Warm-Up #36

• Complete Study Guide page 118.

Ecosystems and Communities

Climate, What Shapes an Ecosystem, and Biomes

What is Climate

• Temperature, Precipitation and other environmental factors combine to produce weather and climate.– Weather—the day-to-day conditions of the Earth’s

atmosphere at a particular time and place.– Climate—the average year-after-year conditions of

temperature and precipitation in a particular region.

Climate

• Climate is caused by the interplay of many factors including:– Trapping of heat by the atmosphere (see

greenhouse effect)– Latitutde– Transport of heat by winds and ocean currents– Amount of precipitation– Shape and elevation of land masses

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The GreenhouseEffect

The natural situation in which heat is retained in Earth’s atmosphere by this layer of gases is called the greenhouse effect.

Sunlight

Earth’s Surface

Atmosphere

Some heat escapes into space

Greenhouse gases trap some heat

Greenhouse gases trap some heat

Effect of Latitude on Climate

• Solar radiation strikes different parts of the Earth’s surface at an angle that varies throughout the year.

• At the equator, energy from the sun strikes the Earth almost directly.

• At the North and South Poles, the sun’s rays strike the Earth’s surface at a lower angle.

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The Effect of Latitude on Climate

Sunlight

Most direct sunlight

90°N North Pole

Temperate

Tropical

Temperate

PolarArctic Circle

Tropic of Cancer

Equator

Tropic of Capricorn

Antarctic Circle

90°S South Pole

66.5°S

23.5°S

23.5°N

66.5°N

Polar

Sunlight

Sunlight

Sunlight

0°

Effects of Altitude on Climate

What Shapes an Ecosystem?

• The type of ecosystem an organism lives in provide an “address” for the organism.

• It also tells us about the climate and the neighbors it is likely to have.

• What shapes an ecosystem?– Biotic and Abiotic Factors– Niche– Community Interactions

Biotic and Abiotic Factors

• Biotic factors—all living organisms with which you might interact in the ecosystem.

• Abiotic factors—the physical, or nonliving, factors. Includes, temperature, precipitation, humidity, wind, nutrient availability, soil type, and sunlight.

• Together the biotic and the abiotic factors determine the survival and growth of an organism and the productivity of the ecosystem in which the organism lives.

• This area where the organisms lives is also called a habitat.

How do abiotic factors influence biotic?

The Niche

• The habitat of organism is its address, the niche is its occupation.

• A niche is the full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions.– Place in food web– Temperature range for survival– How it reproduces

Community Interactions

• Community interactions can powerfully affect an ecosystem.

• They include:– Competition– Predation– Symbiosis

Competition

• Competition occurs when organisms of the same or different species attempt to use an ecological resource in the same place at the same time.

• Competitive-Exclusion principle—No two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time.

• Figure 4-5—How do the Warblers all live in the same tree?

Predation (+/-)

• An interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on another organism is predation.– The attacker is the predator– The one who is eaten is the prey

Symbiosis

• Any relationship in which two species live closely together is called symbiosis.

• Three types of symbiosis:– Mutualism– Commensalism– Parasitism

Mutualism (+,+)

• Both species benefit from relationship.

Commensalism (+,0)

• One member of the association benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed.

Parasitism (+,-)

• On organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it.

Ecological Succession

• Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human disturbances. As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants gradually die out and new organisms move in, causing further changes in the community.

• This series of predictable changes that occurs in a community over time is called ecological succession.

Types of Succession

Primary• 1st time plants or animals are established• New island• Volcanoes• Glaciers• Bare soil, rock

Secondary• After a “blowout”• Re-establish a

community• Already had living

organisms• Fire, flood, human

disruption

BOTH PRIMARY & SECONDARY have these

Succession communities:

1. Pioneer species

2. Intermediate species

3. Climax community

Pioneer species:

• Lichens (algae & fungi) break apart rock to make soil

• Grasses• Annual flowers• Mosses

Climax Community: final set of organisms suited to that climate

Biomes

• Ecologists group Earth’s diverse environments into Biomes—complex terrestrial communities that cover a large area and are characterized by certain soil and climate conditions and particular groups of plants and animals.

