Semester 1 Slides.pptx
Ecosystem Boundaries and Species Interactions
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 1-1 through 1-5: Several goals revolve around understanding ecosystem boundaries, species interactions, resource competition, and invasive species.
LG 1-1: Ecosystem Boundaries
Ecosystem boundaries can be defined by both abiotic (e.g., temperature, salinity) and biotic factors (e.g., types of organisms present).
Communities of organisms interact dynamically within these boundaries, which can vary significantly in size.
LG 1-2: Competing Species and Resource Response
Limited resources lead to competition among species, influencing their survival and adaptations.
The competitive exclusion principle asserts that two species competing for the same resource cannot coexist indefinitely.
Resource partitioning evolves as a strategy where competing species divide resources through adaptations in behavior or morphology.
Examples include how Darwin's finches evolved different beak shapes based on available food resources.
LG 1-3: Consumptive Interactions
Interactions such as predation occur when one species consumes another; notable examples include wolves hunting moose.
Parasitism involves organisms living on or in a host, causing varying levels of harm without inevitably killing the host.
Herbivory refers to plant consumption by animals, which can have ecosystem-wide impacts, including potential collapses when herbivore populations skyrocket.
LG 1-4: Mutualistic Interactions
Not all interactions are detrimental. Mutualism benefits both species, such as interactions between plants and pollinators (e.g., birds, bats).
Interactions can also result in commensalism, where one species benefits while the other is unaffected (e.g., fish using coral reefs for shelter).
LG 1-5: Invasive Species Interactions
Invasive species introduce novel interactions into ecosystems, often competing aggressively and displacing native species.
Examples include honeybees in North America and red foxes in Australia, which highlight human-induced changes to native ecosystems.
Terrestrial Biomes and Climate Diagrams
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 2-1 through 2-4 focus on defining biomes, interpreting climate diagrams, identifying terrestrial biomes, and understanding the causes of changes in biome boundaries.
LG 2-1: Terrestrial Biomes Definition
Terrestrial biomes are classified according to dominant vegetation types, annual temperatures, and precipitation.
LG 2-2: Climate Diagrams
Climate diagrams are graphical tools showing monthly temperature and precipitation patterns, helping to ascertain potential biomes.
LG 2-3: Major Terrestrial Biomes
The nine major biomes include: Tundra, Taiga, Temperate Rainforest, Temperate Seasonal Forest, Shrubland, Temperate Grassland, Tropical Rainforest, Savanna, and Hot Desert.
LG 2-4: Changing Biome Boundaries
Climate change and anthropogenic influences can dramatically alter the boundaries of terrestrial biomes, affecting the distribution and survival of species.
Aquatic Biomes Overview
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 3-1 through 3-2 outline identification of freshwater and marine biomes as well as understanding their characteristics.
LG 3-1: Major Freshwater Biomes
Freshwater biomes encompass streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, characterized by low salinity.
Key definitions:
Rivers/Streams: Flowing water systems where speed, slope, and volume influence ecosystem characteristics.
Lakes/Ponds: Standing water bodies divided into zones (littoral, limnetic, profundal, benthic).
LG 3-2: Marine Biomes
Marine ecosystems consist of saltwater environments like estuaries, coral reefs, and the open ocean, each supporting diverse organisms adapted to their unique conditions.
Nutrient Cycling in Ecosystems
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 4-1 through 4-2 focus on carbon and nitrogen cycles in ecosystems.
LG 4-1: Carbon Cycling
The carbon cycle moves carbon among the atmosphere, land, and ocean, involving processes such as photosynthesis and respiration.
Human activities, particularly fossil fuel combustion, lead to a surplus of carbon in the atmosphere, contributing to global warming.
LG 4-2: Nitrogen Cycling
The nitrogen cycle involves processes such as nitrogen fixation, consumption by organisms, ammonification, and denitrification, ensuring the availability of nitrogen, a crucial nutrient.
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Health
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 8-1 through 8-4 cover biodiversity at different scales and its implications for environmental stressors and estimates.
LG 8-1: Biodiversity Scales
Biodiversity includes genetic, species, habitat, and ecosystem diversity which collectively contribute to ecosystem resilience and health.
LG 8-2: Biodiversity and Environmental Stressors
Increased biodiversity often enhances ecosystems' stability and response to disturbances.
LG 8-3: Calculating Biodiversity
Species richness and evenness are key metrics in assessing biodiversity health.
LG 8-4: Estimating Species Counts
Estimations for global species range from 5 million to over 100 million due to the challenges in identifying and accounting for all species.
Ecosystem Services
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 9-1 and 9-2 relate to ecosystem services and human impacts on those services.
LG 9-1: Ecosystem Service Categories
Ecosystem services comprise four main categories: provisioning, regulating, supporting, and cultural.
LG 9-2: Disruption to Services
Human activities such as habitat destruction potentially disrupt ecosystem functions, leading to decreased biodiversity and service availability.
Geological Concepts and Earth Layers
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 19-1 through 19-3 focus on geological events, plate tectonics, and the composition of Earth.
LG 19-1: Earth Layers
The Earth comprises several layers: core, mantle, and lithosphere, each varying in composition and properties.
LG 19-2: Plate Movement
Tectonic plate movements are responsible for geological features and events including earthquakes, volcanoes, and mountain formation.
Agricultural Practices and Environmental Impact
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 25-1 through 25-5 address changes in agricultural methods and their environmental implications.
LG 25-1: Historical Changes in Agriculture
Progressions in agricultural practices demonstrate shifts from subsistence farming to modern industrial agriculture (the Green Revolution).
LG 25-2: Benefits and Consequences of Green Revolution
While the Green Revolution increased food production, it also led to environmental degradation, increased reliance on chemicals, and biotic homogenization.
LG 25-3: GMOs and Sustainable Practices
GMOs offer potential benefits but raise concerns regarding ecological impacts and human health risks.
LG 25-4: Mechanization and Fossil Fuels
Mechanized agricultural practices have led to energy subsidies in farming, heavily utilizing fossil fuels.
Urbanization and Environmental Challenges
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 30-1 and 30-2 cover urbanization impacts on the environment and methods to mitigate urban runoff.
LG 30-1: Urbanization Effects
Urban sprawl and increased population density in cities strain local resources and ecosystems, leading to issues like habitat loss and pollution.
LG 30-2: Urban Runoff Mitigation
Strategies to address urban runoff involve reducing impervious surfaces and enhancing green infrastructure to improve water infiltration.
Sustainability and Environmental Indicators
Learning Goals Overview
Learning Goals 32-1 and 32-2 focus on defining sustainability and understanding environmental indicators.
LG 32-1: Sustainability Definition
Sustainability emphasizes resource use that does not compromise future generations' needs.
LG 32-2: Environmental Indicators
Key indicators such as biodiversity loss, food production rates, CO2 levels, and water availability offer insights into ecological health.