Chapter 3 Communities, Biomes, and Ecosystems

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Chapter 3Communities, Biomes, and Ecosystems
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3.1

• Community Ecology

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I. Communities

• A. What is a community?
• B. Limiting factors any biotic or abiotic
  factor that restricts the numbers, reproduction,
  or distribution of an organism

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Examples of Abiotic Limiting Factors

• 1. Nutrients
• 2. Water
• 3. Space

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4. Sunlight5. Climate6. Temperature7. Soil
Chemistry8. Fire
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Examples of Biotic Limiting Factors

• Food
• Competition
• Disease
• Predation

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C. Range of Tolerance

• 1. There is an upper and lower limit for any
  environmental factor
• 2. Tolerance ability of an organism to survive
  when subjected to biotic or abiotic factors

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a. Example oxygen level
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b. Amount of sun
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c. Amount of water
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II. Succession Change over time

• A. Ecological succession is the change in an
  ecosystem that happens when one community
  replaces another as a result of changing abiotic
  and biotic factors.
• there are two types (primary and secondary)

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1. Primary Succession

• a. The establishment of a community in an area
  of exposed rock that does not have any topsoil.
  (usually happens very slowly at first)

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b. examples

• (1) volcano making new land.

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(2) Avalanche exposes rock.
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c. Pioneer Species

• (1) First species to colonize an area.

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(2) Example-Lichens
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2. Secondary Succession

• a. The orderly and predictable change that takes
  place after a community of organisms has been
  removed but the soil has remained.

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• b. Pioneer species mainly plants that begin to
  grow in the disturbed area are the first
  species to start secondary succession
• Like these baby pines

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B. Succession Occurs Because of COMPETITION!
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d. Climax Community

• (1) A stable mature community that undergoes
  little or no change.
• (2)Can develop from bare rock.

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3.2

• Terrestrial Biomes

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I. Terrestrial Biomes Effects of Latitude and
Climate

• A. Ecosystems on land are grouped into biomes
  based on the plant communities within them.
• B. Biomes are a large group of ecosystems that
  share the same type of climax communities.

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C. Two keys to understanding terrestrial biomes
include

• 1. Latitude from 0o at equator to 90o at the
  poles (see page 65)

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• 2. Climate average weather conditions,
  including temperature and precipitation

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II. Major Land Biomes
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A. Tundra

• Precipitation 15-25 cm per year
• Temperature -34oC to 12oC
• Plants Treeless, grasses, shrubs (shallow roots)
• Permafrost is present.
• Animals birds, wolves, fish, polar bears,
  caribou

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B. Boreal forest (taiga)

• Great northern coniferous forest
• Precipitation 38-51cm per year
• Temperature -68oC to 32oC
• Plants Spruce, fir and some deciduous trees
  small shrubs
• Animals Birds, moose, deer, beavers, wolverines,
  mountain lions

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C. Temperate Forest (Deciduous)

• Precipitation 75-150cm per year
• Temperature -30oC to 30oC
• Plants oak, maple, beech (deciduous trees lose
  their leaves) shrubs thick humus
• Animals Squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer,
  foxes and bears

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D. Temperate Woodland/Shrubland (Chaparral)

• Precipitation 25-43cm per year
• Temperature 10oC to 40oC
• Plants evergreen shrubs, sagebrush
• Animals fox, coyote, bobcat, jackrabbit lizard,
  snakes, birds

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E. Grassland (Temperate Grasslands)

• Precipitation 50-89cm per year
• Temperature -40oC to 38oC
• Plants Grasses and herbs
• Animals Horses, deer, mice, coyote, birds,
  bison, snakes, and grasshoppers

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F. Desert

• Precipitation 15-26cm per year
• Temperature high of 20oC to 49oC
• low 2oC to 26oC
• Plants Cacti, Joshua trees, succulent
• Animal lizards, rats, tortoises, bobcats,
  pygmies, antelope, toads

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G. Tropical Savanna

• Precipitation 50-150cm per year
• Temperature 24oC to 49oC
• Plants Grasses and scattered trees
• Animals lions, hyenas, cheetahs, elephants,
  zebra and giraffes)

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H. Tropical Seasonal Forest

• Precipitation 130-180cm per year
• Temperature 20oC to 25oC
• Plants Deciduous and evergreen trees orchids
  and cacti
• Animals Monkeys, kangaroos, koalas, rabbits,
  frogs, spiders

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I. Tropical Rainforest (high biodiversity
medicines!)

• Precipitation 125-660cm per year!
• Temperature 20oC to 34oC
• Plants broadleaf evergreens, bamboo, fig, and
  coconut trees
• Animals elephants, orangutans, bats, toucans,
  sloth, cobra

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J. Mountains

• As altitude increases precipitation and
  temperature change
• So, plant and animal life varies with elevation

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K. Polar regions

• Precipitation snow and ice
• Temperature average -30oC in winter
• Plants some areas
  grow vegetables in summer
• Animals penguins in Antarctica,
  whales seals in water

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3.3

• Aquatic Ecosystems

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I. Aquatic Ecosystems

• How inappropriate to call this planet Earth when
  it is quite clearly Ocean. Sir Arthur C.
  Clarke

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A. By the numbers

• Earth is 71 water 29 land
• Water is 97.5 Saltwater 2.5 Fresh
• Of the 2.5 Fresh water
• 68.9 Frozen in glaciers
• 30.8 Groundwater
• 0.3 Lakes, Rivers, Streams

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B. Freshwater

• 1. Plants and animals adapted to low salt
  content
• 2. Unable to survive in high salt concentration

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3. Rivers and Streams

• a. Water flows in one direction
• b. Headwater ? mouth ? into larger body of water
• c. Sediment material deposited by water, wind,
  or glaciers
• Examples silt, mud, and sand

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4. Lakes and Ponds

• a. Oligotrophic lake nutrient-poor few
  plant/animal species (good for game fish)
• b. Eutrophic lake nutrient-rich abundant life

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c. Lakes divided into three zones

• (1) Littoral closest to shore
• (2) Limnetic open water area sunlit and full
  of plankton
• (3) Profundal deepest area cold and low in O2

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C. Transitional Aquatic Ecosystems

• 1. Wetlands marshes, swamps, and bogs
• High levels of biodiversity
• 2. Estuaries where fresh and salt mix
• Among most diverse ecosystems, rivaled only by
  rain forests and coral reefs!

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D. Marine EcosystemsSaltwater
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1. Intertidal Zone

• Ocean meets Land!

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2. Open Ocean Ecosystem

• a. Photic zone 0 to 200m Sunlit
• Autotrophs Phytoplankton and Zooplankton
• b. Aphotic zone no sun dark and cold
• c. Benthic zone ocean floor
• Sand, silt, dead organisms
• d. Abyssal zone deepest region of ocean

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Phytoplankton

• Found in the photic (euphotic) zone.
• Where light can penetrate.

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Zooplankton

• Found in the aphotic zone and euphotic (photic)
  zone.
• Aphotic-light does not penetrate.

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• Benthic zone

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3. Coastal Ocean a. Most people live near the
coast
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• 53 of us live within 200 km (124 mi) of the
  ocean
• 67 of us live within 400 km (249 mi) of the
  ocean

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4. Coral Reef

• a. High biodiversity
• b. Provides natural barriers for continents
• c. Coral polyps most have mutualistic
  relationship with algae called zooxanthellae