Transcript The Biosphere

China’s Lakes of Pig Manure…
 China raises and consumes
roughly half the planet's pigs,
which produce an estimated 618
billion kilograms (163 billion
gal) of manure each year.
 10 million hogs are being raised
in North Carolina - operations
that house thousands of pigs in
confined spaces
 antibiotics,
 artificial hormones, and
 other chemicals
 40 million gallons of untreated
manure each day
 Leading to eutrophication in
water systems and fish die off
Eutrophication – what is it?
Foam on the beach due to a Phaeocystis bloom (Le Portel France: 04/2012) (Photo credit: Nausicaa, Adrien Delater-Julien Legrand)
Cause of fish (+other animal/plant) die off:
1. Nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) increase due to
run-off from homes, farms and ranches.
2. Bacteria and Algae grow at rapid rate because they
now have a large nutrient source and this in turn feeds
the decomposers at lower levels. Some give off toxins.
3. The decomposers use up oxygen, while the algae
block sunlight.
4. Fish and deeper aquatic plants die.
Chapter 15
Biomes – major types of ecosystems
that occupy broad geographic regions
of land or water
 Aquatic
 Ocean
 Estuary
 Intertidal
 Wetlands
 Terrestrial
 Tropical
 Savanna
 Desert
 Others
If you travel from west to east through Ecuador, you
will pass through tundra, taiga, temperate forest,
and tropical forest. Which of the following
climatic factors remains constant on such a trip?
A) maximum temperature
B) average rainfall
C) soil type
D) day length
E) wind
Biosphere
 All areas of the Earth that are inhabited by living
organisms.
 This includes the ocean depths, land, and atmosphere
up approximately a mile or so above the surface.
 Life in the biosphere is influenced by
 Energy sources
 Temperature
 Water availability
 Inorganic nutrients
 Other aquatic and terrestrial factors
Influences on Earth’s ecosystems
Earth’s tilt is also a factor
Differences in temperature set up
prevailing wind patterns
Prevailing winds influence ocean
currents
 Shape of Earth
means that the
equator turns
more rapidly.
This and the
rising and falling
air masses
establish
prevailing wind
patterns
Topography also influences
ecosystems
In terms of global air circulation, the
tropics are a region where air
A) descends and warms, dropping rain.
B) descends and warms, creating an arid belt.
C) rises and warms, creating an arid belt.
D) rises and cools, creating an arid belt.
E) rises and cools, dropping rain.
When people speak of the "rain shadow" of
the California Coast Range, they are referring
to the
A) shadow cast by the mist and clouds that hover above the
crest of the range.
B) forested condition of the eastern flank of the range
compared to the western flank.
C) scarcity of rain on the eastern flank and adjacent lowlands
compared to the western flank.
D) dark-colored chaparral vegetation that grows on the
eastern flank.
E) fact that the vegetation of the eastern flank stays green
further into the summer than the vegetation of the western
flank or adjacent lowlands.
<=Food Chain – used to show the
flow of energy or nutrients
through an ecosystem
Which of the following organisms
would occupy a high trophic level?
a) zooplankton
b) fungus
c) rabbit
d) grass
e) spider
“Food chains are accurate
representations of energy flow through
an ecosystem.” This statement is:
a) true; food chains accurately illustrate existing trophic levels.
b) false; real ecosystems are much more complex than simplified
food chains.
c) false; the idea of producers, herbivores, and carnivores are
human constructs.
d) true; however, they do not represent the amount of energy
flowing through an ecosystem.
e) false; food chains depict organism diets, not energy flow.
Organisms interact within an
ecosystem
 Species within an
ecosystem evolve together
 Often interdependent
 Or one depends on other
 Niche concept
 The role an organism has
in an ecosystem and
 Its ecological needs
Why is it difficult to actually see
competition among species in
nature?
 Competition causes itself to disappear.
 After only short periods of competition, either one of
the species becomes locally extinct or resource
partitioning occurs and this competition is largely
eliminated.
 The result is that competition is either significantly
reduced or wiped out altogether.
Species interact in other ways:
 Predator and prey interactions – like an arms race
 Predators hunt and capture prey – adaptations
 Prey evolve various mechanisms to avoid predation
 Not all interactions are negative
 Mutualism
 Commensalism
Let’s look at some of these 
The American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) and the
Common Kestrel (Falco tinnunculus) are found
on different continents; however, both hunt for
small mammals and birds in open country.
Therefore, these two species:
a) occupy similar niches.
b) are sympatric.
c) are paraphyletic.
d) competitively inhibit one another.
e) exhibit character displacement.
The intensity of competition
between two species increases as:
a) their body size increases.
b) the size of their shared environment increases.
c) one species approaches the point of extinction.
d) the similarity of their requirements and lifestyles
increases.
e) their reproductive success is reduced.
Ecosystems can change over time
Disturbance in Communities
 Common for there to be
disturbances
 Wind, flooding, fires, etc.
 Introduced pathogens, species,
etc.
 Geologic uplifting, shifting
rivers, etc.
 If keystone species is impacted,
there is a domino effect on other
species
 Sea otter – feeds on sea urchins
that feed on kelp forests
Encyclopedia of Earth
Prairie keystone species
 Prairie without buffalo is
dominated by a single
species of tall grass.
 When buffalo are
present, their grazing
keeps the tall grass
species in check.
 This increases species
diversity of plants and
the animals that feed on
them.
Small fish often follow large turtles in the open
ocean, taking advantage of the turtle as a place to
hide. This interaction would best be classified as:
a) commensalism.
b) predation.
c) parasitism.
d) amphibianism.
e) mutualism.
“Ecological succession” refers to:
a) the effects on a trophic web when one species is
removed.
b) the replacement of one type of vegetation with
another.
c) human-induced (anthropogenic) changes in an
ecological community.
d) the effects on an ecological community when a nonnative species is introduced.
e) a series of predictable changes in the composition or
structure of an ecological community.
Activity questions:
 What is the source of energy supporting most of the
ecosystems on the planet?
 What are the differences between our planet and Mars
and Venus? Why do these differences exist?
 Why is the tilt of the earth significant?
 Day length –
 Temperature –
 Seasons –
 Where are the world’s deserts located? Why?
 Where are the world’s tropical forests located? Why?
Read Chapter 16