APES Unit 1

temperate seasonal/deciduous forest

Major locations: Europe, Eastern China, Eastern North America, Great Lakes

Climate: warm summers, cold winters w/ freeze Rainfall: high precipitation throughout the year

Soil nutrients: high nutrients- warm summers, temp. results in rapid decomposition of leaves that fall in winter

Other: features - leaves fall off trees which decompose and make soil fertile

Temperate grassland

Major locations: North American Plains (prairie), Russia (steppe)

Climate: rainfall: limited support, more grasses than trees extremes: very cold in winter, hot in summer

Soil nutrients: topsoil formed from thousands of years of herbivore waste (buffalo) & grass decomposition; high nutrients - long growing season, rapid decomposition of grass during warm months + adds nutrients

Other: very little of the biome remains as most has turned into agriculture due to excellent topsoil

Temperate Rainforest

Major locations: Pacific Northwest of U.S, S. Alaska Japan

Climate: mild temp. year-round rainfall - abundant

Soil nutrients: low nutrients - cooler temp. = slower decomposition released nutrients are quickly taken up by many trees/leached further down in soil due to rain

Other: parts ae old growth & important for biodiversity, commercially important for logging

Tropical rainforest

Major locations: equatorial on most continents

Climate: hot year-round Rainfall: Abundant year round

Soil nutrients: low nutrients - rapid decomposition, but high levels of plant growth result in nutrients taken up quickly leaving low level of nutrients in the soil \

Other: highest biodiversity on land dark, damp, Lush

Savanna

Major locations: mainly Africa

Climate: warm year-round Rainfall: low overall, has rainy season

Soil nutrients: high nutrients - rapid decomposition due to warm temp., not much rain results in plants using less nutrients from the soil

Other: grasses dominate due to limited rainfall has large acacia trees

Desert

Major locations: mainly places globally around 30N & 30S latitude

Climate: extremes b/w winter (very cold) and summer (very hot) rainfall: very low

Soil Nutrients: not much organic matter to decompose & dry

Other: organisms are specialized to survive. some desserts are barren w/ sand dunes while others have drought resistant shrubs.

Tundra

Major locations: high altitudes surrounding the poles - Artic and Antarctic

Climate: very cold → snow +ice in winter, summer looks barren buts its vegetation is important Rainfall: very low

Soil Nutrients: decomposition occurs slowly due to cold temp. resulting on low level of nutrients

Other: Little daylight in winter. Lots of daylight in summer which leads to abundant productivity (photosynthesis). Important for migratory animals in summer. Has permafrost soil that is melting with climate change

Taiga/ Boreal Forest

Major locations: Canada, Russia, Alaska. Scandinavia, very high altitudes in mountains of other biomes

Climate: very cold winters & mild summers Rainfall: moderate

Soil Nutrients: decomposition occurs slowly due to cold temperatures resulting in low level of nutrients

Other: Conifer and Evergreen trees (like Christmas trees). Animals hibernate and then feed abundantly during summers

Shrubland/ Chaparral

Major locations: Southern California, Mediterranean, Chile, Australia

Rainfall: Low, but more than desert. Only biome with almost no rain in summer. Climate: Hot summers, mild winters

Soil: Low nutrients – due to leaching of soil nutrients during rainy winter

Other: has evergreen shrubs, adapted to & dependent on fire

True or False?

Biomes are determined by temp. and precipitation, certain regions on earth

True

What two main factors that determine climate and therefore plant growth?

Temperature and precipitation

hydrologic cycle

1. evaporation

2. transpiration

3. condensation

4. precipitation

5. runoff

6. seepage/infiltration

7. groundwater/aquifer

evaporation

water turns from liquid to gas (vapor)

transpiration

process plants use to draw groundwater from roots up to their leaves

infiltration

water moves through surface of soil

surface run off

the path precipitation takes to streams, rivers, lakes, and the ocean

aquifers

water stored underground

precipitation

water falling from the atmosphere to land (rain, snow, ice, sleet)

condensation

water vapor creates clouds in the atmosphere

What are the major sinks (reservoirs) for each biogeochemical cycle?

hydrologic (water) cycle = oceans

carbon cycle = sedimentary rocks & sediments at the bottom of the ocean

nitrogen cycle = atmosphere

phosphorus cycle = sedimentary rocks

Carbon cycle

1. photosynthesis

2. cellular respiration

3. deforestation

4. burning fossil fuels

5. ocean acidification → Excess CO₂ is absorbed by ocean water and creates carbonic acid. This lowers water pH and damages the shells of species such as coral and mussels

Which biogeochemical cycle doesn’t contain a gaseous phase?

Phosphorus cycle

Phosphorus cycle

Draw a simple nitrogen cycle including the following terms and molecules. Ammonification, nitrification, denitrification, nitrogen fixation, assimilation, N2, NH4+, NO3-, DNA/amino acids, and label where bacteria take part in the process

N2

nitrogen

N03-

nitrate

NO2-

nitrite

NH4+

Ammonium

Describe the role legumes in the nitrogen cycle including the term root nodule.

Legumes have root nodules that contain nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This type of bacteria converts nitrogen (N₂) to ammonium (NH₄+). This process is known as nitrogen fixation.

they convert atmospheric nitrogen into nitrogen available for use by other organisms

What are ways carbon dioxide is taken out of the atmosphere and put back into the atmosphere?

Taken out: photosynthesis, ocean acidification

put back in: combustion, cellular respiration

What are the reactants and products for photosynthesis?

CO₂+ H₂O + sun = O_{2 +} C₆ H₁₂ O₆

What are the reactants and products for cellular respiration?

