Transcript COMMUNITIES & BIOMES (Chapter 3: Communities and Biomes pp

COMMUNITIES
BIOLOGICAL COMMUNITY: all the
INTERACTING populations of different
species that live in the same place at the
same time.
LIMITING FACTOR: any biotic or abiotic
that RESTRICTS the existence, number,
reproduction, or distribution of organisms.
COMMUNITIES
TOLERANCE: the ability of an organism
to withstand (or TOLERATE) fluctuations in
biotic and abiotic environmental factors.
SUCCESSIONS: the orderly, natural
CHANGES and species replacements that
take place in the communities of the
ecosystem.
COMMUNITIES
TWO TYPES OF SUCCESSION
PRIMARY SUCCESSION: the colonization
of BARREN LAND by communities of
organisms.
 CLIMAX COMMUNITY: communities of
organisms become STABLE, and reaches an
EQUILIBRIUM.

COMMUNITIES
TWO TYPES OF SUCCESSION
SECONDARY SUCCESSION: the
sequence of changes that takes place after
an existing community is severely
DISTURBED in some way.
 Example: 1988 forest fire of Yellowstone
National Park
fire → wildflowers → shrubs → trees → insects → animals

BIOMES
Review:
 BIO: Greek (biotikos) = LIFE!
 BIOTIC: pertaining to life or LIVING
THINGS.
 ABIOTIC: (“a” = NOT) NON-LIVING
component of the environment.
 BIODIVERSITY: “The VARIETY of life”!
 INDIGENOUS: NATIVE to (originated
from) a particular place.
BIOMES
BIOMES: A large group of ECOSYSTEMS
that share the same type of CLIMAX
community. Two types: terrestrial & aquatic
AQUATIC: (in water) Examples: marine,
estuaries, intertidal zones, freshwater,
wetlands, swamps, marshes, and bogs.
TERRESTRIAL: (on land) Examples:
tundra, taiga, desert, grassland, temperate
forest, and tropical forest.
BIOMES
WORLD’S MAJOR BIOMES
DESERT
FOREST
GRASSLAND
TUNDRA
TAIGA
CHAPARRAL
FRESHWATER
MARINE
BIOMES
DESERT
BIOMES
Deciduous
FOREST
Tropical Rain
BIOMES
GRASSLAND
BIOMES
TUNDRA
BIOMES
TAIGA
BIOMES
CHAPARRAL
BIOMES
FRESHWATER
BIOMES
MARINE
Terrestrial Biomes
Aquatic Biomes
www.learner.org
Climographs
DESERT
Climate & Soils: Very dry; hot days & cold nights; rainfall less
than 10 in/year (25 cm/year). Soils are thin and porous..
Dominant Vegetation: Widely scattered thorny bushes &
shrubs, cacti
Dominant Animal Life: Rodents, lizards, snakes, numerous
insects, owls, hawks, small birds, dingo, jackrabbit, toads
Geographic Distribution: North & Southwest Africa, parts of
Middle East & Asia, Southwest United States, Northern Mexico
Spadefoot Toad
© Billy Price http://rrms-biomes.tripod.com
Dingo
Jackrabbit
DESERT
1st Trophic Level:
Primary Producers - Plants
These are plants that make food through
photosynthesis. Including: Trees, shrubs, cactus,
wildflowers, grasses
2nd Trophic Level:
Primary Consumers - Herbivores
These animals are usually small and eat little.
Including: Ants and other insects, rats and mice,
some reptiles.
3rd Trophic Level:
Secondary Consumers - Small Carnivores
The predators are the secondary consumers. They occupy the third trophic level.
Again we see cold-blooded animals, such as snakes, insect-eating lizards, and
tarantulas. In the harsher desert environments, they are the top predators.
4th Trophic Level:
Tertiary Consumers - Carnivores
These are high level consumers, carnivores that will eat other carnivores.
DESERT
Interesting Facts:
The Gobi Desert in Asia is cold for most of the year.
Mountains on the edge of deserts prevent rain from entering.
The rain stays on the other side of the mountain creating rain
forests next to many deserts. These deserts are called rain
shadows.
The world's deserts are growing through desertification. This
happens when grasslands that border the desert become as dry
as the desert. Desertification can also be caused by intense
farming.
The cactus can store gallons of water in their stems and trunks
The jackrabbits abnormally large ears allow it to relieve heat
Kangaroo rats take water from the food they eat, thus, they
never have to drink.
Climatograph
El Paso, TX
www.drought.unl.edu
Note:
35 C = 95 F
15 C = 59 F
350 mm = 13.8 in.
www.uwsp.edu
150 mm = 6 in.
FOREST
Deciduous
• Ave. annual temperature = 10C (50F)
• Rainfall = 30-60 inches a year
• Five different zones. These zones are
the Tree Stratum Zone, Small Tree
and Sapling Zone, the Shrub Zone, the
Herb Zone, and the Ground Zone.
• Four distinct seasons.
• In fall and winter, the trees lose their
leaves.
• Plants use the forest’s nutrients by leaning toward the sun and
absorbing the nutrients from the ground.
• Many deciduous forests have lost land due to habitat destruction
(farms and towns that are built).
• Always located in temperate zones above tropical forests and below
coniferous forests.
• Animals are usually acorn feeders or omnivores.
Tertiary Consumers
=Cougars, bears
Secondary Consumers=Foxes,
owls, opossums, birds, skunks
Primary Consumers=Deer,
rodents, birds, insects
Primary Producers=Fruit
trees, berry bushes, fungi, ferns
www.world-builders.org
Rainforest
Temperate
Tropical
• Temperate evergreen forests
include diverse vegetation, animal life
and can be found all over the world.
The summers are dry and all the
trees are conifers.
Average Rainfall and Temperature
•Average rainfall: 60 - 200 in/yr.
•The temperature varies below
freezing in the winter, and up to 80
deg. F in summer.
• Some of the animals include
squirrels, rabbits, mountain lion,
bobcat and fox.
• Coniferous forests are the largest
land biome in the world.
The tropical rain forest is a forest of
tall trees in a region of year-round
warmth. Almost all tropical rain
forests are near the equator. Rain
forests cover 6% of the Earth’s land
surface.
Average Rainfall and Temperature
An average rainfall in a tropical rain
forest is 95 in/yr.
 The average temperature about 28
degrees Celsius
The temperature in a rain forest
rarely gets higher than 93 °F (34 °C)
or drops below 68 °F (20 °C)

