bio 20 - characteristics of ecosystems - 4.1-5

biotic factors

any living component that affects the population of another organism or its environment e. predation, disease, competition

abiotic factors

nonliving chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems. ex. nutrient availability, precipitation, pH

what are the levels of complextiy within the ecosystem

1. individual
2. population
3. community
4. ecosystem

what is a niche

role and position a species has in its environment. how it meets its needs, for food and shelter, how it survives, how it reproduces.

• all interactions with the biotic and abiotic factors of the environment

what are the 3 types of adaption

1. structural
2. physiological
3. behavioral

structural adaptions

physical features of an organism

Physiological Adaptations

adjustments in cells and tissue in response to an environmental stimuli ex. sweating, poison produced by frogs

behavioral adaptions

action that animals carry out to increase their chances of survival ex. beavers build dams, ants farm aphids, fish swim in schools

exotic speices

live outside of natural range, arrived from either migration or human influence invasive --> compete with native species

whats a biome

large geographical areas that have a specific climate can be multiple ecosystems in a climate

boreal ecosystem (taiga)

abiotic --> northern + central Alberta, changeable weather, soil somewhat acidic, somewhat high precipitation biotic --> bears, weasels, moose, owl, spruce, pine

muskeg (boreal)

abiotic --> cold temps, short growing season, permafrost layer beneath soil, low precipitation biotic --> black bears, caribou, moss, lichen

deciduous forests (parkland)

abiotic --> central Alberta, increased sunlight, warmer temperature, rich soil, precipitation highish biotic --> black bear, moose, deer, shrubs, deciduous trees

grasslands

abiotic --> sun up, temp up, rich soil, low precipitation biotic --> bison, deer, rabbits, hawks

littoral zone

a shallow zone in a freshwater habitat where light reaches the bottom and nurtures plants

benthic zone

the muddy bottom of a lake, pond, or ocean

limnetic zone

In a lake, the well-lit, open surface waters farther from shore.

euphotic zone

Upper layer of a body of water through which sunlight can penetrate and support photosynthesis.

profundal zone

a region of water where sunlight does not reach, below the limnetic zone in very deep lakes

draw a lake ecosystem

a lake ecosystem

hummus

Dark colored substance in soil from decayed organic material, rich in nutrients, spongy

topsoil

Mixture of humus, clay, and other minerals that forms the crumbly, topmost layer of soil.

subsoil

The layer of soil beneath the topsoil that contains mostly clay and other minerals. stores water

draw the soil layers

drawing soil layers

how do different soil types affect the ecossytem

ex. sandy = more drainage, clay = less drainage pH, quality, nutrients stuff

please compare and draw forest vs grass land

me drawing forest vs grassland

what 5 factors affect terrial ecosystems

1. soil
2. amount of available water
3. temp
4. sunlight

how does water affect terrestrial ecosystems

• part of climate
• type of perciptation (snow vs rain)
• frequency of perciptation some soil doesn't hold water as well, (well draiend vs less well drained)

how does temperature affect terrestrial ecosystems

• avg temp part of climate
• temp affects evaporation and transpiration --> therefore amount of water a plant can use for photosynthesis -seasonal variation makes growing variation

climate

avg precipitation and avg temp

amount of sunlight

• intensity varies due to tilt of earth
• weather conditions

factors affecting aquatic ecosystems

1. chemical environment
2. temp and sunlight

how does chemical environment affect aquatic ecosystem

• fresh vs salt
• amount of dissolved oxygen, anoxic = toxic for animals
• nutrient content, too much = eutrophication, too little = food web has less energy

how does temperature and sunlight affect aquatic ecosystem

• most systems near the surface for sunlgiht and warmth
• depth increases = less life, less warmth, less sunlight

fall turn over

epilimnion is warm in summer. in fall temps drop, epilimion reaches 4 degrees, sinks to bottom

layers of the lake

epilimnion, thermocline, hypolimnion

when is water the densest

when it is 4 degrees

spring turn over

ice melts, surface temps reach 4 degrees and sink, pushing the water from the bottom up, brings up nutrients from the bottom of the lake which algae uses.

biotic potential

max number of offspring that a species cculd produce with unlimited resources

what are the 5 factors that regulate biotic potential

1. birth potential max offspring
2. capacity for survival offspring that reach reproductive age
3. breeding frequency number of times a species reproduces a year
4. breeding frequency number of times a species reproduces each year
5. length of reproductive life how long they are able to breed

carrying capacity

the number of Indi duals that an ecosystem can support at any given time

how do limting factors affect popualtion growth

prevent pop from reaching biotic potential. graph has dips and rises

lieburgs law/law of the minimum

growth only occurs at the rate permitted by the most limiting factor

the law of tolerance

to much or too little of any given factor can harm an organism, they exist in a range of tolerance to environmental factors

density dependent limiting factors

limiting factors that are affected by the number of individuals in a given area ex. competition, predation, famine

density independant factors

limiting factors whose influence is not affected by population density ex. hurricane

why is deforestation bad

1. soil erosion
2. nutrient loss(run off)
3. decrease in albedo
4. decrease in biodiversity
5. habitat loss

fire and ecosystems

• some ecosystems need fire to germinate, reproduce, establish
• fire suppression eliminates these species and animals that depend of them
• suppression can lead to huge fires

oligotrophic lakes

• high oxygen
• low nutrients
• deep, clear
• low biodiversity

eutrophic lakes

• high nutrients
• low oxygen
• high biodiversity
• shallow, murky

process of eutrophication

natural --> sediment and decay accumulate of lake bottom, make shallower and therefore warmer. humans add nutrients to lakes and speed up process

indicators of water quality

1. bacteria --> coliform, present in animals digestive track indicates fecal matter
2. dissolved oxygen, thermal levels and nutrients up depletes oxygen, algal blooms

Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD)

The amount of oxygen needed by microorganisms to decompose biological wastes into carbon dioxide, water, and minerals. why algal blooms bring down oxygen levels