Diversity of Life: Desert

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Diversity of LifeDesert

• Ryan Howe, Miles Hunter, Matt Wallace, Caterina
  Wu

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Table of Contents

• Biochemistry
• Biogeochemical Cycles
• Energy
• Food Web/Chain
• Symbiosis
• Abiotic/Biotic Factors
• Interdependency
• Summary
• Quiz
• Reference

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Biochemistry

• Caterina Wu

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Biochemistry

• Science concerned with the chemistry of
  biological processes or living matter
• Deals with structures and functions of cellular
  components
• Key Skill Biogeochemical cycles
• Carbon
• Nitrogen
• Hydrologic

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Carbon Cycle

• Carbon is taken from atmosphere and incorporated
  into the tissues of plants in photosynthesis
• Cacti
• Shrubs
• Grasses
• Passes into bodies of animals as plants are eaten
• Birds
• Reptiles

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Carbon Cycle

• Respiration in decomposers return CO2 to the
  atmosphere
• Plants
• Animals
• Organisms
• Combustion of fossil fuels also release CO2 into
  the atmosphere

7
Nitrogen Cycle

• Begins with uptake of nitrates by desert plants
• Consumed by insects and reptiles
• Eaten by secondary consumers and passed up the
  food chain to larger carnivores
• Waste products and dead bodies return nitrogen
  back into the soil
• Bacteria and fungi mineralize them for plant
  growth

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Hydrologic (Water) Cycle

• Continuous movement of water on, above, and below
  surface of Earth

• Of all the biomes, the desert has the driest
  climate
• Evaporation
• Condensation
• Precipitation

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Energy

• Ryan Howe

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Energy in the Desert
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Food Chain

• Every organism needs energy to live
• A food chain is a sequence of who eats whom in a
  biological community (ecosystem)
• Shows how energy is passed from producers to
  consumers
• The following is an example of the Arizona Desert

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The Food ChainTop of the Food Chain

• The hawk is at the top of the food chain
• Diet
• The horned lizard
• Vegetation

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The Food Chain The In-Betweens

• Below the hawk is the horned lizard.
• Diet
• Mesquites
• Ants

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The Food ChainThe In-Betweens

• Next in line is the ant.
• Diet
• Mesquite eggs
• Vegetation

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The Food ChainThe Bottom

• The Mesquites are at the bottom
• Diet
• Vegetation

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Symbiosis

• Miles Hunter

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Symbiosis

• When two living things coexist with each other
  and one organism benefits in some way
• Commensalism, mutually beneficial, and parasitism

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Commensalism

• When 1 living thing is helped by the partnership
  and the other isnt affected as much
• When birds nest in a cactus
• Birds are safe
• Cacti are just there

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Mutually Beneficial

• When both organisms benefit
• When birds or lizards eat off plants
• The animals get fed and the plants seeds are
  spread out to other places

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Parasitism

• When 1 living thing is benefited but the other
  isnt at all
• When wasps lay eggs in other insects
• The other insect dies
• When the eggs hatch those wasps feed off the
  insect

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Abiotic/Biotic Factors

• Matt Wallace

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What Do Abiotic and Biotic Mean?

• Simple
• Abiotic Non-living
• Biotic Living
• They are what keep ecosystems functioning

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Examples in the Desert

• Abiotic
• Sand
• Sunlight
• Temperature, average temp.
• over 64 degrees F
• Water, less than 50 cm/year
• Humidity
• Biotic
• Snakes
• Scorpions
• Cacti
• Camels
• Lizards

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Abiotic Factors Affect Biotic Factors

• Desert is hot and dry with mostly sand at its
  surface (abiotic factors)
• Affects what animals and plants (biotic factors)
  can live and prosper there
• For Example
• Cacti have spines to prevent water loss
• Allows them to store water (how they are able to
  survive in the hot and dry desert)

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Interdependency of Key Skills
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Interdependency Between Key Skills

• All skills can relate to each other in some way
• Biochemistry shows the needs of organisms to live
  and organisms need energy to survive
• Nitrogen cycle is required for a food chain/web
  to function
• Abiotic and biotic factors are involved in
  biogeochemical cycles