Places in the World
• Tropical: Most are located in South America, West Africa, and Southeast
Asia. Almost all rainforests are near or on the equator.
•Temperate: East Asia, Australia, New Zealand, western edge of North and
South America. Climate usually portrays proximity to ocean.
Temperate Rain Forest
Tertiary Consumers =Lynx, wolves,
bears, cougars
Secondary Consumers=Shrew,
amphibians, weasels, raccoons,
insects, birds
Primary Consumers=Salmon,
insects, deer, elk, birds, chipmunks,
squirrels, voles
Primary Producers=Ferns, mosses,
shrubs, mushrooms
Interesting Facts:
• Climate usually portrays proximity to the
ocean
•Wildfires are uncommon because of
constant high moisture content
•Unlike tropical rain forests, temperate
rain forests have seasonal variations
Tropical Rain Forest
Tertiary Consumers =Jaguars, tigers,
snakes,
Secondary Consumers= Reptiles,
amphibians, bats, insects, birds
Primary Consumers=Monkeys, birds,
insects, small mammals
Primary Producers=Vines, epiphytes,
flowering plants, Both canopy and
understory trees
Interesting Facts:
• About 1/4 of the medicines come from
the tropical rain forest
• More than half of the animals and plant
species are living in the rain forest.
• More than 1,400 varieties of tropical
plants are thought to be potential cures
for cancer.
Rainforest Climatograph
Tropical
Temperate
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Vancouver, Canada
www.drought.unl.edu
TAIGA (Boreal Forest)
• The Northern coniferous forest or boreal
forest often called Taiga developed in cooler
and drier regions as do temperate forests.
• They experience long, cold winters and
short, cool summers.
•It consists of evergreen trees that dominate large parts on the forest
interspersed with occasional bogs and lakes.
•Soils are typically young, nutrient-poor and somewhat acidic. As a result of
the strong seasonal variation in day length, temperature and precipitation,
many organisms compile a year’s worth of feeding, breeding, and rearing a
young into a few warm, wet months.
TAIGA
• Stretch across much of
Canada, Alaska, Russia and
Scandinavia.
Average Rainfall and Temperature
• Winter's LOWEST temperature in taiga is
-65°F.
• Winter's HIGHEST temperature is 30° F.
• Summer's LOWEST temperature is 30° F
• Summer's HIGHEST temperature is 70° F
• The average rainfall in Taiga
is about 23.88 cm per month.
Interesting Facts
• There are 2 types of Boreal Forest
1) Open woodland and 2) dense
forest.
• The world’s largest terrestrial forest.
• Since the northern areas were once
connected North America and
Eurasia were once connected by
land bridges during past ice ages,
the animals and vegetations of the
boreal have been able to spread
widely.
• Boreal Forests have some of the
Earth’s largest wilderness areas that
remain.
• Fur bearing animals of boreal have
been of commercial value, lately this
value has drooped due to Western
nation’s concern of the animal’s
welfare.
TAIGA FOOD WEB
GRASSLAND
• The grassland biome consists
of areas of land in which are to
dry for forests and to wet for
deserts.
• Grasslands and the many
species they support occupy
25% of all land area.
• The grasslands have been
exploited by agricultural farmers
for their rich soils in which can Indigenous Plants and Animals
be used for successfully growing• Dominant animal species consist of
mass amounts of crops in one elephants, wildcats, antelopes, buffalo,
area.
horse, rabbits, leopards, eagles, pumas,
and kangaroos.
• Sometimes called prairies,
• Dominant plants consist of many different
savannahs or steppes.
kinds of grasses, perennials, and
extensively developed roots.
• Grasslands are located North of the Trophic of Cancer and South of the
Trophic of Capricorn.
• Grasslands are located in many parts of the world. In America they are
located in the North Central and Eastern United States.
