Download Climates April 25, 2013 Mr. Alvarez

Climates
April 25, 2013
Mr. Alvarez
What is Climate?
Weather- The day-to-day conditions of Earth’s
atmosphere at a particular time and place
Climate- the average, year after year
conditions of temperature and precipitation in
a particular region
The Greenhouse Effect
• Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor and a
few other atmospheric gases trap heat energy
and maintain Earth’s temperature range
– Function like glass windows of a greenhouse
Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse Effect- The natural situation in
which heat is retained by the layer of
greenhouse gases
How this works
1. Solar energy penetrates the atmosphere in
the form of sunlight
2. Most of the sunlight is converted into heat
energy
3. Gases do not allow heat energy to pass back
out of atmosphere
o Heat is trapped inside earth’s atmosphere
4. If gases were not present, earth would be 30°
Celsius cooler
Effect of Latitude on Climate
• The angle at which the sunlight hits the earth
affects climate
• Earth has 3 main climate zones
– Polar Zone- cold areas where the sun’s rays strike
earth at a very low angle
• Between 66.5° and 90° North and South Latitude
– Temperate Zone- more affected by the changing
angle of the sun over the year, climate in these
zones range from hot to cold
Effect continued
• Earth has 3 main climate zones
– Polar Zone- cold areas where the sun’s rays strike
earth at a very low angle
• Between 66.5° and 90° North and South Latitude
– Temperate Zone- more affected by the changing
angle of the sun over the year, climate in these
zones range from hot to cold
• Between Polar and Tropic Zones
– Tropical Zone- Receive direct sunlight year round,
making the climate always warm
• Between 23.5° N and 23.5° S Latitude
Biotic and Abiotic Factors
• Together, biotic and abiotic factors determine
the survival and growth of an organism and
the productivity of an ecosystem in which the
organism lives
Biotic- all living things, plants, animals and
microorganisms, that affect an ecosystem
Abiotic Factors
Abiotic- all nonliving things in an ecosystem
Temperature
Precipitation
Humidity
Wind
Soil Type
Amount of Sunlight
Habitat vs. Nature
Habitat- area where an organism lives
Niche- the full range of physical and biological
conditions in which an organism lives, and the
way in which the organism uses those
conditions
• If a habitat is an organisms address, then its
niche is its occupation
Parts of a Niche
• Organism’s place in the food web
– What it eats, what eats it
• Range of temperatures it can survive in
• When and how an organism reproduces
Community Interactions
Resource- Any necessity of life
Water
Nutrients
Light
Food
Space
Competitive Exclusion Principal
Competitive Exclusion Principal- states that
no two species can occupy the same niche in
the same habitat at the same time
Interactions
Predation- An interaction in which one
organism captures and feeds another
organism
Predator- does the killing and eating
Prey- food for predator
Symbiosis
Symbiosis- Any relationship in which two
species live closely together
• There are 3 types of symbiotic relationships
– Mutualism
– Commensalism
– Parasitism
Mutualism
Mutualism- Both species benefit
Insects help pollinate flowers, flowers provide
food for insects in form of nectar and pollen
Commensalism
Commensalism- One member benefits, while
the other is neither helped nor harmed
o Barnacles living on a whale
Parasitism
Parasitism- One organism lives on or inside
another organism and harms it
The parasite obtains all or part of nutritional
needs from the host organism
Ex: Fleas, Ticks, and Lice
Ecological Succession
Ecological Succession- series of predicatble
changes that occur in a community over time
Can occur due to slow changes in physical
environment or sudden natural disturbance from
human activities, such as clearing a forest
Primary Succession
Primary Succession- Succession occurs of
surfaces where no soil exists
1. Volcanic eruption builds a new island
o
Start with no soil, just ash and rock
2. Pioneer Species- first species to populate the
area
o
Often Lichen- Fungus and Alga
Succession continued
3. Lichens grow and break rocks
4. Lichens die and add organic material to help
form soil in which plants can grow
Secondary Succession
Secondary Succession- Succession following a
disturbance that destroys a community
without destroying the soil
Disturbances include:
Natural Events such as fires
Human activities, such as over-farming