Biogeography

Arizona GeographyGCU 221

Game Plan:

1. Ecosystems2. Adaptations and Niches3. Ecotones4. Major Ecosystems of Arizona

1. Ecosystem

• Variety of interrelated organisms (food web)• Environment• Adaptations

A system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment.

1. Ecosystem

1. Ecosystem

1. Sun – powered by nuclear energy2. Plants – powered by the sun3. Herbivores – powered by plants4. Omnivores – powered by plants and animals5. Carnivores – powered by animals6. Climax Species – powered by big animals7. Decomposers – powered by dead things

Arizona Activity…

1. Columbian Exchange: Ecosystem in Flux

1. Different Environments: more urban

1. Different Environments: warmer planet

1. Adaptations and Niches

1. Biodiversity: good or bad

• Medea or Gaia

1. Medea: Blue Fin Tuna

1. Gaia: Platypus

2. Ecotones

• Boundaries between ecosystems• High biodiversity

3. Arizona Major Ecosystems

• Tundra: San Francisco Peaks• Spruce Fir: White Mountains• Ponderosa Pine and Gamble Oak: Mogollon Rim• Pinyon – Juniper: Sedona• Grassland: Sunset Point• Cottonwood and Willow: Verde River• Sonora Desert: Superstition Mountains• Colorado Desert: Yuma

Major Ecosystems of Arizona

1

2

34

7

56

8

1. San Francisco Peaks - Tundra

1. San Francisco Peaks - Tundra

2. White MountainsSpruce Fir

3. Mogollon RimPonderosa

Forest / Gamble Oak

4. SedonaPinyon Pine /

JuniperCochineal

5. Sunset PointSavannah

Grasslands

6. Verde RiverWillow

Cottonwood

6. Willow Cottonwoodreplaced by

Tamarisk

7. SuperstitionMountains

Sonora Desert

8. Yuma Colorado Desert

Major Ecosystems of Arizona

1

2

34

7

56

8

Things to know:• What is an Ecosystem?• What is the Columbian Exchange• What does it mean to be Gaian? What does it mean to

be Medean?• What is an Ecotone and why are they important?• Basic understanding of the 8 major ecosystems of the

Arizona (which is hotter or colder, where plant and animal species are common, like Cottonwood or Antelope)

Help: Ask Dr. Douglass