• Grasslands are also located in other countries and continents such as
Mongolia, Russia, Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil, Africa, Madagascar, Australia,
and New Zealand.
• Average temperature in summer:104°F
• Average temperature in winter: -40°F
• Average amount of rainfall:10-30 inches
• Early settlers referred to the grasslands as “prairies” and thought they were
dry and flat areas, but realized they contained 80 different species of animals
and 300 species of birds.
• Grasslands are considered a transitional biome, which means there are
found between the desert and forests.
• Dominant vegetation: lowgrowing sedges, dwarf
shrubs, lichens mosses, and
grasses (producers)
TUNDRA
• Plants are accustomed to
sweeping winds and soil
disturbance
•Birds use the scrubs for
nests
•Dominant animal life: yearround lemmings, arctic hares
(primary consumers), arctic
foxes (secondary
consumers), lynx, caribou,
musk ox; summers:
abundant insects, many
migrant shorebirds, geese,
ducks, pikas.
The word tundra derives from the
Finnish word for barren or treeless
land. The tundra is the simplest biome
in terms of species composition and
food chains.
• Extremely short growing season (6 to
10 weeks)
• Long, cold, dark winters (6 to 10
months with mean monthly temperatures
below 32｡ F or 0｡ C.)
• Low precipitation (less than five
inches/year) coupled with strong, drying
winds.
• Snowfall is actually advantageous to
plant and animal life as it provides an
insulating layer on the ground surface.
Distribution: The tundra
biome is restricted to the high
latitudes of the northern
hemisphere in a belt around
the Arctic Ocean. Many of its
species, both plant and animal,
have circumpolar distribution
areas.
Interesting Facts:
• Permafrostpermanently frozen
subsoil
•Among the Earth’s
coldest, harshest
biomes
•Black flies and
mosquitoes are
abundant.
•Tundra are vulnerable
to habitat destruction,
over-hunting, and
extinction through loss
of any of the plant or
animal species
www.world-builders.org
CHAPARRAL
• Mediterranean scrub and
woodlands, some examples are
flatlands, rocky hills and mountain
slopes.
• Chaparral is characterized as
being very hot and dry, since they
are only found in some terrains like
flat plains, rocky hills and mountain
slopes.
• During the summer fires and droughts are very common due to the terrain and
climate. Plants and animals who live in these area have adapted to the
conditions many plants have small, hard leaves which hold moisture.
•Most animals are mainly grassland and desert types adapted to the hot, dry
terrain.
• Due to the adaptations the trees produce flammable aromatic oils that are
prone to frequent fires.
Location
 Mediterranean Coast
 Coastal California, Los Angeles and San Francisco
 South Australia
 Parts of South Africa
Los Angeles, CA
CHAPARRAL
http://www.worldexecutive.com
Annual Precipitation: Less
than 300 mm (12 to 17
inches) of rainfall yearly
mostly during the winter. This
is due to long, dry periods in
the summer
-Annual Temperature: 59
degrees F in summer, 46
degrees F in winter
http://cougarbiology.pbworks.com
BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION
BIODIVERSITY: variety of species in a
specific area.
Biodiversity increases as you move towards
the EQUATOR.
IMPORTANCE OF BIODIVERSITY:
a. TO NATURE – living things are
interdependent
b. BRINGS STABILITY: as long as their
diversity is
maintained
c. TO PEOPLE: preserving biodiversity
ensures there will be a supply of living things.
BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION
EXTINCTION: the disappearance of a species
Only those species that can ADAPT will
escape extinction.
The FOSSIL record show that extinctions
have occurred many times.
ENDANGERED SPECIES: species numbers
are so low extinction is possible.
THREATENED SPECIES: a species is likely
to become endangered.
BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY



