Ecosystems and Communities Ch. 4 Weather and Climate Weather

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Ecosystems and Communities

• Ch. 4

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Weather and Climate

• Weather is the day-to-day condition of the
  Earths atmosphere at a particular time and
  place.
• Climate is the typical weather pattern over time
  in an area. (avg. year around temperature)

• Ecosystems can change with climate changes. Hot,
  cold, rainy, sunny. (1.40b)
• Can you think of any examples where ecosystems
  have changed with the environment?

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Greenhouse Effect- trapping of heat in the
atmosphere

• CO2, methane water vapor and a few other
  atmospheric greenhouse gases trap heat energy and
  maintain Earths temperature range.
• Greenhouse effect is the natural situation in
  which heat is retained by the layer of greenhouse
  gases.

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Ozone Layer

• Band of ozone (O3) that shields the earth from
  much of the suns harmful UV radiation.
• Thining increases the exposure to UV radiation,
  increasing cataracts and skin cancer and reduce
  crop supply. It may decrease resistance to
  disease.

• Causes of thining
• CFCs (chloroflorocarbons are ordorless,
  noncorrosive compounds that were once used as
  proprellants in aerosol cans and in production of
  plastic foam, coolants in air conditions,
  refrigerators and freezers.

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Global Warming

• Global warming is is the increase in the Earths
  average temperature.
• Much of the sunlight that hits the surface of our
  planet is converted into heat energy and then
  radiated back into the atmosphere.
• Where are some of the gases coming from that are
  causing this effect?

• Greenhouse gases do not allow heat E to pass out
  of the atmosphere as readily as light energy
  enters it.
• The gases trap the heat.
• If these gases were not present in the
  atmosphere, the Earth would be 30oC cooler.
• In 2050, Earths temp may increase by 2 to 4oC.

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Latitude and Longitude

• Longitude vertical
• Latitude- horizontal
• As a result of differences in latitudes and thus
  the angle of heating, Earth has 3 main climate
  zones.

• Polar, Temperate and Tropical.
• Where do you think each are located?

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Climate Zones

• Tropical Zone- equator to 30o N and 30oS
  latitudes.
• Temperate Zone- 30o to 60o N and S latitudes.
• Arctic (Polar)Zone- beyond 60o N or S latitudes.

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Heat Transport in the Biosphere by Winds

• The unequal heating of the Earths surface drives
  winds and ocean currents, which transport heat
  throughout the biosphere.
• Winds form because warm air rises and cool air
  sinks. What zones does air rise? Sink?
• Prevailing winds bring warm or cold air to a
  region, affecting its climate.

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Ocean currents

• Cold water sinks, warm water rises.
• Cold water near the poles sinks and then flows
  parallel to the ocean bottom, eventually rising
  again in warmer regions in a process called
  upwelling.
• Surface water is moved by winds.

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Why do you think the westerlies move east and
easterlies move west?
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Parts of the environment

• Abiotic factors- non-living parts of the
  environment.
• A-without, bio-life
• Ex water, soil, light , temperature, wind, and
  physical space.

• Biotic factors- living parts of the environment.
• Ex plants, animals and other organisms.

1.43 Understand that and describe how organisms
are influenced by a particular combination of
living and non-living components in the
environment.
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Habitats

• Every species in a habitat has characteristics
  that enable it to function in the unique abiotic
  and biotic factors.

• It provides the members of a species with food,
  shelter, water, and whatever else they need to
  survive.

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Niches

• A niche is the full range of physical and
  biological conditions in which an organisms lives
  and the way in which the organisms uses those
  conditions.
• An organisms role in the environment.

• What organism eats
• how it eats, where lives
• how reproduces
• temperatures needed to survive
• where in food chain,
• Can two species share a niche in the same
  habitat? Note different tree elevations may be
  different habitats.

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Community Interactions

• Competition occurs when organisms of the same or
  different species attempt to use an ecological
  resource in the same place at same time.
• Resource is any necessity of life, such as water,
  nutrients, light, food or space.

