APES Unit 1.1-1.3 Reading Guide

What is the difference between a community and an ecosystem?

Community = all living organisms in an area

Ecosystem = all living & nonliving things in an area (plants, animals, rocks, soil, water, air)

Mutualism

Organisms of diff. species living close together in a way that benefits both

• Coral (animals) provide reef structure & CO2 for algae; algae provide sugars for coral to use as energy

• Lichen = composite organism of fungi living with algae; algae provide sugars (energy) & fungi provides nutrients

What are the three types of symbiotic relationships?

Mutualism (+/+), commensalism (+/0), and parasitism (+/-)

Explain the relationship between predation and energy transfer.

Predation: one organism using another for energy source (hunters, parasites)

How does competition affect population size?

Competition: organisms fighting over a resource like food or shelter; limits pop. size

Differentiate between a parasite and a parasitoid.

• Parasites: use a host organism for energy, often without killing the host & often living inside host

  • Ex: mosquitoes, tapeworms, sea lamprey 

• Parasitoids: lay eggs inside a host organism; eggs hatch & larvae eat host for energy

  • Ex: parasitic wasps, bot fly

What is resource partitioning and how does it reduce competition?

Resource partitioning: different species using the same resource in diff. ways to reduce competition

Describe the three types of resource partitioning: temporal, spatial, and morphological.

Temporal partitioning: using resource @ different times, such as wolves & coyotes hunting @ different times (night vs. day)

Spatial partitioning: using different areas of a shared habitat (different length roots)

Morphological partitioning: using different resources based on diff. evolved body features

What is the symbiotic relationship in coral reefs?

Mutualism

• Coral (animals) provide reef structure & CO2 for algae; algae provide sugars for coral to use as energy

How is lichen an example of mutualism?

• Lichen = composite organism of fungi living with algae; algae provide sugars (energy) & fungi provides nutrients

What two factors primarily determine a biome?

Biome: the plants & animals found in a region; based on yearly temp. + precipitation (climate)

How are the organisms within a biome uniquely adapted to their environment? Provide an example.

⛰ The community of organisms (plants & animals) in a biome are uniquely adapted to live in that biome

Ex: camels & cacti have water preserving traits for desert; shrubs & wildflowers store lots of energy in roots to recover quickly from fire in grasslands   

How does latitude affect the location of biomes?

⛰ Latitude (distance from equator) determines temperature & precipitation which is why biomes exist in predictable pattern on earth

• Tundra & Boreal = higher lat. (60^o +)

• Temperate = mid lat. (30^o - 60^o)

• Tropical = closer to equator

Why is the soil in a tropical rainforest nutrient-poor?

• Tropical RF = nutrient-poor soil (high temp. & rainfall → rapid decomposition of org. matter; acidic soil + high rainfall → nutrient leaching)

Why is the soil in a temperate forest nutrient-rich?

Temp. forest = nutrient-rich soil (lots of dead organic matter - leaves & warm temp/moisture for decomposition)

Explain why the tundra has low soil nutrients.

Frozen soils of tundra don’t allow nutrients in dead organic matter to be broken down by decomposers, causing:

• Low soil nutrients

• Low water availability

• Few plants survive here

What does it mean that biomes can shift?

Biomes shift in location on earth as climate changes

Give an example of how climate change can cause a biome to shift.

Ex: warming climate will shift boreal forests further north as tundra permafrost soil melts & lower latitudes become too warm for aspen & spruce

Which biome has the highest biodiversity?

What are the four main characteristics that define
aquatic biomes?

1. Salinity: How much salt there is in a body of water, determines which species can survive & usability for drinking

2. Flow: Determines which plants & organisms can survive, how much O2 can dissolve into water

3. Depth: Influences how much sunlight can penetrate and reach plants below the surface for photosynthesis

4. Temperature: Warmer water holds less dissolved O₂ so it can support fewer aq. organisms 

How does water temperature affect the amount of dissolved oxygen?

Warmer water holds less dissolved O₂ so it can support fewer aq. organisms 

Describe the four zones of a lake: littoral, limnetic, profundal, and benthic.

• Littoral: shallow water w/emergent plants

• Limnetic: where light can reach (photosynthesis)

  • No rooted plants, only phytoplankton

• Profundal: too deep for sunlight (no photosynthesis)

• Benthic: murky bottom where inverts (bugs) live, nutrient-rich sediments

What is a wetland?

Wetland: area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants

List three benefits of wetlands.

• Stores excess water during storms, lessening flood damage to property

• Recharges groundwater by absorbing rainfall into soil

• Roots of wetland plants filter pollutants from water draining through

• Highl plant growth rates due to lots of water & nutrients (dead organic matter) in sediments

What is an estuary?

Estuaries: areas where rivers empty into the ocean

• ⛰ Mix of fresh & salt water (species adapt to this ex: mangrove trees)

Why do estuaries have high productivity?

⛰ High productivity (plant growth) due to nutrients in sediments deposited in estuaries by river

Describe the mutualistic relationship in coral reefs.

• Coral take CO₂ out of ocean to create calcium carbonate exoskeleton (the reef) & also provide CO₂ to the algae 

• Algae live in the reef & provide sugar (energy) to the coral through photosynthesis

• Coral couldn’t survive without energy from algae.

• Algae need the home of the reef & CO₂ from the coral

What is the difference between the photic and aphotic zones in the open ocean?

• Photic zone = area where sunlight can reach (photosynthesis)

• Aphotic zone (abyssal) = area too deep for sunlight

What adaptations are necessary for organisms living in the
intertidal zone? 

• Narrow band of coastline between high & low tide

• Organisms must be adapted to survive crashing waves & direct sunlight/heat during low tide

• Shells & tough outer skin can prevent drying out (desiccation) during low tides