lecture 2: Ecology and Biosphere

ecosystem 

an interacting system consisting of all organisms; life and environment 

community 

all the different populations of species living in the same area 

population

all members of the same species in an ecosystem

ecology

scientific study of interactions between organisms and their environment

_____ drives evolution

ecology

biosphere 

portion of the earth that contains living organisms 

prevailing weather conditions

climate

climate determines ______

location and species composition of earths major ecosystems

climate change

directional change to the global climate lasting three decades or more

ecology is the science of _____

change

biomes

broad scale ecosystem types

littoral zone

near the shore where land meets the water

contains many emerged and floating plants

photic zone

region with enough light for photosynthesis

aphotic zone

little light penetration

no photosynthesis

oligatrophic

clear, low nutrients, deep water, low biomass

eutrophic

high nutrients, often shallow, lots of plants and algae, high biomass

estuary

where river meets the ocean