Ecosystems & The

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Chapter 22

• Ecosystems The
• Biosphere

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Energy In an Ecosystem-

• Begins with the sun to trophic levels
• 1. Solar Energy to Autotrophs
• 2. Then to organisms that feed on autotrophs
• Remember Food chains webs
• -always begin with autotrophs

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What is a Biome?

• Major ecosystems that occur over wide areas of
  land.
• Has specific kinds of plants animals.
• Usually named for dominant plant life.

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Factors that determine biomes

• B. Climate- the average weather in an area over a
  long period of time
• Determine Climate by
• 1. Temperature
• 2. Precipitation

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Questions for groups of 2

• What are the climate factors in our area?
• What is the predominate type of plant?
• What is the name of this biome?
• Describe organism adaptations ( plant and animal)
  in our ecosystem.
• Where else in the world would you expect to find
  similar ecosystems?

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C. Climatogram

• A graph that shows average monthly values for 2
  climate factors
• Shows both the temperature and precipitation for
  the year in a given location.
• Temperature-
• In celsius- on the right side-
• Make a LINE GRAPH
• Precipitation-
• In cm- on left side
• Make a HISTOGRAM (type of bar graph bars
  connect)

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Making a climatogram
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8 Major Terrestrial Biomes

• Tundra
• Taiga (Coniferous Forest)
• Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Tropical Rain Forest
• Temperate Grassland
• Savanna
• Chaparral
• Desert

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What causes the major differences between forest
and grassland biomes?

• AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION!
• Forests gt30 inches of rain per year
• Grassland 10-30 inches of rain per year
• Desert lt10 inches of rain per year
• Species diversity decreases as the amount of
  precipitation received decreases.
• (There are more different kinds of living
  things in forests where it rains a lot less
  different kinds of living things in grasslands
  where it rains less least diversity in deserts
  where there is very little rain.)

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1. Tundra

• Found in the most northern climates, North of
  Arctic circle
• Biome without trees
• Grasses tough shrubs grow in frozen soil

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Tundra Climate

• 2nd Driest places on earth- northern regions of
  Alaska, Canada and Russia.
• Precipitation
• Very dry, few inches rain per year
• Temperature
• Very cold, average -10F

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Permafrost

• Is frozen soil.
• During winter, permafrost is the surface of the
  tundra. temperatures- 60 degrees F!
• In summer, the Sun is out almost 24 hours a day,
  so the tundra starts to warm up.
• The permafrost melts at the surface, and plant
  life grows. The permafrost only disappears for a
  few inches below the surface.
• There isn't enough soil for trees to grow, so
  only small plants are found in the tundra.

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Plant Animal Adaptations

• Tundra is too cold for many animals or plants to
  survive. Much of the ground frozen year round.
• Summer season is short. Reproduction fast.
• Many animals hibernate to survive the cold
  winter.
• Bears, reindeer, moose, and birds and other
  migratory animals live in the tundra

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2. Taiga or Coniferous Forest

• Located far from the equator -below arctic circle
  -Limited to Northern Hemisphere
• Coniferous- cone-bearing- evergreen trees

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Climate

• Precipitation
• most falls as snow-
• 12 to 33 inches a year.
• Temperature very cold winters-20 degrees
• dropping to -65 degrees Fahrenheit in some
  areas
• Short growing season- 2-5 months
• Long dark winters up to 10 months long
• Winter Covering of snow protects the trees, from
  cold dehydrating winds.

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Plant adaptations

• Cone shaped -tall and narrow, so snow will slide
  off the branches without breaking them.
• Tough green needles last for more than one year.
• Needles resist frost and wind damage and conserve
  water while making food through photosynthesis.
• Dont drop leaves-ready to go to work as soon as
  the weather is warm enough.

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Animal Adaptations

• Insects abound in the summer -winter over as eggs
  or grubs in the trees.
• Thick fur on year round residents such as- Moose,
  Bear, Hare and Wolves.
• Camouflage- hares, fox, lynx, wolves
• Migration- birds leave when insects become
  scarce.
• Hibernation Burrowing
• underground-
• to escape cold.

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3. Temperate Broadleaf Deciduous Forest (TBDF)
-Especially in eastern North America-most intact
area. -Known for the turning of the colors of its
leaves in fall. -Deciduous -means shedding of
leaves -30-50 latitudes
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TBDF Climate

• Precipitation- 20 to 60 inches of is distributed
  evenly throughout the year.
• Temperature- Variations- 95 degrees F in summer
  to well below freezing in winter.
• Seasons.Approximately 6 month growing season.
• -Non-growing season is due to temperature-induced
  drought during the cold winters.

