Download Date Honors Biology Chapter 4 Outline 4.1 Climate Weather and C

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Chapter 4 Outline
4.1 Climate
Weather and Climate
Weather is the day-to-day condition of the Earth’s atmosphere
Climate refers to average conditions over long periods of time
A regions climate is defined by year-after-year patterns of temperature and precipitation
Environmental conditions can vary over small distances, creating microclimates
Factors that Effect Climate
Global climate is shaped by many factors, including solar energy trapped by the biosphere,
latitude, and the transport of heat by winds and ocean currents
Solar Energy and the Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse gases ( carbon dioxide, methane and water vapor) allow visible light to enter
the atmosphere, but trap heat, this is called the greenhouse effect
Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be about 30 degrees Celsius cooler than it is
today
Lattitude and Solar Energy
The curvature of the Earth causes the same amount of solar energy to be distributed over
larger area near the poles than at the equator
This difference in heat distribution creates three different climate zones: tropical,
temperate and polar
Heat Transport in the Biosphere
Wind transports heat from regions of rising warm air regions to regions of sinking cooler air
4.2 Niches and Community Interactions
The Niche
Tolerance
Every species has its own range of tolerance, the ability to survive and reproduce under a
range of environmental circumstances
Habitat = the general place where and organism lives
Defining the Niche
Niche describes what an organism does and how it interacts with biotic and abiotic factors
in the environment. A niche is the range of physical and biological conditions in which a
species lives and the way the species obtains what it needs to survive and reproduce.
Resource – any necessity of life, such as water, nutrients, light, food or space
Part of an organism’s niche involves abiotic factors it requires for survival
Biological aspects of an organism’s niche involve the biotic factors it requires for survival
Competition
Intraspecific competition – competition between members of the same species
Interspecific competition – competition between members of different species
The Competitive Exclusion Principle
No two species can occupy the same niche in exactly the same habitat at the same time
Dividing Resources
By causing species to divide resources, competition helps determine the number and kinds of
species in a community and the niche each species occupies
Predation, Herbivory, and Keystone Species
Predator-Prey Relationships
Predators can affect the size of prey populations in a community and determine the places
prey can live and feed
Herbivore-Plant Relationships
Herbivores can affect both the size and distribution of plant populations in a community
and determine the places that certain plants can survive and grow
Keystone Species
Sometimes changes in the population of a single species, often called a keystone species,
can cause dramatic changes in the structure of a community
Symbiosis
Any relationship in which two species live closely together
Mutualism
Relationship between species in which both benefit ( clown fish and sea anemone )
Parasitism
Relationship in which one organism lives on or in another organism and harms it ( lice,
tapeworms )
Commensalism
Relationship in which one organism benefits and the other is neither helped nor harmed (
barnacles and whales )
4.3 Succession
Primary and Secondary Succession
Ecological succession – a series of more-or-less predictable changes that occur in a
community over time
Primary Succession
Succession that begins in an area with no remnants of an older community
Pioneer species – first species to colonize barren areas ( lichens )
Secondary Succession
Occurs in disturbed areas where remnants of previous ecosystems remain
Why Succession Occurs
As one species alters the environment, other species find it easier to compete for resources
and survive
Climax Communities
Stable community found at the end of succession
Succession after Natural Disturbances
Secondary succession in healthy ecosystems following natural disturbances often produces
the original climax community
Succession after Human-Caused Disturbances
Ecosystems may or may not recover from extensive human-caused disturbances
Studying Patterns of Succession
Ecologists study succession by comparing different cases and looking for similarities and
differences
4.4 Biomes
The Major Biomes
Regional Climates
Different climates mean different plant and animal communities
Defining Biomes
Biomes are described in terms of abiotic factors like climate and soil type, and biotic factors
like plant and animal life
Other Land Areas
Mountain Ranges
Exist on all continents and in many biomes. Conditions vary by elevation.
Polar Ice Caps
Border the tundra and are cold all year-round. Plants are few, some algae and lichens.
4.5 Aquatic Ecosystems
Conditions Underwater
Aquatic organisms are affected primarily by the water’s depth, temperature, flow and
amount of dissolved nutrients.
Water Depth
Photic zone ( photosynthesis can occur ), Aphotic zone, Benthic zone
Temperature and Currents
Water is warmer near the equator and surface, colder near poles and in deeper waters,
currents can carry water that is either warmer or colder than typical for a region
Nutrient Availability
Availability of oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium can affect organisms survival
Freshwater Ecosystems
Divided into three main categories:
Rivers and Streams
Lakes and Ponds
Plankton: general term that includes both phytoplankton and zooplankton
Freshwater Wetlands
An ecosystem in which water either covers the soil or is present at or near the
surface for at least part of the year
Estuaries
Special kind of wetland where a river meets the sea
These are important spawning and nursery grounds for many ecologically and
commercially important fish and shellfish species
Marine Ecosystems
Divided into zones based on depth and distance from the shore
Intertidal Zone
Organisms in the intertidal zone are submerged in seawater at high tide and exposed to air
and sunlight at low tide
Coastal Ocean
Extends from the low-tide mark to the outer edge of the continental shelf
Open Ocean
Begins at the edge of the continental shelf and extends outward
Open ocean photic zone - low nutrient levels and supports few phytoplankton,
however most of the photosynthesis on Earth occurs in the sunlit top 100 meters of the
open ocean
Open ocean aphotic zone – deepest parts of the ocean, food webs either depend on
detritus from above or on chemosynthetic organisms
p. 122 Pre-Lab: Heat Absorption Across Biomes