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Chapter 4
The Role of Climate
What is Climate?
In the atmosphere, temperature,
precipitation, and other
environmental factors combine to
produce weather and climate.
Weather is the day-to-day
condition of Earth’s atmosphere.
Climate refers to the average,
year-to-year condition in a
particular region.
What is Climate?
Climate is caused by many
factors:
Trapping of heat
The latitude
The transport of heat
The amount of precipitation
Shape of landmasses
Elevation of landmasses
The Greenhouse Effect
 The atmosphere is the biospheres
natural insulating blanket.
 Carbon dioxide, methane, water
vapor, and a few other atmospheric
gases trap heat energy and maintain
Earth’s temperature range.
 This is called the greenhouse effect.
The Effect of Latitude on Climate
Solar radiation strikes different parts
of Earth’s surface at an angle that
varies throughout the year.
Earth has three main climate zones:
1.)polar zones- cold areas where the
sun’s rays strike Earth at a very low
angle.
The Effect of Latitude on Climate
2.)temperate zones- sit between the
polar zones and the tropics. The
climate in these zones ranges from hot
to cold, depending on the season.
3.)tropical zone- is near the equator.
Receives nearly direct sunlight yearround, making the climate almost
always warm.
Heat Transport in the Biosphere
The unequal heating of Earth’s
surface drives winds and ocean
currents, which transports heat
throughout the biosphere.
Winds form because warm air
tends to rise and cool air tends
to sink.
Heat Transport in the Biosphere
The prevailing winds bring warm
or cold air to a region, affecting
its climate.
Surface ocean currents warm or
cool the air above them, thus
affecting the weather and
climate of nearby landmasses.
Section 2
What Shapes an Ecosystem
Biotic Factors
Ecosystems are influenced by both
biological and physical factors
The biological factors are called
biotic factors
Includes anything living an
organism may interact with
 Ex. Birds, trees, mushrooms, or bacteria
Abiotic Factors
 The physical or non-living factors that
affect ecosystems are called abiotic
factors
 The climate is an abiotic factor
 Ex. Temperature and precipitation
 Soil type and wind are also factors
 Habitats are the area in which
organisms live
 Habitats include both biotic and abiotic
factors
The Niche
 A niche is the full range of physical &
biological conditions in which an organism
lives
 It also includes the way the organism uses
those conditions
 A niche includes what an organism eats
and how it gets its food
 NO two species share the same niche in
the same habitat
Community Interactions

Community interactions can powerfully affect
an ecosystem

These include:

