Chapter 50 Notes

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Chapter 50 Notes

• An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere

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The Scope of Ecology

• The interactions between organisms and their
  environments determine the distribution and
  abundance of organisms
• - Why are there no malaria-carrying mosquitoes
  in Minnesota?
• - Why are there so many deer in Ohio?

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The Scope of Ecology

• What factors limit the geographic range, or
  distribution, of a species?
• What factors determine the abundance of a
  species?
• The environment of any organism will include both
  biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving)
  components.

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The Scope of Ecology

• Ecology can be divided into four increasingly
  comprehensive levels of study
• Organismal ecology concerned with the
  morphological, physiological, and behavioral ways
  in which organisms meet the challenges of biotic
  and abiotic environments

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The Scope of Ecology

• Population ecology concentrates on factors that
  affect how many individuals of a particular
  species live in an area
• Community ecology deals with interacting species
  in a community

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The Scope of Ecology

• Ecosystem ecology emphasis is on energy flow and
  the cycling of chemicals among biotic and abiotic
  components
• Biosphere the global ecosystem the sum of all
  the earths ecosystem

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Darwin and Wallace began to recognize broad
  patterns of geographic distribution
• Biogeography the study of the past and present
  distribution of individual species

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms
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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Species dispersal contributes to the distribution
  of organisms
• ex. Why are there no Kangaroos in North America?
• - one way to determine if dispersal is a key
  factor limiting distribution is by observing when
  humans have transplanted a species

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• - if a transplant is successful, then the
  potential range is larger than its actual range
• - if a transplant is unsuccessful, meaning it is
  unable to survive and reproduce, then we need to
  determine if biotic or abiotic factors exclude it
  from this area

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms
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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Problems with introduced Species
• ex. African Honeybee
• - the African honeybee was brought to Brazil in
  1956 to produce more honey in the tropics.
• - many escaped in 1957 and have been traveling
  about 110 km per year ever since.

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• - beekeepers are worried that the African bee
  will damage the established honeybee industry
• - will the colder Northern winters prevent them
  from moving north?

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms
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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Abiotic factors affect the distribution of
  organisms
• Temperature
• - affects biological processes
• - most organisms are not able to regulate
  internal body temps.

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Water
• - availability affects the location of organisms
• - aquatic life must balance water levels
• Sunlight
• - provides the energy that drive most ecosystems
  
• - distribution on land and in the water

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Wind
• - amplifies the affects of environmental
  temperatures on organisms
• - contributes to water loss
• Rocks and soil
• - physical structures, pH, and mineral
  composition of rocks limit the distribution of
  plants and animals

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Temperature and water are the major climatic
  factors determining the distribution of organisms
• Climate the prevailing weather conditions at a
  locality
• Biomes major types of ecosystems that occupy
  broad geographic regions

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• - rainfall and temperature are reasonable means
  that correlate with biomes
• - climographs are used to measure these factors

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms
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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Global Climate Patterns
• - the suns affect on the atmosphere, land, and
  water establish temperature variations
• - the tilting of the earth on its axis causes
  seasonal variation in the intensity of solar
  radiation

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Tropics regions between 23.5o north latitude and
  23.5o south latitude
• - receive the least seasonal change
• - intense solar radiation initiates global
  circulation of air, which creates precipitation
  and winds

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms
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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• Local and seasonal effects on climate
• - the proximity to water and topographic
  features such as mountain ranges create climate
  patchiness
• - ocean currents influence the climate along the
  coasts of continents
• - seasonal changes in wind patterns produce
  variations in ocean currents

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms

• - with seasonal changes, turnover will occur in
  lakes and ponds
• - turnover brings oxygenated water from the
  surface of lakes to the bottom and nutrient-rich
  water from the bottom of lakes to the surface
• - microclimate climate on a very fine scale

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Factors Affecting the Distribution of Organisms