the biosphere. the order of things…. subatomic particles atoms molecules macromolecules ...

The Biosphere

The Order of Things….

Subatomic Particles Atoms molecules macromolecules Organelles Cells tissues Organs Organisms

(Ecological Order…) Populations Communities Ecosystems Biomes Biosphere

Biogeography

The study of the distribution of

organisms and the processes that

underlie distribution patterns (a

central question – evolutionary

and ecological answer -

Biogeographic Realms

Factors that Affect Distribution

Geologic history

Topography

Climate

Species

interactions

Biosphere

Sum total of the places in which

organisms live

Includes portions of the

hydrosphere, lithosphere, and

atmosphere

Climate

Average weather condition in a region

Affected by: amount of incoming solar radiation

prevailing winds

elevation

precipitation

Climagraph, San Diego, CA

More Climagraphs

Fig. 5.4

The Atmosphere

Three layers

Outer mesosphere

Middle stratosphere (includes ozone layer)

Inner troposphere (where air is warmed by

the greenhouse effect)

Earth’s Atmosphere

Ozone Layer

Region 17 to 27 kilometers above

sea level in the stratosphere

Molecules of ozone absorb most

layers of ultraviolet light

Protects living organisms from

excess exposure to UV light3O2 - 2O3 (ozone)

Warming the Atmosphere

Solar energy warms the atmosphere and sets global air circulation patterns in motion

Figure 49.4Page 890

Rotation and Wind Direction

Earth rotates faster under the air at the equator than it does at the poles

Deflection east and west

Figure 49.4Page 890

Global Wind Patterns

Red Arrows Indicate Very Strong Winds

Trade winds, doldrums, and horse latitudes

Seasonal Variation

Northern end of Earth’s axis tilts toward sun in June and away in December

Difference in tilt causes differences in sunlight intensity and day length

The greater the distance from the equator, the more pronounced the seasonal changes

Earth’s Axis Tilts

Ocean Currents

Upper waters move in currents that distribute

nutrients and affect regional climates

Figure 49.6Page 892

Rain Shadow

Air rises on the windward side, loses

moisture before passing over the

mountain

Figure 49.7Page 893

Monsoons

A monsoon is defined as a seasonal shift

in wind direction, being derived from the

Arabic word "mausim", meaning season.

Affect continents north and south of warm-

water oceans

Can cause seasonal variation in rains

Air Moves from Cool to Warm Regions

Coastal Breezes Breeze blows in direction of warmer

region Direction varies with time of day

Afternoon Night

Figure 49.8Page 893

Biogeographic Realms

Eight areas in which plants and

animals are somewhat similar

Maintain their identity because of

climate and physical barriers that tend

to maintain isolation between species

Biogeographic Realms

Biomes

Regions of land characterized by habitat conditions and community structure

Distinctive biomes prevail at certain latitudes and elevations

A biogeographic realm generally composed of many biomes

Fig. 5.2

Olympic NP

The most famous temperate rainforest is in the Olympic National Park of Washington state.

It is locates on the western slope of an Olympic mountain where it gets about 200 inches of rain per year.

Temperate Rainforest Great Smoky Mountains NP

Each 1,000 feet of elevation gained is the equivalent of moving 250 miles north. This creates a temperature gradient combined with

additional precipitation (GT 100 inches per year) classifies small sections of the Park as a temperate rainforest. http://www.great.smoky.mountains.national-park.com/info.htm

Forests in the Great Smoky Mountains Five forest types dominate the Great Smoky

Mountains. The spruce-fir forest caps the Park's highest

elevations. (4500 – 5500 ft) A northern hardwood forest dominates the

middle to upper elevations from 3,500- 5,000 feet. Drier ridges in and around the Park hold a pine-

oak forest. A hemlock forest often grows along stream

banks. The cove hardwood forest lines the valleys

throughout the Park.

Fig. 5.3

Hot Spots Portions of biomes that show the

greatest biodiversity

Conservationists are working to inventory and protect these regions

24 hot spots hold more than half of all terrestrial species

Conservation International’s Definition

Conservation International defines hotspots as "regions that harbor a great diversity of endemic species and, at the same time, have been significantly impacted and altered by human activities."