HABITAT LOSS: one of the biggest
reasons for decline in biodiversity!
HABITAT FRAGMENTATION: the
separation of wilderness areas for other
wilderness areas
As new species MIGRATE to an area,
overall species diversity declines.
BIODIVERSITY &
CONSERVATION
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY


GEOGRAPHIC isolation can lead to
GENETIC isolation.
EDGE EFFECT: “edges” an ecosystem
can have two different abiotic factors.
(Ex. housecats in suburbia threaten
native nesting birds.)
BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION
THREATS TO BIODIVERSITY


HABITAT DEGRADATION: damage to a
habitat by pollution
a. water pollution (ex. detergents, heavy
metals, ASARCO)
b. land pollution (ex. DDT, ASARCO)
EXOTIC SPECIES: a species that is
NOT NATIVE to a particular area.
(introduced or invasive)
BIODIVERSITY & CONSERVATION
CONSERVATION OF BIODIVERSITY


CONSERVATION BIOLOGY: study and
implementation of methods to protect
biodiversity.
NATURAL RESOURCES: parts of the
environment that are useful are
necessary for living organisms.
Human Effect on Biodiversity
Most of these extinctions have occurred on islands.
Habitat Destruction
Causes:
Overpopulation
Deforestation
Pollution (air, water, soil)
Global Warming (climate
change)
http://www.defenders.org
Ex: Mexican gray wolf (Canis lupus baileyi)
“El lobo”
Humans and habitat destruction pose the
greatest threat to Mexican wolves.
Endangered, Species Protection Plan (SPP)
2011 Update - Population of endangered
Mexican gray wolves has grown for the first
time in four years, up to at least 50 wolves
and 2 breeding pairs in the wild – a near 20
percent increase from this time last year.
Invasive or Introduced Species

Invasive species = one that has been
introduced and become a pest in its new
location, spreading (invading) by natural
means.
 Barriers such as large rivers, seas, oceans,
mountains and deserts encourage diversity
by enabling independent evolution on
either side of the barrier.
 Invasive species occur when those barriers
are blurred.
 Without barriers such species occupy new
niches, substantially reducing diversity.
Invasive or Introduced Species

