APES - Terrestrial and Aquatic Biomes

Terrestrial Biomes

Distinct ecological communities of plants and animals adapted to specific natural environments

Savanna

Grassland with scattered trees, found in warm climates with distinct wet and dry seasons

Temperate Seasonal Forest

Deciduous forest characterized by distinct seasonal changes and moderate climate

Taiga/Boreal Forest

Coniferous forest with long, cold winters and short, mild summers

Temperate Rainforest

Forest with high rainfall and cool temperatures, supporting lush vegetation

Shrubland/Chaparral

Dense, spiny evergreen shrubs and small trees, adapted to hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters

Tropical Rainforest

Lush forest with high rainfall and year-round warm temperatures, supporting diverse flora and fauna

Desert

Dry, arid region with minimal rainfall and sparse vegetation

Temperate Grassland/Prairie

Grass-dominated ecosystem with hot summers, cold winters, and moderate rainfall

Tundra

Cold, treeless biome with permanently frozen subsoil, found in high latitudes

Temperature and Precipitation

Key factors influencing the distribution and characteristics of terrestrial biomes

Aquatic Biomes

Distinct ecological communities in water bodies, influenced by factors such as depth, flow, and water chemistry

Open Ocean

Vast, deep ocean with high salt content and diverse marine life

Coral Reefs

Marine ridges formed by coral organisms, supporting rich biodiversity

Benthic

Region at the bottom of a body of water, inhabited by organisms adapted to cooler temperatures and low oxygen levels

Limnetic

Well-lit water zone in a lake, inhabited by phytoplankton and higher animals supporting the lake's food chain

Littoral

Shallow water zone close to the shore, supporting flourishing rooted and floating plants

Profundal

Deep water zone with no light for photosynthesis, inhabited by fish adapted to cool, dark waters

Salt marsh/Estuary

Coastal ecosystem at the mouths of rivers, characterized by brackish water and diverse plant and animal species

Wetland (swamp/marsh/bog)

Land area saturated with water, supporting unique plant and animal communities

Which Biome is cool and has high rainfall?

Taiga

Which Biome is cold and has medium rainfall?

Tundra

Which Biome is cool/warm/hot and has low rainfall?

Desert

Which Biome is temperate and has high rainfall?

Deciduous forest

Which Biome is temperate and has medium rainfall?

Prairie/Grasslands

Which Biome is hot and has high rainfall?

Tropical Rainforest

Which Biome is hot and has medium rainfall?

Savanna

In which Biome would you find lichens/mosses?

Tundra

Which Biome is considered the nursery of the ocean?

Estuary/Salt Marsh

In which Biome would you find Trout and Catfish?

Rivers

Which Biomes have Salt water?

Salt Marshes, Open Ocean, Coral Reefs

Which Biomes has brackish water?

Salt Marshes/Estuaries

Does the Open Ocean have high or low productivity?

Low

Does a Stream have high or low productivity?

High

In which Biome will you find turtles and frogs?

Ponds/Lakes

Ecology

The study of connections in nature between biotic (living) and abiotic (nonliving) components

Factors sustaining life on earth

1. One-way flow of high-quality energy 2. Round-trip cycling of matter or nutrients through the biosphere 3. Gravity, enabling movement and cycling of chemicals

Biotic

Living/once-living

Abiotic

Nonliving

Symbiosis

Three types: Mutualism (+/+), Commensalism (+/0), Parasitism (+/-)

Niche

A species' role in its environment, including preferred habitat, position in the food web, mating, and eating behaviors

Resource Partitioning

Species avoid competition by dividing use of resources

Competitive Exclusion Principle

If competition is present, species will be excluded from niches they might otherwise be able to inhabit

Fundamental Niche

Possible niche

Realized Niche

Actual niche with competition

Levels of Organization in an Ecosystem

individual, population, community, ecosystem, biome, biosphere

Biogeochemical Cycles

The movement of elements and compounds through air, water, soil, rock, and living organisms in ecosystems and the biosphere.