• Competition exclusion principle states that no
  two species can occupy the same niche in the same
  habitat at the same time.

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• Interdependence
• Organisms rely on their changing environment to
  survive. How? Even a small change to one type of
  organism can have a major impact on all of the
  other organisms in an environment.
• Predator-prey relationships.
• Symbiosis- different species rely on each other.
  3 kinds.
• Mutualism- both partners benefit.
• Commensalism- one partner benefits and the other
  is unaffected.
• Parasitism- One benefits the other is harmed.
  Which benefits?
• Give examples of each.

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Changes in an Ecosystem

• Ecosystems can be reasonable stable over hundreds
  of years. If a disaster such as a flood or fire
  occurs, the damaged ecosystem is likely to
  recover in stages that eventually result in a
  system similar to the original one.

1.39
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Changing with the Environment

• Ecosystems can be relatively stable over hundreds
  or thousands of years.
• Changing conditions affect the communities of
  organisms that live in the ecosystem

• Ecosystems are always changing, sometimes quickly
  and dramatically with a fire or flood or sometime
  slowly.
• Damaged ecosystems from a flood or fire are
  likely to recover in stages that eventually
  results in a system similar to the original one.

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Succession Changes over Time

• Primary succession is the colonization of new
  sites by communities of organisms after a change
  in the ecosystem. (Volcanoes)
• 1000s of years
• After time, primary succession slows down, and
  the community becomes fairly stable.

• Orderly, natural changes that take place in
  communities of an ecosystem is a succession.
• What is a pioneer species?

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Secondary Succession

• Secondary succession is the sequence of community
  changes when a community is disrupted by natural
  disasters or human actions.
• Fewer than 100 years

• A stable, mature community that undergoes little
  or no succession, is a climax community.
• Describe a place around you where you have seen
  succession occurring.

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Succession in a Marine Ecosystem

• Large whale dies and sinks to ocean floor and
  attracts scavengers and decomposers.
• Tissues are eaten by smaller org. Decomposition
  enriches sediments, for other species.
• Heterotrophic bacteria decompose oil in bones and
  serve as energy sources for chemosynthetic
  autotrophs that support other org.
• Pg. 96

• Note Succession can happen in any ecosystem.
• The following the succession of a whale-fall
  community.

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Biomes

• A biome is a large group of ecosystems that share
  the same type of climate community.
• Land- Terrestrial
• Water- Aquatic
• Microclimate- climate in a small area that
  differs from the climate around it.
• Fog

(Make graphic organizer for biomes including
climate, flora, fauna, location, other
characteristics.
Biome link
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Climatogram

• Shows two components of climate
• Temperature and precipitation

San Luis Opispo, California
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Biomes are determined by climates (temperature
and precipitation).
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Tundra

• Tundra cold and treeless, and most of the soil
  is permanently frozen. A thin layer of soil
  thaws briefly during short, cool, summers.
  Winters are long, dark and very cold.
• plant life in the tundra consists of mosses and
  lichens
• Where do you think tundras are located?
• Artic Zone
• Northern N. America, Asia, Europe

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Taiga (Boreal Forest)

• Taiga located south of the tundra, at the
  northern edge of the temperate zone. Winters are
  long, cold, and summers are relatively mild.
• How are they different from tundras?
• The taiga climate and soil can support trees such
  as conifers.
• N America, Asia, and N. Europe

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Temperate Forest

• Grows where summers are pleasantly warm with
  frequent rains, and winters are somewhat cold.
• What type of trees make up a temperate forest?
• Tall deciduous trees and coniferous trees.
• Conifers- seed-bearing cones and needles.
• Deciduous-sheds leaves during particular season.
• Eastern US, SE Canada, most of Europe, parts of
  Japan, China and Australia

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Chapparral (Temperate Woodland and Shrubland)

