Biology Chapter 37: Ecology and the Biosphere

Organismal ecology

Study of an individual organism

Population ecology

Study of a group of individuals of the same species, as well as the factors effecting growth/decline

Community ecology

Study of populations of different species and their interactions

Ecosystem ecology

Study of communities of organisms and physical factors

Landscape

Exchange of energy, minerals, and organisms between ecosystems

Biogeography

Distribution of living things and the abiotic factors that affect their distribution

abiotic

non-living

Latitude

Measures north/south, although the lines are horizontal

Longitude

Measures east/west, although the lines are vertical

Mountains influence air flow on land

As moist, warm air travels upwards over the mountain, the air becomes cold and dry, before returning warm and becoming arid as it returns to ground level

Ecotone

Places where biomes blend into each other

Most biodiverse biomes

Biomes with the most rainfall and hot temperatures

Tropical forest

Biome with constant rainfall, high temperatures, vertical layer of plant life, and great diversity of animal life

Desert

Biome with very little rainfall, variable temperatures seasonally and daily, low amounts of widely scattered vegetation, mainly comprised of deeply rooted succulents such as cacti and some shrubs, and nocturnal animals that are good at water conservation

Savanna

Biome of grasslands and scattered trees, a dry season that lasts up to 8 or 9 months, warm year round, fires are common, and animals include large herbivores and the carnivores that prey on them

Chaparral

Biome that is highly distributed, with dry summers and wet winters, with winter temps that are cool and summer temps that are warmer, plant life that is dominated by shrubs, and animals such as birds, insects, and grazing animals

Temperate grasslands

Biome with seasonal rainfall, with wetter summers and dryer winters, periods of drought are common, cold winters and hot summers, and grass as the dominant plant that survives

Northern coniferous forest

The largest terrestrial biome on earth, typically with moderate rainfall, but extreme rainfall in the pacific northwest, temperatures that range from extremely cold to somewhat warm, and diverse animal life

Tundra

Biome in the arctic and antarctic regions, with moderate rainfall that typically comes as snow or sleet, temperatures that range from extremely cold to cool, permafrost restricted plant growth, limited to mosses, grasses, lichens, and shrubs

Temperate broadleaf forest

Biome with moderate to extreme rainfall all season, a temperature that ranges from moderately cold to warm, vertical plant canopy with at least one or two layers of under-story trees, a shrub layer, and a herb layer, along with many mammals and birds

Marine biomes

Characterized by salt concentrations of 3%

Freshwater biomes

Characterized by salt concentrations of less than 0.1%

Littoral zone

Zone in lakes near the shore, where sunlight penetrates to the bottom

Limnetic zone

Zone in lakes, open water area in which sunlight does not penetrate to the bottom

Photic zone

Sunlight zone in lakes

Benthic zone

Zone in lakes of the lowest level of the body of water, including the floor

Aphotic zone

Zone in lakes, area underneath the sunlight zone that stretches to the floor

Intertidal zone

Shorline zone in oceans; periodically submerged and exposed by the tides twice per day; oxygen and nutrient levels are high

Oceanic zone

Zone in oceans, area beyond the continental shelf

Pelogic zone

Zone in oceans, open water column; constantly mixed by wind driven currents, and covers 10% of the earth’s surface

Aphotic zone

Zone in oceans with little to no sunlight

Abyss zone

Zone in oceans, area deeper than 2000 miles

Lakes

Standing bodies of water, includes everything from ponds to the great lakes

Oligotrophic lake

Nutrient poor and oxygen rich lake; less surface area to depth, and a large limnetic zone

Eutrophic lake

Nutrient rich but oxygen poor lake; more surface area to depth, and a large littoral zone

Wetlands

Area inundated with water at least some of the time that supports life adapted to water saturation; high organic production by plants, high decomposition by microbes, and helps filter dissolved nutrients and chemical pollutants

Riversine wetlands

wetlands that develop in shallows along streams and rivers

Fringe wetlands

wetlands that develop along the coast of lakes and oceans where water flows back and forth due to tides and flooding

Headwater streams

Streams that are usually cold, clear, fast and abundant

Downstream

Streams that are usually slower, warmer, and more turbid

Streams and rivers

Important characteristics are speed and volume flow

Estuaries

A transition between a river and the sea

Coral reef

Shallow photic zone of stable marine environments with high water clarity and quality, usually near islands

Marine benthic zone

Seafloor of the neritic and pelagic zones; no sunlight except for the warm shallow coastal areas