O_{2 +} C₆ H₁₂ O_{6 =} CO₂+ H₂O ₊ ATP

resource partitioning

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

Temporal partitioning

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

Spatial partitioning

using diff. areas of a shared habitat (diff. length roots)

Morphological partitioning

using different resources based on different evolved body features

abiotic

physical rather than biological; not derived from living organisms

biotic

relating to or resulting from living things, especially in their ecological relations

parasitism

a type of symbiotic relationship where one species, the parasite, benefits at the expense of another species, the host

mutualism

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

commensalism

relationship that benefits one organism & doesn’t impact the other (birds nest in trees)

competition

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

predation

one organism using another for energy source (hunters, parasites, even herbivores)

intra-specific competition

an interaction where members of same species compete for limited resource

inter-specific competition

competition between different species

biome

 large area with similar climate conditions that determine plant & animal species there 

Ex: (tropical rainforest)

ecosystem

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

community

all living organisms in an area

population

 group of individuals of same species (elk herd)

individual

one organism

Why is phosphorus considered a limiting factor in ecosystems?

Because the quantities of phosphorus are generally small, it limits plant growth

There is not a gaseous phase of the phosphorus cycle, and therefore the movement of phosphorus into oceanic reservoirs is very slow.

Out of the four biogeochemical cycles, which two play a role in providing important soil nutrients to plants?

Phosphorus and nitrogen cycle

littoral

• zone of a lake

• hallow water w/emergent plants

limnetic

• zone of a lake

• where light can reach (Photosynth)

  • No rooted plants, only phytoplankton

profundal

• zone of a lake

• too deep for sunlight (no photosynthesis)

benthic

• zone of a lake

• murky bottom where invertebrates (bugs) live, nutrient-rich sediments

intertidal/coastal

• zone of the ocean

• Narrow band of coastline between high & low tide

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

lakes/ponds

• freshwater biome

• lake = standing bodies of fresh H₂O (key drinking H₂O source)

rivers/streams

• freshwater biome

• Rivers have high O₂ due to flow mixing water & air, also carry nutrient-rich sediments (deltas & flood plains = fertile soil)

inland wetlands

• freshwater biome

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

estuaries/salt marshes

• marine/saltwater biome

• areas where rivers empty into the ocean

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

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

  
  

coral reef

• marine/saltwater biome

• Warm shallow waters beyond the shoreline; most diverse marine (ocean) biome on earth

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

open ocean

• marine/saltwater biome

• Low productivity/area as only algae & phytoplankton can survive in most of ocean

• So large though, that algae & phytoplankton of ocean produce a lot of earth’s O₂ & absorb a lot of atmospheric CO₂

photic zone

area where sunlight can reach (photosynthesis)

(typically, ocean)

aphotic zone (abyssal)

area too deep for sunlight

• zone of the ocean

What are the levels of organization in a biome from largest to smallest?

biosphere, biome, ecosystem, community, population, species, and organism.

10% rule for energy transfer in food chains

about 10 percent of energy stored as biomass in a trophic level is passed from one level to the next

How do 1st and 2nd law of thermodynamics apply to energy transfer in a food chain?

1st law of thermodynamics = energy is never created or destroyed, its transferred

2nd law of thermodynamics = each time energy is transferred, some of it is lost as heat (10% rule)

lost = unusable

energy pyramid

graphical representation, showing the flow of energy at each trophic level in an ecosystem

biomass pyramid

graphical representation of biomass present in a unit area of various trophic levels

It shows the relationship between biomass and trophic level quantifying the biomass available in each trophic level of an energy community at a given time.

Why are energy/biomass pyramids so small at the top?

Each higher level in the pyramid gets smaller (the bars get narrower) because only about 10% of the available energy transfers to the next level.

GPP

gross primary production; The total amount of sun energy (light) that plants capture and convert to energy (glucose) through photosynthesis

NPP

net primary production; GPP - R

the rate at which energy is stored as biomass by plants or other primary producers and made available to the consumers in the ecosystem

R

respiration/respiration loss (cellular respiration); plants use up some of the energy they generate via photosynthesis by doing cell. respiration (movement, internal transportation, etc.

Formula for NPP

NPP = GPP - R

Producers

an organism that produces organic compounds from simple substances such as water and carbon dioxide; an autotroph

primary consumers

organism that feeds on primary producers

2nd trophic level

secondary consumers

• Feed on primary consumers (herbivores).

• Occupy the third trophic level in a food chain.

• Can be either carnivores (eating other animals) or omnivores (consuming both animal and plant matter).

tertiary consumers

animal that obtains its nutrition by eating primary consumers and secondary consumers (omnivore/carnivore)

scavengers

animal that feeds partly or wholly on the bodies of dead animals

detritivores

heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by consuming detritus (decomposing plant and animal parts as well as feces).

decomposers

organism that decomposes, or breaks down, organic material such as the remains of dead organisms

heterotrophs

cannot produce its own food and instead relies on other sources of organic carbon, mainly plant or animal matter

autotrophs

can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals

Understand the effects of eliminating a species in a food chain.

Example: What would happen to the other species (increase or decrease?) if the desert fox was overhunted and eliminated?

Cacti → Kangaroo rats → snakes → desert fox

If the desert fox was overhunted/eliminated, the snake population would increase as would cacti. The kangaroo rat’s population would decrease.

ecological footprint

measured in land (gha = global hectare)

measure oif how much a person/group consumes, expressed in area of land

carbon footprint

measured in Tonnes of CO2 produced per year