Ecology APES Not including Cycles

Biosphere

The global ecological system where all living things exist (Earth)

Biome

Large area with similar climate conditions that determine plant and animal species there (Tropical Rainfall)

Ecosystem

all living and non-living things in an area (Plants,animals,rocks,soil,water,air)

Community

all living organisms in an area (Bacteria,beavers,etc.)

Population

Group of individuals of the same species (Elk hurd)

Individual

One organism (Elk)

What are the types of Symbiosis?

Mutualism, Commensalism,Parasitism

Mutualism

Relationship that benefits both organisms (Coral Reef +/+)

Commensalism

Relationship that benefits one organism+doesn’t impact the other (Birds nest in trees +/0)

Parasitism

A close relationship between two different species where an organism the parasite benefits by getting food & shelter by another organism unharmed (+/-)

Predation

The predator is an organism that eats another organism, the prey (almost always the prey dies) make sure you know how their population sizes influence each other

Competition + what are the types

Competition is due to limited resources in order to co-exist both groups must partition their resources in a strategic way

-Resource partitioning

-Temporal (time) partitioning

-Spatial Partitioning

-Morphological partitioning

Resource Partitioning

Different Species using the same resource in different ways to reduce competition

Temporal (Time) partitioning

Using resource atSpat different times, such as wolves and coyotes hunting at different times (Night VS Day)

Spatial Partitioning

Using different areas of shared habitat (Different length roots)

Morphological partitioning

Using different resources based on different evolved body features

Biome 1.2

An area that shares a combination of average yearly temperatures and precipitation (Climate)

Terrestrial Biome Characteristics

Terrestrial biomes are defined by annual temperatures and precipitation which are represented by a climatogram.

What are the types of Aquatic Biomes?

Salinity,Flow,Depth,Temperature

Salinity

How much salt water there is in a body of water, determines which species can survive and usability for drinking. (Fresh water vs estuary vs ocean)

Flow

Determines which plants,animals,and organisms can survive how much O2 can dissolve into water.

Depth

Influences how much sunlight can penetrate and reach plants below the surface for photosynthesis

Temperature

Warner water holds less dissolved O2 so it can support fewer aquatic organisms.

Types of Freshwater Rivers+Lakes

Rivers, Lakes, Littoral, Limnetic, Profundal, Bethic

Rivers

High O2 due to flow mixing water and air also carry nutrients rich sediments (deltas and food plains = (Fertile soil)

Lakes

Standing bodies of fresh H20 (key drinking H20 source)

Littoral

Shallow water with emergent plants (cattails)

Limnetic

Where light can reach (Photosynthesis) -No rooted plants only phytoplankton

Profundal

Too deep for sunlight (No photosynthesis)

Bethnic

Murkey bottom where inverts (bugs) live,nutrient-rich sediments)

Wetland + Benefits

area with soil submerged/saturated in water for at least part of the year, but shallow enough for emergent plants +plants living here have to be adapted to living with roots submerged in standing water (Cattails,lillypads,reeds)

Benefits:

-Store excess water for storms,lessening floods.

-Recharges groundwater by absorbing rainfall into soil

-Roots of wet land plants filter pollutants from water draining through

-Highly plant growth due to organic matter and lots of water in sediments.

Estuaries

areas where rivers empty into the ocean

• Mix of fresh and salt water (Species adapt to this ex: mangrove trees)

• High productivity (Plant growth) due to nutrients in sediments deposited in estuaries by river.

Salt marsh: Estuary along coast in temperate climates, breeding ground for many fish and shellfish species.

Saltwater Biomes

-Intertidal Zones

-Coral Reefs

-Open Ocean

Intertidal Zones

• Narrow band of coastline between high and low tide

• Organisms must be adopted to survive crashing waves and direct sun

• Ex: Barnacles, Sea Stars

• Shells + Tough outer skin to prevent dedication (Drying out)

• +Different organisms are adapted to live in different zones

Coral Reefs

• warm shallow waters beyond the shoreline; most divers marine (ocean) biome on earth

• Mutualistic relationship between coral (animals) + algae (plants)

• Coral take CO2 exoskeleton (The reef)

• Algae provides sugar and energy

• Both species rely on each other coral couldn’t survive without energy from algae and algae needs a home of the reef for C02 from Coral.

Open Ocean

• Low productivity area as only algae and phytoplankton can survive in most ocean.

• so large that algae and phytoplankton of ocean produce a lot of earths O 2 and absorb a lot of co2

• Photic Zone= area where sunlight can reach

• A phobic zone= area too deep for sunlight.

Primary Productivity

Rate that solar energy is converted into organic compounds via photosynthesis over a unit of time

Aka: Rate of phoysynthesis of all producers in an area over a given period of time

• Since photosynthesis leads to growth you can also think of Primary Producttivity as the amount of plant growth in an area over a given period of time

High Primary Productivity

= High plant growth = Lots of food and shelter for animals

Ecosysthems with high PP are usually more…

Biodiverse (More div. of species) than ecosystems with low Primary Productivity

Net Primary Productivity (NPP)

The amount of energy (biomass) leftover for consumers after plants have used some for respiration

-Think of it as the takehome pay

Respiration loss (RP or RL)

RP/RL they generate via photosynthesis by doing cell respiration (movement, internal transportation)

• Think of it as taxes

Gross Primary Productivity (GPP)

the total amount of sun energy (light) that plants capture and convert to energy (glucose) through photosynthesis

• think of GPP as the total paycheck amount the plant earns

Primary Productivity formula

NPP= GPP-RL

Trends in productivity

• The more productive a biome is the wider the diversity of animal life it can support (high bio div)

• Water availability, higher temp, and nutrient availability are all factors that lead to high NPP

• Shortage of any of these three factors will lead to decreased NPP

• Ex) Desert (Low H20+ nutrients), Tundra (low temp + liquid H20) , Open Ocean (Low nutrients)