Hotspots Map

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/sectors/env/biodiversity_eastasia.html

Ecoregions

Large areas of globally important biomes or water provinces

Currently vulnerable to extinction

Targeted by World Wildlife Fund for special study and conservation efforts

WWF global 2000 Project “WWF has ranked the terrestrial Global

200 ecoregions by their conservation status - classifying those ecoregions that are considered critical, endangered, or vulnerable as a result of direct human impacts, and those that are relatively stable or intact. Nearly half (47%) of the terrestrial ecoregions are considered critical or endangered; another quarter (29%) are vulnerable; and only a quarter (24%) are relatively stable of intact.”

http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/global200/pages/mapdownload.htm#map3

Map of WWF’s Ecoregions

Soil Characteristics

Amount of humus

pH

Degree of aeration

Ability to hold or drain

water

Mineral content

Soil Profiles

Layer structure of soil Soil characteristics

determine what plants will grow and how well

Rainforest Desert Grassland

Figure 49.12Page 896

Deserts

Less than 10 centimeters annual

rainfall, high level of evaporation

Tend to occur at 30 degrees north and

south and in rain shadows

One-third of land surface is arid or

semiarid

Sonoran Desert

Temperate Grasslands

Precipitation less than 60 centimeters per year and greater than 10 cm per year

Temperature range -5 to 20 C0 (usually)

Grasslands

Dry Shrublands and Woodlands

Semiarid regions with cooler, wet winters and hot, dry summers

Tend to occur in western or southern coastal regions between latitudes of 30 and 40 degrees

Dry Scrubland

Savannas “A savanna is a rolling grassland,

dotted with trees, which can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biomes.”

“There are actually two very different seasons in a savanna; a very dry season (winter), and a very wet season (summer).”http://www.rain.org/global-garden/biomes/BIOME_SA.HTM

Map of Savannas

African Savanna

Forest Biomes

Tall trees form a continuous canopy Evergreen broadleaves in tropical

latitudes

Deciduous broadleaves in most temperate

latitudes

Evergreen conifers at high temperate

elevations and at high latitudes

Evergreen Broadleaf Tropical Forest

Temperate Deciduous Forest

Evergreen Forest, Pacific Coast

Taiga

Biome that borders the artic tundra

Few trees Most common tree is the black

spruce Can be considered an ecotone Low bio - productivity and diversity

Taiga

Taiga

Arctic Tundra

Occurs at high

latitudes

Permafrost lies

beneath surface

Nutrient cycling

is very slow

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 Arctic tundra in Russia in summer

Figure 49.19 Page 903

Alpine Tundra

Occurs at high elevations

No underlying permafrost

Plants are low cushions or mats as in Arctic tundra

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Figure 49.19 Page 903

Lakes

Bodies of standing freshwater

Eutrophic: shallow, nutrient-rich,

has high primary productivity

Oligotrophic: deep, nutrient-poor,

has low primary productivity

LITTORALLIMNETIC

LITTORAL

PROFUNDAL Figure 49.21Page 904

Lake Zonation

Thermal Layering

In temperate-zone lakes, water can form distinct layers during summer

THERMOCLINE

Figure 49.22Page 904

Seasonal Overturn

In spring and fall, temperatures in

the lake become more uniform

Oxygen-rich surface waters mix

with deeper oxygen-poor layers

Nutrients that accumulated at

bottom are brought to the surface

Eutrophication

Enrichment of a body of water with nutrients

Can occur naturally over long time span

Can be triggered by pollutants

Streams

Begin as springs or seeps

Carry nutrients downstream

Solute concentrations influenced by streambed composition and human activities

Figure 49.23 Page 905

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Ocean Provincesneritic zone

oceanic zone

intertidal zone

BENTHIC PROVINCE

PELAGIC PROVINCE

0200

1,000

2,000

4,000

11,0000 depth (meters)

continental shelf

bathyal shelf

abyssal zone

hadal zone

deep-sea trenches

sunlit water

"twilig

ht" water

sunless water

Figure 49.24Page 906

Phytoplankton

Floating or weakly swimming

photoautotrophs; form the base

for most oceanic food webs

Ultraplankton are photosynthetic

bacteria

Plankton Nets

Diatoms and Dinoflagellates

Primary Productivity

Primary producers are usually the phytoplankton

Productivity can vary seasonallynorth temperate

north polar

tropical

Figure 49.25Page 906

Deep Ocean Food Webs

Regions too dark for photosynthesis Marine snow supports a detrital

food web Organic matter drifts down from

shallower water Diverse species migrate up and

down in water column daily

Hydrothermal Vents Openings in ocean

floor that spew mineral-rich, superheated water

Primary producers are chemoautotrophic bacteria; use sulfides as energy source Tube worms at hydrothermal vent