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• TBDF -Mostly intact in North America
• Almost all are second growth, but they preserve
  the world's greatest diversity of TBDF
  flora/fauna.
• Especially Appalachian Plateau
• In Europe, Most cleared for agriculture, with
  remnants surviving only in some royal hunting
  preserves.
• In Asia
• -China -intensive agriculture cleared this region
  of natural vegetation for at least 4,000 years.
• -Japan has a largely artificial forest, but in
  the mountains of -Korea the forest is more or
  less intact and fall foliage is reminiscent of
  New England's.

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4. The Tropical Rain Forest

• Occurs near the equator
• No seasons
• Tropical day and night are of equal length.

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Most species of any biome

• Everything grows fast, including disease germs
  parasites that breed at an alarming rate.
• Thin, poor soil conditions- you might think it
  would be lush- but most of the nutrients are
  absorbed by roots or washed away by rain

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• Tropical rain forests has several distinct layers
  of foliage, each with its own vegetation and
  wildlife.
• 5. Emergent Layer
• 4. Upper Canopy
• 3. Lower Canopy
• 2. Under Story
• 1. Rain Forest Floor

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• Tropical Rain Forest used to cover about 20 of
  Earths surface.
• Today it is about 6 -more is lost daily.
• Thousands of species may be lost.
• Threats
• 1. Logging- for lumber
• 2. Burning -to clear for farming, residences

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Why save the rain forest?

• Tropical rainforests produce 40 of Earth's
  oxygen.
• About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from
  rainforest plants.
• Curare comes from a tropical vine, and is used as
  an anesthetic and to relax muscles during
  surgery.
• Quinine, from the cinchona tree, is used to treat
  malaria.
• A person with lymphocytic leukemia has a 99
  chance that the disease will go into remission
  because of the rosy periwinkle.
• More than 1,400 varieties of tropical plants are
  thought to be potential cures for cancer.

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5. Temperate Grasslands (also called prairies,
steppes pampas)

• Grassland biomes can be found in the middle
  latitudes, in the interiors of continents.
• Rich fertile soil

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Temperate Grasslands

• North America- Praire
• Tall-grass Prairie. Settlers found 12 foot high
  grass on their journey west when they crossed the
  Mississippi River
• Short Grass Prairie. Near the Rocky Mountains,
  the grass became shorter. There was less rain in
  the summer and the winters got colder.
• South America, -Pampas. Southern hemisphere gets
  more precipitation than the northern, grass
  tends to be the tall-grass variety.
• Europe-Steppes -Ukraine to Siberia. This is a
  very cold and dry climate -no nearby ocean to get
  moisture. Winds from the arctic aren't blocked by
  any mountains either.

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6. Tropical Savannah
3 distinct seasonsCool-dry, hot-dry,
warm-wet -Prevent the establishment of those
species of trees associated with the climax
community in humid, subtropical climates.
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Tropical Savannah Climate

• The average annual precipitation is great enough
  to support grasses, and in some areas a few
  trees.
• The precipitation is so erratic that drought and
  fire prevent large forests from growing.
• Precipitationannual
• Between 30 and 50 inches.
• Temperature
• Average - 64F

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Plant Adaptations

• Large underground root systems
• -Obtain water when it rains, survive dry season
• -Frequent fires suppress trees, maintain grasses
  
• Must regrow quickly from roots after fire
• Water conserving coarse grasses have vertical
  leaves.
• Thorns or sharp leaves Shrubs and trees have to
  protect from herbivores.

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Animal Adaptations

• Greatest collection of Grazing animals
• (over 40 different species)
• of ungulates (hoofed mammals)
• Migratory- follow food
• Large herbivores (zebras, giraffes)
• Avoid competition by eating
• vegetation at only specific level-
• giraffes, rhinos, gazelles
• Give birth during rainy season
• Carnivores- Lion King
• Burrowing animals- Timon

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Threats to Savannahs

• Introduction of non-indigenous species
• like pigs water buffalo tramp down areas near
  water. Hard hooves cause considerable
  environmental degradation around wetlands where
  they congregate to wallow. Their trails become
  deeply eroded, sometimes allowing saltwater to
  invade freshwater habitats. Plants have been
  destroyed, young trees of many species eaten away
  and waterholes fouled.
• Weeds introduced to increase the grazing
  potential of wetlands.