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InterdependencyBetween Key Skills

• Abiotic and biotic factors are involved in
  biogeochemical cycles
• Energy is exchanged between abiotic and biotic
  factors
• Symbiotic relationships demonstrate interactions
  of organisms and exchange of energy

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Summary

• 3 main biogeochemical cycles
• Carbon
• Photosynthesis
• Respiration
• Nitrogen
• Key process that allows food chain to function
• Hydrologic
• Continuous movement of water on, above, and below
  the surface of Earth

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Summary

• A food chain is a sequence of links that show who
  eats whom in an ecosystem
• Shows how energy is passed from producers to
  consumers

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Summary

• 3 types of symbiotic relationships
• Commensalism
• 1 living is helped the other isnt affected as
  much
• Mutually Beneficial
• Both benefit
• Parasitism
• 1 living thing is benefited other isnt at all

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Summary

• Abiotic factors are nonliving
• Biotic factors are living
• Abiotic factors affect biotic factors

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Summary

• All living things are part of a bigger ecosystem,
  so they depend on each other to survive. They
  keep the ecosystem functioning.

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Quiz

• Question 1
• What is it called when decomposers return
  carbon dioxide to the atmosphere in the carbon
  cycle?

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Quiz

• Answer
• Respiration

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Quiz

• Question 2
• What is at the top of the food chain?

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Quiz

• Answer
• The hawk

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Quiz

• Question 3
• What is parasitism?

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Quiz

• Answer
• When 1 living thing is benefited but the other
  isnt at all

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Quiz

• Question 4
• What is the difference between abiotic and
  biotic?

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Quiz

• Answer
• Abiotic is nonliving and biotic is living

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Quiz

• Question 5
• Why is every living thing important for the
  survival of other organisms in an ecosystem?

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Quiz

• Answer
• Because every organism depends on something
  else for a source of energy if one organism does
  not pass energy on, then every organism
  afterwards is affected.

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References

• "Abiotic Factors of the Desert Tutorvista.com."
  Tutorvista.com - Online Tutoring, Homework Help
  for Math, Science, English from Best Online
  Tutor. TutorVista.com, 11 Apr. 2010. Web. 02 Oct.
  2011. lthttp//www.tutorvista.com/biology/abiotic-f
  actors-of-the-desertgt.
• Biochemistry. (n.d.) In Dictionary.com.
  Retrieved from http//dictionary.reference.com/bro
  wse/biochemistry
• The Carbon Cycle. (2011, August 28). Retrieved
  from http//users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/Bio
  logyPages/C/CarbonCycle.html
• Desert. (n.d.) In ThinkQuest. Retrieved from
  http//library.thinkquest.org/11353/ecosystems.htm
  
• Desert Biomes (vtaide) Retrieved from
  http//www.vtaide.com/png/desertBiomes.htm
• The Desert Food Chain (Skyrider) Retrieved from
  http//www.skyriderforkids.com/doubletakes/yellow/
  dt_yellow_desert.html
• Grabianowski, E. (n.d.). HowStuffWorks "The
  Evolution of Symbiosis". HowStuffWorks "Science".
  Retrieved September 25, 2011, from
  http//science.howstuffworks.co

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References

• Mojave Desert Wind Farm (LA Times 2010) Retrieved
  from http//articles.latimes.com/2010/jul/27/busin
  ess/la-fi-windfarm-20100727
• Naik, A. (n.d.). Symbiotic Relationships in the
  Desert.Buzzle Web Portal Intelligent Life on the
  Web. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from
  http//www.buzzle.com/articles/symbiotic-relations
  hips-in-the-desert.html
• The Nitrogen Cycle. (2011, Feb 23). Retrieved
  from http//users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/Bio
  logyPages/C/CarbonCycle.html
• The Nitrogen Cycle. Retrieved from
  http//www.h2ou.com/h2images/NitrogenCycle-lgr-F.j
  pg
• Solar Trough Systems (SunLab 1998) Retrieved from
  http//www.nrel.gov/docs/legosti/fy98/22589.pdf
• The Water Cycle. (2011, Sept 13). Retrieved
  from http//ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html