• Warm region that has a rainy winter season,
  followed by a long, dry summer.
• How do chapperal organisms adapt to these
  extremes in precipitation?
• Plants are drought-resistant reptiles and
  insects have thick, watertight coverings.
• W coasts of N and S America, Mediterranean Sea,
  S. Africa, Australia

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Tropical Rain Forest

• Warm, wet weather, lush plant life, and diverse
  animal life. Poor soil
• What abiotic factors contribute to this
  diversity?
• Sunlight, water, soil and temperature.
• Parts of S. and Central America, SE Asia, parts
  of Africa, S India, NE Australia
• Tropical Dry Forests rainfall is seasonal
  rather than year round. Rich Soil
• Parts of Africa, S. and Central America, Mexico,
  India, Australia and Tropical Islands

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Desert

• Too little precipitation creates deserts, arid
  regions with sparse plant life.
• Extremely dry, hot deserts may consist only of
  shifting sand dunes. Deserts Africa, Asia,
  Middle East, US, Mexico, S. America, Australia
• Extremely cold deserts include those is in
  Mongolia and China.
• How do plants conserve water?
• Store water in thick, succulent stems.

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Grassland

• Widespread communities characterized by grasses
  and small plants.
• Temperate grasslands( summers hot and winters are
  cold and windy)
• Central Asia, N. America, Australia, central
  Europe, upland plateaus of S. America
• Tropical savannas (warm year-round and have
  alternating wet and dry seasons.)
• Large parts of eastern Africa, southern Brazil,
  northern Australia

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Other Land Areas

• Mountain ranges- abiotic and biotic conditions
  vary with elevation.
• Move up temperature decreases and precipitation
  increases.

• Polar ice caps- cold year round.
• Mosses and lichens grow.
• Few plants
• Northern- Polar bears, seals, insects and mites.
• Southern polar region- 5km of ice. Penguins and
  marine animals.

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Marine Biomes

• Most of the water on earth is salty.
• Fresh water is confined to rivers, streams,
  ponds, and most lakes.

• Photic Zone is the portion of the marine biome
  that is shallow enough for sunlight to penetrate.
• Aphotic Zone- Deeper water that never receives
  sunlight.

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Water Biomes
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Freshwater Biomes

• 1. Flowing water streams, rivers, etc.
• 2. Standing waters ponds, lakes.
• plankton- tiny-free floating or weakly swimming
  organisms that live in freshwater and saltwater.
• phytoplankton- single-celled algae
• zooplankton- feed of phytoplankton

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Freshwater

• 3. Wetlands ecosystem where water either covers
  the soil or is present at or near the surface of
  the soil for at least part of the year.
• Bogs-freshwater wetlands
• Marshes- shallow wetlands along rivers
• Swamp- flooded forest
• 4. Estuary wetlands where fresh water and
  saltwater mix. They form where rivers meet the
  sea and deposit nutrient-rich sediment.
• detritus- tiny pieces of organic material that
  are food.
• Salt marshes- temperature zone estuaries
  dominated by low-tide line and seagrasses
  underwater.
• Coastal Wetlands (mangrove swamps) along
  seacoast that are sometimes mixed with
  saltwater. Florida

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Marine Zones
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Phytoplankton and algae
Coastal OCEAN Kelp forests
Squids and fishes make their own light.
Bottom-dwellers, sea stars, shrimp, crabs, clams,
worms, urchins, sponges and sea anemones.
Benthic Zone
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Marine Ecosystems

• Intertidal Zone- org. exposed to regular and
  extreme changes. Tides moves. Star fish and
  clams must attach themsevles.
• Coastal Ocean- extends from low-tide mark to the
  outer edge of the continental shelf.
• Kelp forests
• Coral Reefs- calcium carbonate

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Marine Ecosystems

• Open ocean- 500 m to 11,000 m. Low levels of
  nutrients. Octopods, dolphins, whales, fish.
• Benthic Zone- ocean floor. Cold, dark, pressure
  at bottom

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Ecosystems and Communities Review

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• Ch. 4 Review