Download 3). What are four main factors that affect the distribution of organisms?

Main Objectives
1). What is ecology, & what do ecologists do?
2). What are the four levels of organization of
ecology?
3). What are four main factors that affect the
distribution of organisms?
4). What is climate and what are the main factors
that make it unique across the global?
5). What are 2 main variables that influence
climate on regional/local scale in western US?
6). What is microclimate?
What is Biology??
Study of Life-from cells, organisms,
populations, communities, ecosystems
What is Ecology??
1st defined in 1866 by Ernest Haeckel as the
comprehensive science of the relationship of
the organism to the environment.
Most Recent Definition: 2 parts—1) the
interaction between organisms and their
environment; 2) the distribution and
abundance of organisms
What is Ecology??
NEW DEFINITION COMBINED: Ecology
is the study of how the distributions and
abundances of populations (and species) are
determined by the interactions of individual
organisms with their physical and biological
environment.
What Does an
Ecologist Do??
DESCRIBE before they EXPLAIN and make
PREDICTIONS
FOUR LEVELS OF
ECOLOGICAL
ORGANIZATION
Organism
Organismal ecology is concerned with the
behavioral, physiological, and morphological ways
individuals interact with the environment
Population
A population is a
group of
individual
organisms of the
same species
living together in
a particular
geographic area
Population ecology examines factors that affect
population size and composition
Community
Community is a
collection of all the
populations of
different species that
inhabit a particular
area.
Community ecology examines the interactions
between populations, and how factors such as
predation, competition, and disease affect
community structure and organization.
Ecosystem
Ecosystem consists of
the biological
community and the
physical, non-living or
abiotic environment—
the rocks, soils, water
and climate in a
certain area
Ecosystem ecology examines the energy flow and
cycling of chemicals among the various abiotic and
biotic components.
What factors affect
the distribution of
organisms?
4 Factors
Dispersal
Behavior
Biotic
Abiotic
* most powerful are temperature and moisture
* At a certain point along this elevational gradient,
the relative importance of the two limiting factors
(temperature and moisture) changes
* Two additional factors—soil characteristics,
traceable to the parent rocks, and topographygreatly accentuate the differences in water stress at
all elevations
Abiotic
Why do we have different climate patterns
at the Earth’s surface?
1. insolation—solar radiation that is intercepted
by Earth (surface and atmosphere)
Influenced by: a) angle of incoming radiation
b) length of time exposure
Shortwave Energy Budget
60 degrees
Polar Front
Tropical Front
Westerlies
H
30 degrees
H
Hadley Cell
Easterlies
0 degrees
L
60°N
30°N
Descending
dry air
absorbs
moisture
0° (equator)
30°S
Ascending
moist air
releases
moisture
Descending
dry air
absorbs
moisture
0°
60°S
Arid
zone
Tropics
Arid
zone
2
1
3
(1) The Gulf Stream transports heat from the tropics to northern Europe. (2)
North Atlantic Deep Water formation results from strong cooling. (3) Antarctic
Bottom Water formation occurs due to sea ice production around Antarctica.
REGIONAL/LOCAL
2 Main Variables that influence Climate on
regional/local scale in western US:
1). Water Bodies
2). Mountain Ranges
•
•
•
•
Solar Radiation:
Temperature:
Precipitation:
Wind:
Land/water influences
insolation
Less evaporation, less
albedo
insolation
More evaporation,
more albedo
SOLAR RADIATION-REGIONAL/LOCAL
Adiabatic lapse rate- change in temperature with
altitude due to pressure
Orographic Uplift
Chinook Winds
Dewpoint
Rainshadow
WINDWARD
LEEWARD
Wind
direction
East
Pacific
Ocean
Coast
Range
Sierra
Nevada
WIND-REGIONAL/LOCAL
CLIMATE-MICRO SCALE
Desert
Temperate grassland
Tropical forest
30
Temperate
broadleaf
forest
15
Coniferous
forest
0
Arctic and
alpine
tundra
–15
100
200
300
Annual mean precipitation (cm)
400
30°N
Tropic of
Cancer
Equator
Tropic of
Capricorn
30°S
Key
Tropical forest
Savanna
Desert
Chaparral
Temperate grassland
Temperate broadleaf forest
Coniferous forest
Tundra
High mountains
Polar ice
Main Objectives
1). What is ecology, & what do ecologists do?
2). What are the four levels of organization of
ecology?
3). What are four main factors that affect the
distribution of organisms?
4). What is climate and what are the main factors
that make it unique across the global?
5). What are 2 main variables that influence
climate on regional/local scale in western US?
6). What is microclimate?