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WARM-UP
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DIRECTIONS: write down one question you have on
a post-it. If there are multiple questions you have,
write EACH question ON A DIFFERENT post-it. Then
take it and put it on the board.
LAB REPORT TIPS
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DO NOT USE personal pronouns, UNLESS it is in the
DATA section…..it may be used here only.
Be SURE to include as many VOCABULARY terms as
FITTING/APPROPRIATE.
CONNECT the themes here with other related topics in
biology.
The DATA SECTION….is the ONLY place there SHOULD
BE personal PRONOUNS, specifically 3rd person.
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CORERECTION: IT STATES THAT YOU JUST NEED TO HAVE
THE DATA, BUT THIS IS INCORRECT, you need to ALSO have
a written explanation of your data (graphs).
BIOSPHERE, COMMUNITIES,
ECOSYSTEMS
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How is energy flow through an ecosystem related to trophic structure
(trophic levels)?
How do elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus, sulfur, oxygen)
cycle through ecosystems?
How do organisms affect the cycling of elements and water through the
biosphere?
How do biotic and abiotic factors affect community structure and
ecosystem function?
Discuss, using an example, the relationship between species diversity and
complexity and community stability.
Describe the effect of human intervention in biological communities.
Describe the process of ecological succession, indicating why the species
in a given area change over time. Distinguish between primary and
secondary successions, and give an example of each. Also, summarize
the trends seen in many successions, and explain what is meant by a
climax community.
How is energy flow through an ecosystem
related to trophic structure (trophic levels)?
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Every organism is placed in a specific trophic level of
an ecosystem based on energy they rely upon and how
they provide energy for other organisms in the food
web.
In food webs, energy is always lost to the environment
any time an organism at one trophic level uses the
energy from the trophic level below.
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For example, the energy gained by animals that eat
phytoplankton is less than the amount of energy initially
available. Every trophic level loses energy, so trophic levels
are often illustrated as a triangle with primary producers
forming the base.
How do elements (e.g., carbon, nitrogen, phosphorus,
sulfur, oxygen) cycle through ecosystems?
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NITROGEN CYCLE
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CARBON CYCLE
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Rate is dependent upon decomposers.
Humans often wreck nutrient cycles by moving excess amounts from one place to another.
Nitrogen is the main nutrient lost through agriculture. Industrialized synthesized fertilizer is
used to make up for the loss of nitrogen. (MIRACLE GROW)
Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and use it, combined with water they
get from the soil, to make the substances they need for growth. The process of
photosynthesis incorporates the carbon atoms from carbon dioxide into sugars. Animals,
such as the rabbit pictured here, eat the plants and use the carbon to build their own
tissues. These animals return carbon dioxide into the air when they breathe, and when they
die, since the carbon is returned to the soil during decomposition. The carbon atoms in soil
may then be used in a new plant or small microorganisms. Ultimately, the same carbon
atom can move through many organisms and even end in the same place where it began.
PHOSPHOROUS & SULFUR & OXYGEN
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All of these nutrients cycle through the water system in a CLOSED SYSTEM…..meaning they
get recycled and reused, not lost.
How do organisms affect the cycling of elements and water
through the biosphere?
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As any organism grows and develops, it takes in nutrients to sustain
it's life. It will also need to be able to rid itself of unneeded
molecules. Organisms intake elements and excrete them in forms that
other organisms need & use.
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For instance, mammalian urine is rich in ammonia, which can be used by
some plants for nitrogen fixing, which they need for survival.
The biosphere will change as different organisms in the ecosystem
are introduced and establish their respective niches. The gain or loss
of an organism would affect the ecosystem, since that organism is no
longer available to fulfill the necessary production chemical
production. If there are no other ways of creating an element that is
needed to keep the biosphere stable, then the biosphere may
collapse. However, there is always some other organism that can
take it's niche.
How do biotic and abiotic factors affect community
structure and ecosystem function?
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Functional groups of organisms & their niches
Soil resource supply
Local climate
Disturbances
WHAT ELSE???
Discuss, using an example, the relationship between
species diversity and complexity and community stability.
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(Q: Does species diversity bring rise to community
stability?)
The certain value of connectance having been achieved,
stability increases with increasing connectance. A STUDY
was done where they assessed the positive relation
between species diversity and resistance, and negative
relation between species diversity and resilience in
plant communities during old-field succession in xeric
(extremely dry) habitat. But there is no causal
relationship between species diversity and both kinds of
stability. Resistance and resilience of the plant
communities studied were determined primarily by life
history strategies of constituent species.
Describe the effect of human
intervention in biological communities.
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YOU TELL ME!!!
Describe the process of ecological succession, indicating why the species in a given
area change over time. Distinguish between primary and secondary successions, and
give an example of each. Also, summarize the trends seen in many successions, and
explain what is meant by a climax community.
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DEFINED BY WEBSTER(ecological succession): The gradual and
orderly process of change in an ecosystem brought about by the
progressive replacement of one community by another until a stable
climax is established .
PRIMARY: the biological and ecological process of eradicating all
forms of life due to a massive natural phenomenon.
SECONDARY: is basically the phase two of a natural disaster.
WHAT TRENDS DO YOU SEE?
DEFINITION BY WEBSTER (climax community): biological community
of plants and animals which, through the process of ecological
succession, the development of vegetation in an area over time, has
reached a steady state
GLOBAL ISSUES
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In which ways are humans affecting biogeochemical
cycles?