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Figure 49.26 Page 907

Mangrove Wetlands

Tropical saltwater ecosystem

Form in nutrient-rich tidal flats

Dominant plants are salt-tolerant

mangroves

Florida, Southeast Asia

Estuary

Partially enclosed area where

saltwater and freshwater mix

Dominated by salt-tolerant plants

Examples are Chesapeake Bay, San

Francisco Bay, salt marshes of New

England

Estuarine Food Webs

Primary producers are phytoplankton

and salt-tolerant plants

Much primary production enters

detrital food webs

Detritus feeds bacteria, nematodes,

snails, crabs, fish

Intertidal Zones

Littoral zone is submerged only

during highest tides of the year

Midlittoral zone is regularly

submerged and exposed

Lower littoral is exposed only

during lowest tides of the year

Rocky Intertidal

Grazing food webs

prevail

Vertical zonation is

readily apparent

Diversity is greatest

in lower littoral zone

Figure 49.29Page 909

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Sandy Coastlines

Vertical zonation is less obvious

than along rocky shores

Detrital food webs predominate

Beaches

http://www.infocom.cqu.edu.au/Units/aut98/00101/DONE/Assign02/Nfi/beaches.jpg

Beach Processes

“Sandy beaches form by the accretion of sand particles, the product of erosion, which have been carried in and deposited by waves.

Once it forms, a beach changes continuously. Winds are constantly blowing the sand - often in the opposite direction of the waves.”

http://www.amyingalls.net/jekyll/pages/beach/sandy_b.html

Accretion Accretion: the process of growth or

enlargement by gradual buildup. Barrier islands grow through the process of accretion. Currents wash the sand from the northern end

of the island and deposit it on the southern tip.  

The growth of the islands in this manner causes the islands to migrate up and down the coast. Jekyll Island is migrating south toward Florida.

Erosion

Erosion:Erosion: the process or state of being slowly worn away. Soil is eroded by wind and water .

Biotic Factors Crabs and other

animals are moving sand from the bottom up as they emerge from their burrows. Crabs can move several tons of sand in one day

THE GHOST CRAB, Ocypode quadrata

http://www.amyingalls.net/jekyll/pages/beach/sandy_b.html

Beach Dynamics

Through the seasons, the waves constantly rework the sand and reshape the beach.

During spring and summer, gentle waves deposit sand onto the beach platform forming a broad sandy slope called a berm.

Summer Sand Accretion

During the summer, the gentle waves build up sand on the beach platform.

Berm

A berm is a narrow shelf or ledge of sand and debris running parallel to the beach. It is made by the building up, or accretion, of sand.

Winter Sand Removal

Through the seasons, the waves constantly rework the sand and reshape the beach.

During the Winter, storms often remove sand from the berm.

The Southerly long shore current tends to move the entire barrier island southward.

Sand Dunes

Sand dunes are vital to the barrier island ecosystem. They provide shelter for shorebirds and sea turtles.

Dune Sand Reservoirs

Dunes also provide the necessary sand supply for the constantly changing beach.

This supply of sand helps to control beach erosion - a problem many beaches experience.

Sand dunes provide the first line of defense from severe storms and hurricanes.

Dune Zonation

There are three different zones in the sand dunes: primary dunes, secondary dunes, and the interdune meadow.

As the dunes get older, they migrate back toward the maritime forest.

Interdune Meadows

Between the dunes in a interdune meadow, water will begin to collect. If there is enough soil to hold this water, a swamp will form.

These swamps are called sloughs (pronounced slews).

Role of Freshwater

Because they are far enough back from the ocean, sloughs contain fresh, and not salt water.

Fresh water allows more animals and plants to live and grow.

If enough time passes, the slough will find itself in a maritime forest.

Later, alligator - 9-footer comes ashore on St. Simons

Fri, Aug 23, 2002By KAREN SLOAN The Brunswick News

Tourists were not the only ones who wanted to enjoy the sun and surf on the beach near the old U.S. Coast Guard Station on St. Simons Island Thursday. A 9-foot alligator was found about 10 a.m. lingering in the waters about 20 feet from the beach….

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/local/278347593804907.php

Upwelling

Upward movement of water along a coast; replaces surface waters that move away from shore

Figure 49.31Page 910

ENSO

El Nino Southern Oscillation

Climactic event that involves changes in

sea surface temperature and air circulation

patterns in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

(Western Pacific waters become warmer)

Between ENSOs

Warm water and heavy rainfall

move west across the Pacific

Warm moist air rises in the

western Pacific causing storms

Upwelling of cool water along

western coasts

During an ENSO

Trade winds weaken and warm water

flows east across the Pacific

Sea surface temperatures rise

Upwelling along western coasts ceases

Heavy rainfall occurs along coasts,

droughts elsewhere

Cholera Connection

Cholera outbreaks correlate with rises in sea temperature

Copepod population increases when phytoplankton increase in warming seas

Copepod host of Vibrio choleraeharbors dormant stage

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Figure 49.34 Page 913