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7. Chaparral

• Dominated by dense spiny shrubs clumps of
  coniferous trees.
• Mild, rainy winters hot, dry summers
• Middle latitudes (about 30 degrees N/S of
  equator)
• Mediterranean Sea Southern California

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8. Desert Biomes

• Occur in 2 belts 15-35 N S latitude
• Result primarily from worldwide circulation of
  air masses (dry over deserts)
• 25 of worlds land mass

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Plant Adaptations

• Water conservation is key
• Roots
• spread out shallow to absorb rain quickly
• May produce toxins against other plants growing
  nearby
• Sore water in underground bulbs
• Succulent Cacti Leaves-
• thick, fleshy with waxy coating
• Spines, thorns protect
• Plants survive dry periods as seeds, but
  germinate, grow, and reproduce after rainfall

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Animal Adaptations

• Hibernate (cold) sleep through cold season
• Estivate (hot)- bury themselves in ground sleep
  through dry season (Dormancy during dry period)
• Nocturnal (night)
• Kidney adaptations- no need to drink
• Examples
• spadefoot toad emerges to reproduce in pools
  formed after rain
• Come out only at night - spiders, scorpions,
  rodents, predators
• Kangaroo rate with super kidneys gets all water
  from seeds

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II. Aquatic Biomes

• A. B. Marine Ecosystems
• 1. Estuaries
• 2. Coral Reefs
• 3. Oceans
• B. Freshwater Ecosystems
• 1. Lakes Ponds
• 2. Wetlands
• a. Marshes
• b. Swamps
• 3. Rivers
• C. Polar Ecosystems
• 1. The Arctic
• 2. The Antarctic

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Aquatic Ecosystems

• How is water distributed on the Earth?
• 70 Earth surface is covered by OCEANS
• Almost all of the Earths surface water is
  contained in ocean ecosystems

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Aquatic biomes determined by

• 1. Salinity of the water
• Freshwater
• Marine
• Estuary
• 2. Depth, flow, temperature of the water
• flowing-water ecosystems
• standing-water ecosystems.

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B. Marine Ecosystems

• 1. Estuaries
• Coral Reefs
• Oceans

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Estuaries

• Occurs where freshwater rivers streams empty
  into the sea.
• Bays, Mud flats, Salt Marshes
• Plenty of light, minerals for life.
• But life must adapt to changes
• Salinity
• Temperature
• Water levels

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Coral Reefs

• the bread basket of the sea
• Both estuaries coral reefs have a lot of
  biodiversity biomass
• The deep ocean zones have very little life.

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Oceans

• Divde into
• Photic Zone
• layer light penetrates, photosynthesis occurs
• Phytoplankton.
• Aphotic Zone- no sunlight, cold, dark
• Also Intertidal, Neritic, Oceanic zones

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A. Freshwater Ecosystems

• 1. Lakes Ponds
• 2. Wetlands
• a. Marshes
• b. Swamps
• 3. Rivers

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Freshwater Ecosystems

• Lakes Ponds
• Types
• Eutrophic- Rich in organic materials-MURKY
• Oligotrophic- Little organic matter- CLEAR
• Rivers Streams
• Classified by Slope, which determines
• - how fast water moves
• - oxygen content
• - what organisms can live there

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Florida Everglades

• Until the late 1800s, a vast expanse of
  interconnected wetlands covered about 8.9 million
  acres and extended from the lakes and marshes of
  Orange County to Florida Bay.
• 4 million acres called the "River of Grass.

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Wastelands?

• During late 1880s, began to drain S. Florida.
• Draining considered necessary for safety
  commerce
• Flows to the Everglades have been reduced by 70!

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Ecosystem Devastation

• Timing of flows and water levels has been
  disrupted.
• Extreme low water levels cause muck fires.
• Extreme high water levels cause loss of animal
  life and flooding of tree islands
• About 95 of the wading bird population has been
  lost - 68 plant animal species are now
  threatened or endangered.

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Problems in Aquatic ecosystems

• Pollution from human activities has eutrophied
  Lake Okeechobee and converted many thousands of
  acres of diverse lake marsh and Everglades marsh
  into a morass of cattails.
• Mercury contamination-area posted with health
  advisories regarding the eating of fish.
• Florida Bay suffers from a lack of freshwater
  causing frequent hypersaline conditions, a severe
  decline of seagrasses, and algal blooms.

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Restoration Plans

• Plans 7.8 billion Everglades Projects in 35
  years
• 1.1 million acre-feet of "new" water will be
  available each year 80 for environmental
  benefits, 20 for urban and agricultural water
  supplies.
• Costs shared 50 each federal state government
• The removal of more than 500 miles of
  canals and levees which are barriers to natural
  sheet flow
• Surface water storage reservoirs
• Water preserve areas
• Aquifer storage and recovery wells
• Water quality treatment areas

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C. Polar Ecosystems

• 1. The Arctic
• 2. The Antarctic
• These are considered to be aquatic biomes because
  life on the ice here depends on the phytoplankton
  ocean food chains