Download Ecology Chapter 15 and 16 - Avon Community School Corporation

 Biota- all of the living parts of the biosphere
 Hydrosphere- all of the water in its various forms in the biosphere
 Atmosphere- the air surround Earth’s surface
 Geosphere- Earth’s surface and below
 Year-to-year weather condition for a particular area
 Temperature and Precipitation
 Day-to-day conditions are called weather
 Microclimate- small area with a different climate
than the areas surrounding it ex: cave
 Three Main Climate Regions (controlled by
latitude)
 Polar
 Temperate
 Tropic
 Latitude
 Location on landmass (on coast or inland)
 Proximity to land features like mountain ranges
 Groups of
ecosystems with
similar climates and
similar
communities
 Tolerance- range of
conditions that
plants and animals
can survive
 Terrestrial
 Tundra
 Taiga
 Deciduous
Forest
 Aquatic
•Rainforest
•Grassland
•Desert
•Savannah
Ocean
 Estuaries
 Wetlands
 Marsh
 Swamp
 Bogs

•Freshwater
–Ponds
–Lakes
–Streams
–Rivers
TUNDRA
Cold
Very short summers
Low Biodiversity
Permafrost- only top layers of soil thaw in summer
TAIGA
Evergreen forests
DESERT
Very dry
Organisms adapted for water conservation
GRASSLAND
TEMPERATE FOREST
RAIN FOREST
Very high biodiversity
SAVANNAH
OCEANS
ESTUARIES
Important nursery (spawning) ground for
many marine species
Important food source of fish for humans
WETLANDS
FRESHWATER
 Study of the size of human populations
 Human Carrying capacity
 Number is increasing with new technologies and medicines
 Cannot increase forever
 Human population used to be
low and relatively stable
 Limited by resources and
disease
 Past 500 years
 Exponential growth
 Occasional dips such as Middle
Ages with Bubonic Plague
 Non-renewable- cannot be remade (or only can be remade over a
very long time period)
 Renewable- can be remade
 Amount of land needed per person to support their resource
needs
 Habitat Loss
 Deforestation
 Habitat Fragmentation
 Pollution
 Introduction of Invasive species
 Other Human Activities
 All or part of habitat is
destroyed
 Organism move or die
 Decreases biodiversity in the
area
 Deforestation (removal of
forests) is an example
 Smaller area usually hold less individuals and less species (less
types of habitat in them)
 A fragmented area = decrease in biodiversity
 Water
 Chemicals, Trash,
Temperatures, Noise
 Land
 Chemicals, Trash
 Air
 Chemicals and Noise
 Give clues to the health of the ecosystem
 Very susceptible to pollution
 Example: frogs in aquatic ecosystems
 Skin is water-permeable so toxins have direct access
Normal pH of Rain 5.6
 Responsible for creating temperatures on Earth that can
sustain life
 Trap the sun’s heat through atmospheric gases like CO2
 CO2 levels cycled in the past due to natural climate cycles
 Rising levels of CO2 have created a greater greenhouse effect
producing global warming
 Caused by interaction of
particles from fossil fuels
and sunlight
Increase of UV radiation as ozone is lost
 Chemical pollutant
becomes more
concentrated as it
moves up the
trophic levels within
a food chain or web
 Very dangerous for
top level predators
 Also called non-native species
 Introduced to new habitat
 Often grows without check
because of lack of natural
predators or disease in the
area
 Outcompetes other native
species for resources
 Populations are depleted because of humans
 Overhunting or overfishing
 Over-collection
 Otherwise renewable resources can become nonrenewable as
population levels go down
 Population Levels Decrease due to
 Habitat Loss
 Loss of Resources (through pollution or resource being
removed/damaged)
 Illness/Death (from pollution or lack or resources)
 Other Human Activities
 As population levels decrease, genetic diversity goes down
 Populations cannot adapt or respond to changes in their
environment
 Becomes unhealthy and more likely to become extinct
 As numbers decline, organisms fall into these
categories
 Threatened
 Many elephant species
 Polar bear
 Endangered
 Giant Panda
 Many Marine Mammals
 Extinct
 Dodo
 Passenger Pigeon
 As species are lost in an ecosystem, the ecosystem becomes
less stable
 The loss of one species affects other species as well
 Using renewable resources in sustainable ways (sustainable
development)
 Protecting threatened and endangered species
 Reintroduction programs
 Conserving resources for their use
 Minimizing pollution
 Minimizing habit loss/habitat fragmentation
 Lowering ecological footprint
 Bridges between habitat fragments
 Protection against introduction of invasive species
 Controlling invasive species already introduced
 Removal
 Introduction of a predator
 Keeping/increasing biodiversity in an area