1.1 ecosystems

individual

one organism

population

grp of individuals of the same species (wolf pack)

community

all living organisms in an area

ecosystem

all living and non living in an area (plants animals rocks soil water air)

biome

large area with similar climate conditions, determines organisms there

organism interactions

competition, predation, mutualism, commensalism

competition

(-,-) fighting over same resources, limits pop size

predation

(+,-) one organism using another for energy source (hunter parasites…)

mutualism

(+,+) benefits both organisms

commensalism

(+,0) benefit one but doesn’t harm/impact the other

types of predation

herbivores, true predators, parasites, parasitoids

herbivores

eat plants for energy (giraffe and tree)

true predators

or carnivores, kill and eat prey for energy

parasites

use host organism for energy, doesn’t kill host and lives inside (mosquitoes, tapeworms)

parasitoids

lay eggs inside host for energy

symbiosis

benefits at least one organism/member of relationship
close and long term interaction between 2 organisms of different species
sym = together, bio = living, osis = condition

mutualism

benefits both relationship

coral and algae

coral provide reef structure, C02 for algae provide sugar for coral energy

lichen

composite of fungi, lives with algae, algae provide sugars, fungi provide nutrients

competition

reduces pop size cuz fewer resources, fewer organisms can survive

resource partitioning

diff species use same resource in diff ways to reduce comp

temporal partitioning

resource use @ diff times (night vs day)

spacial partitioning

using diff areas of shared habitat

morphological paritioning

using diff resources based on diff evolved body features

biome

area that shares a combination of avg yearly temp and precipitation

biome adaptation

plants and animals in biome are uniquely adapted to live there

ex. camel and cacti have water preserving traits for desert

ex. shrubs and wildflowers store lots of energy in roots to heal faster from fire in grasslands

latitude

distance from equator, determines temp and precipitation
- very predictable pattern on earth
- biomes defined by annual temp and precipitation

tropical RF

nutrient poor soil, high temp, rainfall, rapid decomposition

boreal forest

nutrient poor soil, low temp and low decomp rate

temperate forest

nutrient rich soil, lots of dead organic matter, warm temp and moisture

nutrient availability

soil nutrients are needed for plant growth, availability determines which plants can survive in biome
ex. frozen soils of tundra don’t allow nutrients in dead organic matter to be broken down by decomposition
ex. low soil nutrients, low water avail, few plants survive there

permafrost

active layer of dirt on top of layer of ice wedge

shifting biomes

climate changes, biomes shift location
ex. climate warm shift boreal forests more north, tundra permafrost melts, lower latitudes too warm for aspen and spruce

salinity

amount of salt in body of water, determines organisms that can survive and usability for drinking

depth

influences amount of sunlight that can penetrate and reach plants below the surface for photosynthesis

flow

determines which plants and organisms can survive, how much o2 can dissolve into water

temperature

warmer water holds less dissolved o2, support fewer organisms

hot water

water evaporates, more salty

rivers

high o2, due to flow mix air and water, nutrient rich sediments (deltas and flood plains = fertile soil)

lakes

standing bodies of fresh h20, key drinking water source

littoral

shallow ater with emergent plants

limnetic

where light can reach (photosynth), no rooted plants, only phytoplankton

profundal

too deep for sunlight (no photosynth)

benthic

murky bottom, inverts or bugs live, nutrient rich sediments

wetland

area with soil submerged/saturated in water for part of year, shallow for emergent plants

plants here have to be adapted to living with roots, submerged in standing water

benefits of wetlands

stores excess water during storms

benefits of wetlands

recharging groundwater by absorbing rainfall into soil

benefits of wetlands

roots of wetland plants filter pollutants from water

benefits of wetlands

high productivity (plant growth) due ot lots of water and nutrients in sediments

estuaries

areas where rivers empty into ocean, mix of salt and fresh water, species adapt to this, high productivity

salt marsh

estuary hab along coast in temperature climates, breeding ground for fish species

mangrove swamps

estuary hab along coast of tropical climates, mangrove trees with long roots stabilize shoreline, provide habitat for organisms

coral reef

warm shallow waters beyond shoreline, most diverse marine biome

coral reef mutalistic relationship

coral can’t survive without energy from alage = algae need home of reed and co2 from coral

coral take co2 out of ocean to make calcium carbonate exoskeleton and provide co2 to algae

algae live in reef, provide sugar to coral through photosynth

intertidal zones

narrow band of coastline between high and low tide, organisms adapted to survive rough waves and direct sunlight in changing tides

different organisms in each zone, up to 15 meters

organisms adapted to intertidal zones

barnacles, sea stars, crabs, attach on rocks
shells and tough outer skin can prevent drying out (desiccation) during low tides

desiccation

drying out

open ocean

area only algae and phytoplankton can survive in most of ocean, low productivity

bc so large, algae and phytoplankton of ocean produce earth’s o2 and absorb co2

photic zone

area where sunlight can reach photosynth

aphotic zone

area too deep for sunlight

carbon cycle overview

movement of molecules that contain carbon (co2, glucose, CH4) between sources and sinks

sinks

absorb co2 from atmosphere ex. ocean, soil, forest

source

release carbon dioxide into atmosphere

fossil fuel combustion

very quick process, burning coal, oil, natural gases, or other fossil fuels to create energy