Book 1 Unit 2

Biome

A region of Earth where the climate determines the types of plants that live there

• Abiotic Factors
  • Climate: Describes the long-term patterns of temperature and precipitation in a region
• Other Factors
  • Soil type
  • Amount of sunlight
  • Amount of water
• Ecosystem Relation to Biome
  • Ecosystem ➡ Biome
• Major Land Biomes
  • Tundra
    • Low average temperatures
    • Little Precipitation
    • Contains permafrost
    • Animals
      • Caribou, Ground Squirrels, and Oxen
  • Taiga
    • Low average temperatures
    • More Precipitation
    • Poor Soil
    • Animals
      • Wolves, Owls, Elk, and Hares
  • Desert
    • High Temperatures
    • Extremely Little Precipitation
    • Sandy & Rocky Soil
    • Animals
      • Cactus
  • Tropical Grassland
    • High Temperatures
    • Wet & Dry Seasons
    • Thin soils
    • Animals
      • Antelope, zebras, and lions
  • Temperate Grassland
    • Hot Summers, Cold Winters
    • High Precipitation
    • Periodic Fires
    • Rich Soils
    • Animals
      • Bison, antelope, prairie dogs, and coyotes
  • Temperate Deciduous Forest
    • Hot Summers, Cold Winters
    • Moderate Precipitation
    • Rich Soil
    • Animals
      • Deer and Bobcats
  • Temperate Rainforest
    • Long, Wet and Cool Seasons, Dry Summer
    • Moderate Precipitation
    • Rich Soils
    • Animals
      • Spotted Owls, Shrews, Elk, and Cougars
  • Tropical Rainforest
    • Warm temperatures
    • More rain than any other biome
    • Acidic and Poor Soils
    • Animals
      • Birds, monkeys, sloths, Leaf-cutter ants, jaguars, snakes, and anteaters

Aquatic Ecosystems

• Freshwater Ecosystems
  • Lakes & Ponds: Bodies of water surrounded by land
  • Wetlands: An area of land that is saturated, or soaked with water
  • Rivers & Streams
• Estuaries: A partially enclosed body of water formed where a river flows into an ocean
• Marine Ecosystems
  • Coastal Oceans
    • Intertidal Zone: The land between high and low tides
    • Neritic Zone: The underwater zone from the shore to the edge of the continental shelf.
  • Open Oceans: All surface water down to a depth if about 6,562 ft.
  • Deep Oceans: Includes Abyssal Zone (lower than 6,562 ft.)

Energy and Matter in Ecosystems

• Matter: Anything that has mass and takes up space
• Energy: The ability to do work and enable organisms to use matter in life processes
• Laws of conservation
  • Law of Conservation of Energy: Energy can't be created or destroyed
  • Law of Conservation of Mass: Mass can't be created or destroyed
• Energy flow in a Ecosystem
  • Energy Pyramid: A toll that can be used to trace the flow of energy through an ecosystem
  • Producers ➡ Primary Consumers ➡ Secondary Consumers ➡ Tertiary Consumers
  • As the pyramid goes up, there are fewer organisms in the stage
  • Highest level has smallest population
• Cycles
  • Water Cycle
    • Evaporation/Transpiration/Respiration ➡ Water vapor in air ➡ Condensation ➡ Precipitation ➡ Runoff/Groundwater 🔄
• Nitrogen Cycle
  • Nitrogen in air ➡ Nitrogen fixed by lightning ➡ Nitrogen fixed by bacteria Nitrogen taken by plants ↘ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ ➡ Decay and waste ➡ Plants eaten by animals ↗ Usable Nitrogen in soil ➡ Bacteria converts nitrogen back to gas 🔄
• Carbon Cycle
  • Photosynthesis ➡ Respiration 🔄
  • Carbon in fossil fuels ➡ Combustion ➡ Photosynthesis ➡ Respiration 🔄

Changes in ecosystems

• Eutrophication: The process in which organic matter and nutrients slowly build on a body of water
• Natural Disturbances
  • Ecosystems can change due to a catastrophic natural disturbance
  • Examples
    • Hurricanes
    • Lightning
    • Volcano eruptions
• Ecological Succession
  • Succession: The slow development or replacement of an ecological community by another ecological community over time
  • Primary Succession
    • Bare Rock
      • A slowly retreating glacier exposes bare rock where nothing lives, and primary succession begins.
    • Lichen form soil
      • Acids from lichens break down the rock into particles. These particles mix with the remains of dead lichens to make soil.
    • Mosses & Insects move
      • After many years, there is enough to soil for mosses to grow. The mosses replace the lichens. Insects and other small organisms begin to live there, enriching the soil.
    • Big plants grow
      • As the soil deepens, mosses are replaced by ferns. The ferns may slowly be replaced by grasses and wildflowers. If there is enough soil, shrubs and small trees may grow.
  • Secondary Succession
    • After first year after a farmer stops growing cops or the first year after some other major disturbance, wild plants start to grow. In farmland, crabgrass often grows first.
    • Bt the second year, new wild plants appear. Their seeds may have been blown into the field by wind, or they may have been carried by insects or birds. Horseweed is a common during the second year.
    • In 5 to 10 years, small conifer trees may start growing among the weeds. The trees continue to grow, and after about 100 years, a forest may form.
• Signs of mature ecosystem
  • Climax Species
    • Ecosystems dominated by a climax species is stable until it is disturbed
  • Biodiversity
    • The number and variety of species that are present in an area is referred to biodiversity

Human activity and ecosystems

• Negative effects for ecosystems
  • Pollution
    • Fossil Fuels
    • Releasing chemicals
    • Pesticides or fertilizers
    • Landfills
• Depleting Resources
  • Increase in human population increases need for resources
• Destroying Habitats
  • Urbanization: Human population growth in and around cities
  • Biodiversity is destroyed
• Overfishing
  • Fish species cannot reproduce as fast as they can eaten/fished