Carbon Cycle

The cycle where carbon is reused and recycled through the atmosphere, water, and living organisms, including photosynthesis, chemosynthesis, and cellular respiration.

Nitrogen Cycle

The movement of nitrogen atoms and molecules between sources and sinks, including nitrogen gas accumulation in the soil, conversion to ammonia, and decomposition into nitrates and nitrites.

Phosphorus Cycle

The movement of phosphorus-containing atoms and molecules between sources and sinks, involving rock weathering, plant uptake, organism assimilation, and ocean reserves.

Carbon

An element found in carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins, essential for life and recycled through biogeochemical cycles.

Nitrogen

An element found in proteins and nucleic acids, involved in the nitrogen cycle and essential for biological systems.

Phosphorus

An element found in nucleic acids, a limiting factor in biological systems, and involved in the phosphorus cycle.

Photosynthesis

The process by which plants, algae, and cyanobacteria convert carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen using sunlight.

Chemosynthesis

The process by which archaebacteria produce carbohydrates from carbon dioxide and water using chemicals as an energy source.

Cellular Respiration

The process by which living organisms produce energy from glucose and oxygen, releasing carbon dioxide and water as byproducts.

Fixation

The conversion of nitrogen gas into ammonia by nitrogen-fixing bacteria, making it available for plant use.

Assimilation

The process by which plants use ammonia to build protein, and animals convert plant protein to animal protein.

Nitrification

The conversion of ammonia to nitrates and nitrites by soil bacteria, making nitrogen available for plant use.

Denitrification

The process by which some nitrates are broken down by soil bacteria, turning them back into nitrogen gas.

Eutrophication

The process where excessive nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, cause an increase in algae and phytoplankton, leading to oxygen depletion and ecological imbalance in water bodies.

Dead Zone

An area in a water body where oxygen levels are too low to support most marine life, often caused by eutrophication.

Volcanic Eruptions

Natural processes that release carbon dioxide and other elements into the atmosphere, contributing to biogeochemical cycles.

Deforestation

The clearing of forests, which affects the carbon cycle by reducing the number of trees available to absorb carbon dioxide.

Strip Mining

A mining technique that disturbs the Earth's surface, impacting the movement of elements and compounds in biogeochemical cycles.

Eutrophication Steps

The sequence of events including nutrient entry, algae increase, algae decomposition, oxygen depletion, and ecological imbalance in water bodies.

Water's Importance

Vital for all life, moderates climate, sculpts the land, removes and dilutes wastes and pollutants, moves continually through the hydrologic cycle

Hydrologic Cycle

Includes infiltration, runoff, plant uptake/transpiration, seepage, precipitation, snowmelt, evaporation, sublimation, freezing, condensation, and fog drip

Impact of Precipitation

Increases/decreases can cause drought/flooding, sea level rise, loss of ice habitat/freshwater sources, and groundwater depletion

Water Pollution

Includes chemicals, toxic metals, endocrine disruptors, eutrophication, and thermal pollution

Water Sources

Ocean, lakes, rivers, snow, clouds/atmosphere, biota, groundwater

Availability of Liquid Freshwater

Only about 0.02% of the earth's water supply is available to us as liquid freshwater

Aquifer

Underground caverns and porous layers of sand, gravel, or bedrock through which groundwater flows

Artesian Well

Pressure from the confined aquifer pushes water up at a location without a pump

Confined Aquifer

Bounded above and below by less permeable beds of rock where the water is confined under pressure

Unconfined Aquifer

With a permeable water table

Water Table

The level below which the ground is saturated with water

Watershed (Drainage Basin or River Basin)

The land area that delivers runoff, sediment, and any dissolved substances to a stream

Groundwater

Precipitation infiltrates the ground and is stored in soil and rock

Surface Runoff

Water that does not sink into the ground or evaporate into the air runs off into bodies of water