that aggregate into large structures• Acts as a habitat for many marine animals• Great Barrier Reef – most famous

Open Ocean and Benthic Zone

• Oceanic zone: covers 90% of Earth’s surface

• Benthic zone: ocean floor, usually populated with organisms that cannot surface in any other habitat

Marine Ecosystems

landCoastalocean

Openocean

Oceantrench

Aphotic zone

Photic zone

Continentalshelf

Continental slope andcontinental rise

Abyssalplain

200m

1000m

4000m

6000m

10,000m

Aquatic biomes

• Aphotic zones = deeper waters that never receives sunlight

• Ex: the abyss

Include in a neat and attractive poster:

• Three pictures with write-ups of 3 (Minimum) ways (how & why) each organism is adapted to the biome:

– 1) a representative autotroph (plant)– 2) a representative herbivore (plant-eater)– 3) a representative carnivore (animal-eater)

• Complete a display of all information compiled to fit the poster paper provided.

• No plagiarism!! Use your own words!! (Cite your references on the back)

• Share responsibility within your group & stay on task.

Biome Activity