1. Competition: organisms try to use the same
resource in the same place at the same time
 A resource is an necessity of life, including
water, food, or space.
 Results in a winner and a loser (usually dies)
 Known as the competitive exclusion principle
Community Interactions
2. Predation – where one organism
captures and feeds off another
Predator – the one that kills
Prey – the one that is eaten
Community Interactions
3. Symbiosis- any relationship in
which two species live closely
together
3 main classes
1. Mutualism
2. Commensalism
3. Parasitism
Symbiotic Relationships
1. Mutualism – both species benefit
from the relationship
Ex. Bees help flowers reproduce and
flowers feed the bees
2. Commensalism – one member
benefits, other is not harmed or
helped
Ex. Barnacles attach to whales to have
easier access to food
Symbiotic Relationships
3. Parasitism – one organism lives
on or inside another organism and
harms it
Ex. Tapeworms live in a human’s
intestines absorbing nutrients making
the human sick
Ecological Succession
Ecosystems are constantly changing
in response to natural and human
disturbances
As an ecosystem changes, older
inhabitants gradually die out and
new organisms move in
This causes even greater change
Ecological Succession
 Ecological Succession is the series of
predictable changes that occur in a
community over time
 Primary succession takes place on bare
rock surfaces where no soil exists
 Ex. After a volcano destroys previous
ecosystem
 Pioneer species are the first species to
live in these areas
 Ex. Lichens appear
Ecological Succession
Secondary succession occurs when
a disturbance changes a community
without removing the soil
 Ex. Mosses appear, grasses take root, trees
begin to grow
Succession in a Marine Ecosystem
 In 1987, a community of organisms
was found to be living on a dead whale
 Three stages of succession
 1. After the whale died, it attracted
scavengers and decomposers.
 2. The nutrients from the whale supported
many species of marine worms
 3. With only the skeleton remaining,
bacteria moved in and decomposed oils in
the whales bones
Section 3
Biomes
Biomes and Climate
Earth’s diverse environments are
grouped into biomes.
Can all kinds of organisms live in
every biome?
No. Species vary in their adaptation
to different conditions like soil and
climate.
Biomes and Climate
Plants and animals exhibit variations
in tolerance:
ability to survive and reproduce under
conditions that differ from their optimal
conditions.
Biomes and Climate
The climate of a region is an
important factor in determining
which organisms can survive there.
The climate in a small area that
differs from the climate around it is
called a microclimate.
Two main components of climate
Temperature
Precipitation
The Major Biomes
Ecologists recognize ten different
biomes. Each biomes is defined by
a unique set of abiotic factors
(climate) and an assemblage of
plants and animals.
1.) Tropical rain forest
2.) Tropical dry forest
3.) Tropical savanna
4.) Desert
The Major Biomes
5.) Temperate grassland
6.) Temperate woodland & shrub land
7.) Temperate forest
8.) Northwestern coniferous forest
9.) Boreal forest
10.) Tundra
Other Land Areas
Some areas of land do not fall into
the major biome categories:
Mountain Ranges
Found on all continents
Abiotic and biotic conditions vary with
elevation.
 Temperature, precipitation, plant, and
animals.
Other Land Areas
Polar Ice Caps
Polar regions that border the tundra.
Cold year-round.
Dominant plants- mosses, lichens, & algae.
Dominant animals- polar bears, seals,
insects, penguins, marine animals & mites.
 (Depending on the polar region)
10 Different Biomes
** Open your books to page 100.
** You need to write the remainder
of notes on your own about each
biome.
** Include:
Characteristics
Abiotic factors
Dominant plants
Dominant wildlife
Geographic distribution
Section 4
Aquatic Ecosystems
Aquatic Ecosystems
Aquatic ecosystems are grouped by
the abiotic factors that affect them
the depth
flow
temperature
chemistry of the overlaying water
Aquatic Ecosystems
 In many aquatic ecosystems, tiny freefloating swimming organisms can be
found
 These organisms are called plankton
 Phytoplankton are single-celled algae
that use nutrients in water to make
food
 Form the base of many aquatic food webs
 Zooplankton are animals that feed on
phytoplankton
Aquatic Ecosystems
 There are 3 main groups of aquatic
ecosystems
 1. Freshwater ecosystems - divided into 3
types.
 A. Flowing-water ecosystems – include rivers &
streams which flow over land
 B. Standing-water ecosystems – include lakes
& ponds
 C. Freshwater wetlands – includes bogs,
marshes, and swamps. Water covers the soil or
is present at or near the surface for at least part
of the year
Aquatic Ecosystems
2. Estuaries – wetlands formed
where rivers meet the sea
Contain a mixture of fresh and salt
water
Most food made in estuaries enters
food webs as tiny pieces of organic
matter called detritus
Aquatic Ecosystems
Estuaries cont.
Two types
 1. Salt marshes – temperate estuaries
 Salt tolerant grasses and seagrasses are the
dominant plant life
 2. Mangrove swamps – tropical estuaries
 The dominant plant life includes several species
of salt-tolerant trees, called mangroves and
seagrasses
Aquatic Ecosystems
3. Marine Ecosystems – exist in the
ocean
The ocean is divided into zones based
on how much light penetrates the
water
 Photic zone – well-lit upper layer of water where
photosynthesis can take place
 Aphotic zone – permanently dark lower layer of
water where producers use chemosynthesis to
make food
Marine Ecosystems
The ocean is also divided into three
zones based on depth and distance
from shore
 1.
The intertidal zone
 Exposed to regular and extreme changes in their
surroundings
Marine Ecosystems
2. The coastal ocean
 Relatively shallow, lies entirely within the
photic zone, and is often rich in plankton and
other organisms
 Coral reefs grow in tropical coastal oceans
3. The open ocean
 Largest zone covering more than 90% of the
surface area of the world’s oceans
 These areas typically have low levels of
nutrients and support only small producers