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Guide 36 The Biosphere: the earth’s major ecosystems ISSUE #2 Accidental Genesis Part 2 The second issue follows Scientist Aaron Nellis rejoining the teaching system as he discovers the new abilities he holds, but all is not good. Something wrong is happening at the newly rebuild Sai Labs and it's up to Nellis to stop it. • Ecology is the study of interactions between organisms and the environment • These interactions determine both the distribution and abundance of organisms • Ecology – Has a long history as a descriptive science – Is also a rigorous experimental science An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving, physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight. It is all the organisms in a given area, along with the nonliving (abiotic) factors with which they interact; a biological community and its physical environment. An oak tree ecosystem. Each zone of the tree is home to a distinctive community of organisms Ecosystems are dynamic Changes in biotic components over time Changes in abiotic components over time Changes occur over different time scales Daily Monthly (lunar) Yearly It is difficult to model the real world http://biomef.wikispaces.com/Tundra http://www.aztecsailing.co.uk/theory/ch2%20sect%202.html Daily changes in Stream Water temperature http://geology.com/articles/hydrograph.shtml Integrated BIosphere Simulator (IBIS) Yield and Nitrate Loss Predictions for Wisconsin Maize Receiving Varied Amounts of Nitrogen Fertilizer doi: 10.2134/jeq2003.2470 Coral reefs are an example of a marine ecosystem. Some ecosystems have high levels of diversity Some ecosystems have low levels of diversity and occurr in stressful conditions Skin Microbiome GUTPRO HEALTHY GUT THROUGH PROBIOSIS Abiotic Factors • Abiotic factors that affect the distribution of organisms may include: – Temperature – Water – Sunlight (Solar Energy) – Oxygen – Wind – Rocks and soil • Nutrient availability • pH • Porosity, Texture – Fire http://sciencebitz.com/?page_id=23 • Sunlight intensity – Plays a major part in determining the Earth’s climate patterns LALITUDINAL VARIATION IN SUNLIGHT INTENSITY North Pole 60N Low angle of incoming sunlight 30N Tropic of Cancer Sunlight directly overhead 0 (equator) Tropic of Capricorn 30S Low angle of incoming sunlight 60S South pole Atmosphere SEASONAL VARIATION IN SUNLIGHT INTENSITY 60N June solstice: Northern Hemisphere tilts toward sun; summer begins in Northern Hemisphere; winter begins in Southern Hemisphere. 30N 0 (equator) March equinox: Equator faces sun directly; neither pole tilts toward sun; all regions on Earth experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. 30S Constant tilt of 23.5 September equinox: Equator faces sun directly; neither pole tilts toward sun; all regions on Earth experience 12 hours of daylight and 12 hours of darkness. December solstice: Northern Hemisphere tilts away from sun; winter begins in Northern Hemisphere; summer begins in Southern Hemisphere. • Air circulation and wind patterns – Play major parts in determining the Earth’s climate patterns GLOBAL AIR CIRCULATION AND PRECIPITATION PATTERNS 60N 30N Descending dry air absorbs moisture 0 (equator) 30S Ascending moist air releases moisture Descending dry air absorbs moisture 0 60S Arid zone Tropics Arid zone GLOBAL WIND PATTERNS Arctic Circle 60N Westerlies 30N Northeast trades Doldrums 0 (equator) Southeast trades 30S Westerlies 60S Antarctic Circle • Abiotic and biotic factors influence the structure and dynamics of aquatic biomes (terrestrial) • Varying combinations of both biotic and abiotic factors – Determine the nature of Earth’s many biomes • Biomes – Are the major types of ecological associations that occupy broad geographic regions of land or water • Many aquatic biomes – Are stratified into zones or layers defined by light penetration, temperature, and depth Intertidal zone Neritic zone Littoral zone Limnetic zone Oceanic zone 0 Photic zone 200 m Continental shelf Pelagic zone Benthic zone Photic zone Aphotic zone Pelagic zone Benthic zone Aphotic zone 2,500–6,000 m Abyssal zone (deepest regions of ocean floor) Zonation in a lake. The lake environment is generally classified on the basis of three physical criteria: light penetration (photic and aphotic zones), distance from shore and water depth (littoral and limnetic zones), and whether it is open water (pelagic zone) or bottom (benthic zone). Marine zonation. Like lakes, the marine environment is generally classified on the basis of light penetration (photic and aphotic zones), distance from shore and water depth (intertidal, neritic, and oceanic zones), and whether it is open water (pelagic zone) or bottom (benthic and abyssal zones). Climate and Terrestrial Biomes • Climate has a great impact on the distribution of organisms, as seen on a climograph Temperate grassland Desert Tropical forest Annual mean temperature (ºC) 30 Temperate broadleaf forest 15 Coniferous forest 0 Arctic and alpine tundra 15 100 200 Annual mean precipitation (cm) 300 400 General Features of Terrestrial Biomes • Terrestrial biomes – Are often named for major physical or climatic factors and for their predominant vegetation • Stratification – Is an important feature of terrestrial biomes • Desert A desert is a landscape or region that receives an extremely low amount of precipitation, less than enough to support growth of most plants. Deserts are defined as areas with an average annual precipitation of less than 250 millimetres (10 in) per year, or as areas where more water is lost by evapotranspiration than falls as precipitation DESERT The Sonoran Desert in southern Arizona • Tropical forest A tropical rainforest is a place found roughly within 25 degrees north or south of the equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central America, Mexico and on many of the Pacific Islands. TROPICAL FOREST A tropical rain forest in Borneo Within the World Wildlife Fund's biome classification, tropical rainforests are thought to be a type of tropical wet forest (or tropical moist broadleaf forest) and may also be referred to as lowland equatorial evergreen rainforest. Minimum normal annual rainfall between 175 cm (69 in) and 200 cm (79 in) occurs in this climate region. Mean monthly temperatures exceed 18 °C (64 °F) during all months of the year. Rainforests are home to half of all the living animal and plant species on the planet. • Chaparral Chaparral is a shrubland or heathland plant community found primarily in the U.S. state of California and in the northern portion of the Baja California peninsula, Mexico. It is shaped by a Mediterranean climate (mild, wet winters and hot dry summers) and wildfire, having summer drought tolerant plants with hard sclerophyllous evergreen leaves, as contrasted with the associated soft leaved, drought deciduous, scrub community of Coastal sage scrub, found below the chaparral biome. CHAPARRAL An area of chaparral in California • Coniferous forest Vegetation composed primarily of cone-bearing, needle-leaved, or scale-leaved evergreen trees, found in regions of the world that have long winters and moderate to high annual precipitation. The northern Eurasian coniferous forest is called the taiga, or the boreal forest. CONIFEROUS FOREST Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado • Temperate broadleaf forest Climate: Associated with warmer continental and humid subtropical climates (Dfa, Cfa, and--in Europe, Cfb). There is an approximately 6 month growing season. The 20 to 60 inches of precipitation is distributed evenly throughout the year. The non-growing season is due to temperature-induced drought during the cold winters. Vegetation: Quercus (oak), Acer (maple), Fagus (beech), Castanea (chestnut), Carya (hickory), Ulmus (elm), Tilia (basswood or linden), Juglans (walnut), and Liquidamber (sweet gum). Different species of these genera occur on each continent. TEMPERATE BROADLEAF FOREST Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina Structure and Growth forms: Five layers are recognized: 1. a tree stratum, 60 -100 feet high, dominated regionally by various combinations of the genera listed above; 2. a small tree or sapling layer, with not only younger specimens of the tall trees with species limited to this layer such as (in Virginia) Allegheny serviceberry or shadbush, sourwood, dogwood, and redbud; 3. a shrub layer often with members of the heath family such as rhododendron, azaleas, mountain laurel, and huckleberries; 4. a herb layer of perennial forbs that bloom primarily in early spring; and 5. a ground layer of lichens, clubmosses, and true mosses. Lichens and mosses also grow on the trunks of trees. The End