• Because each species is adapted to certain conditions, the climate of a region is an important factor in determining which organisms can survive there.

Major Biomes

• Tropical Rain Forest• Tropical Dry Forest• Tropical Savanna• Desert• Temperate Grassland

• Temperate Woodland (chaparral)

• Temperate Forest (deciduous)

• Coniferous Forest• Boreal Forest (Taiga)• Tundra

Tropical Rain Forest

• Abiotic: Hot and wet year-round, thin, nutrient-poor soil.

• Plants: broad leaves, evergreens, ferns

• Animals: Wide variety• Location: South and

Central America, Southeast Asia, Parts of Africa, southern India, and northeastern Austrailia

Tropical Dry Forest

• Abiotic: generally warm year-round, alternating wet and dry seasons

• Plants: tall deciduous trees, dense canopy

• Animals: tigers, monkeys, elephants, rhinos

• Location: parts of Africa, South and Central America, Mexico, India, Australia and tropical islands.

Tropical Savanna

• Abiotic: warm temperatures, seasonal rainfall, frequent fires

• Plants: Tall perrenial grasses, a few trees and shrubs

• Animals: Lions, leopards, cheetahs, hyenas, elephants, zebras

• Location: Eastern Africa, southern Brazil, Northern Austrailia

Desert

• Abiotic: Low precipitation

• Plants: Cacti, succulents• Animals: mountain lions,

gray foxes, mule deer pronghorn, hawks, roadrunners

• Location: Africa, Asia, Middle East, United States, Mexico, South America, Austrailia

Temperate Grassland

• Abiotic: warm to hot summers, cold winters, seasonal precipitation

• Plants: Lush perennial grasses and herbs

• Animals: coyotes, badgers, wolves, grizzly bears, rabbits, bison

• Location: central Asia, North America, Austrailia, central Europe, South America

Temperate Woodland and Shrubland (Chaparral)

• Abiotic: hot dry summers, moist winters

• Plants: Woody evergreen shrubs with small leathery leaves

• Animals: coyotes, foxes bobcats, mountain lions, deer, rabbits, lizards, snakes

• Location: West coast of North and South America, Around Mediterranean Sea, South Africa, Austrailia.

Temperate Forest

• Abiotic: cold to moderate winters, warm summers, year round precipitation

• Plants: Deciduous trees, some conifers and flowering shrubs, mosses and ferns

• Plants: deer, black bears, raccoons, skunks

• Location: Eastern US, SE Canada, most of Europe, Japan, China and Austrailia

Northwestern Coniferous Forest

• Abiotic: mild temperatures, abundant precipitation except in summer

• Plants: Douglas Fir, Sitka spruce, western hemlock, redwood

• Animals: bears, elk, deer, beavers

• Location; Pacific Coast of US and Canada

Boreal Forest (Taiga)

• Abiotic: long cold winters, short mild summers moderate precipitation

• Plants: Needleleaf coniferous trees, deciduous trees, berry shrubs

• Animals: lynxes, timber wolves, moose, beavers

• Location; North America, Asia, Northern Europe

Tundra

• Abiotic: Strong winds, low precipitation, short soggy summers, long cold, dark winters

• Plants: mosses, lichens, sedges, short grasses

• Animals: arctic fox, caribou, lemmings

• Location: Northern North America, Asia, and Europe

Homework

• STUDY FOR TEST—Powerpoint is online• Homework Packets– Warm-Ups #36-37—4 points– Study Guide—6 points– Chaparral Plant Lab—5 points– Canyon Hike—10 points– Extra Credit for exam—Text 116 webcode: cba-

2040• Study Guide 119