Introduced species = a species living outside
its native distributional range, which has
arrived there by human activity, either
deliberate or accidental.
 Not all introduced species are invasive, nor
all invasive species deliberately introduced
Invasive or Introduced Species

Intentional:
 Fish and game for recreation and hunting
(rabbits in AUS, carp)
 Plants for sentimental or aesthetic appeal
(ornamental plants)
 Domestic pets (Feral cats and parrots)
 Reintroduction (Gray wolf in Yellowstone)
 Food source (apple snail as protein source in
HI)
 Environmental and biological control (Kudzu
as erosion control)
Invasive or Introduced Species

Unintentional/Accidental:
 Rats hitchhike on ships
 Zebra mussel
 Africanized honey bees “killer bees”
 Fire ants
Levels of organization of matter:
Universe
Planets
Ecosphere/Biosphere
Ecosystems (abiotic and
biotic)
Communities (many species)
Populations (one species)
Organisms (one individual)
Organ Systems/Organs
Cells
Atoms
Trophic Categories
Producers
(autotrophs) - create their
own food through photosynthesis;
plants, algae and some bacteria.
Consumers (heterotrophs) – cannot
create their own food, must obtain
energy from the food they eat
(producers or other consumers).
Trophic Categories cont.
Detritus feeders – consume
detritus and aide in
decomposition.

Example: earthworm and
some beetles
 Decomposers – digest the
detritus more fully and create
inorganic material (breaking the
carbon bonds.)

Example: bacteria and fungi

Food Chain

Food Chain = shows simple
feeding relationships (begin
with producers)
 Quaternary consumer or
“fourth order”
 Tertiary consumer or
“third order”
 Secondary consumer or
“second order”
 Primary consumer or “first
order”
 Primary producer
Biomass and Biomass Pyramid

All biomass gets its energy from the sun
 Only 10% of energy from one trophic level
moves to the next trophic level
 Energy released, low on the Biomass Pyramid,
is high potential energy molecules (like glucose)
then converted to low potential energy
molecules (like carbon dioxide) higher on the
Pyramid.
 Understand the concept of eating lower on the
biomass pyramid
Energy Pyramids
Biomass Pyramids
Primary Succession
Competition
 Intraspecific
competition:
competition among
members of the same
species
 Interspecific
competition:
competition among
members of different
species
Species Interactions

PREDATION = the use of one species as a
resource by another species; an organism
that feeds directly upon another living
organism, whether or not it kills the prey
to do so.
1. True predators: kill prey and consume
most of what they kill
2. Carnivore/Omnivore/Herbivore
3. Parasites: live on or in organism (the
host)
a. Pathogens – cause disease in their
host (e.g. viruses, bacteria, protists)
Predation cont.
4. Parasitoids: lay eggs inside other
organisms. When eggs hatch, larvae
slowly consume the host from the inside
out (e.g. parasitic wasps and flies)
 Exceptions include scavengers,
detritivores, and decomposers (which feed
on dead things)
Species Interactions

Keystone Species:
 plays a critical role in maintaining the
structure of an ecological community and
 whose impact on the community is greater
than would be expected based on its relative
abundance or total biomass.
Species Interactions
The sea star Pisaster ochraceus,
the original keystone species, feeds
preferentially on mussels on
northeast Pacific rocky shores. By
doing so, the predatory sea star
prevents mussels from taking over
the entire shore and allows less
competitive species to persist, thus
enhancing local species diversity.
(Source: Multi-Agency Rocky
Intertidal Network)
The sea otter Enhydra lutris, can be
considered a keystone predator
because its voracious feeding on
herbivorous sea urchins allows kelps
to flourish along the rocky coast,
along with an entire ecosystem
associated with these large marine
plants. Photo by Matt Knoth.
(Source: Wikimedia Commons)
Mutualism
http://fybiology.tumblr.com
www.asknature.org
http://adventuresinscience.edublogs.org
Commensalism
king.portlandschools.org
http://animalreview.wordpress.com
http://scienceline.org
http://www.cals.ncsu.edu