Unit 1 Notes (apes)

Species Interactions

Symbiosis

Mutualism: When both organisms benefit from an interaction (+,+)

Commensalism: One organism benefits and the other is unaffected (+,0)

Parasitism: One organism is hurt and the other benefits (+,-)

Predation: One organism benefits and the other is killed or gravely harmed (+,-)

Competition

Intraspecific: Between members of the same species

Interspecific: Between members of other species

Resource Portioning: Species share limited resources by utilizing different resources or occupying distinct niches in an ecosystem.

Terrestrial Biomes

Geographic and geologic influences

• Latitude

• Latitude

• Rain shadow

• Oceans

Land Biomes

Deserts

With an average high of 20 degrees Celsius and a low of 0, the desert is usually hot and dry.

Deserts also have an average of 0 mm of precipitation every year.

Threats: Climate change and water depletion

Tundra

Tundras have a high of 5 degrees Celsius and a low of -15 degrees. This makes the biome cold, and treeless, and has an abundance of permafrost.

Threats: melting permafrost from climate change and mining

Grasslands

Temperate Grassland

Known as the “Cold desert”, the temperate grassland often has harsh cold winters and hot dry summers which result in fires.

Threats: Agriculture

Savannas

Often, they have warm temperatures with wet and dry seasons.

Threats: Agriculture

Coniferous (Boreal, Taiga)

Cold winters, short growing seasons, and poor soil are all traits of coniferous forests.
Threats: Logging (cutting down trees)

Temperate Deciduous

They tend to have warm summers and cold winters.

Threats: Agriculture

Tropical Rain Forest

Tropical rainforests tend to have poor soil

Threats: Slash and burn, agriculture

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Aquatic Biomes

Oceans and Estuaries

Aquatic biomes together make up 75% of the earth’s surface. Only about 3% of the earth’s water is drinkable.

Open ocean: No sunlight reaches the bottom

Photic zone: the top layer, nearest the surface of the ocean and is also called the sunlight layer

Aphotic zone: The portion of a lake or ocean where there is little or no sunlight.

Freshwater

Rivers and Streams

Turbulent water moves dissolved oxygen. Animals need this

The Carbon Cycle

The carbon cycle is the exchange of carbon between the atmosphere, oceans, and living organisms. Key points include:

1. Plants absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) during photosynthesis.

2. Animals consume plants, transferring carbon compounds.

3. Respiration releases carbon back into the atmosphere.

4. Decomposition of dead organisms also releases carbon.

5. Some carbon is stored in fossil fuels and carbonate rocks.

6. Human activities, like burning fossil fuels, increase CO2 levels, causing climate change.

The carbon cycle balances carbon in Earth's systems, but human actions disrupt this balance.

Short Cycle - Fast Carbon

Carbon that moves through animals and plants through photosynthesis and cellular respiration

Long Cycle - Slow Carbon

Carbon that has been stored underground for millions of years

Sinks/Reservoirs

1. Deep ocean sediments (sedimentary rock)

2. Ocean

Nitrogen Cycle

Nitrogen Fixation

N2 → NH3

Nitrification

NH3 → NO2 → NO3

Ammonification

NH3 → NH4

Denitrification

NO2

or → N2

NO3

Human Impact

Excess nitrogen can build up in waterways which happens to be a type of pollution. This type of pollution occurs when the burning of fossil fuels releases NOx (Nitrogen oxide, air pollutant)

Phosphorus Cycle

The phosphorus cycle describes how phosphorus moves through ecosystems. Rocks weather, releasing phosphorus into the soil. Plants absorb it from the soil, animals get it from plants. When plants and animals die, phosphorus goes back to the soil. Erosion can wash phosphorus into water, where aquatic plants and animals can take it up. Eventually, it can become sedimentary rocks, completing the cycle.

Hydrologic Cycle

The water cycle, or hydrological cycle, is the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the Earth's surface. It involves evaporation, condensation, precipitation, and runoff.

1. Evaporation: Heat from the sun turns water into vapor, which rises into the atmosphere.

2. Condensation: The water vapor cools and forms clouds.

3. Precipitation: Water droplets in clouds fall as rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

4. Runoff: Water on land flows into rivers, lakes, and oceans, restarting the cycle.

Primary Productivity

6H2O → C6H12O6 + 6O2 (glucose)

Biomes

More plants = More productivity

More sunlight = Higher productivity

Oceans

Red and blue wavelengths do not go into deep oceans which means there’s no photosynthesis occurring

Energy Flow in Ecosystems

Trophic Levels

Trophic levels are the different stages in a food chain that show how energy moves through an ecosystem. They are:

1. Producers: Plants that make their own food using sunlight.

2. Primary Consumers: Herbivores that eat plants.

3. Secondary Consumers: Carnivores that eat herbivores.

4. Tertiary Consumers: Top predators that eat other carnivores.

Each level depends on the one below it for energy.

Food Web

• Food Web: A network of interconnected food chains in an ecosystem.

• Producers: Plants that make their own food using sunlight.

• Consumers: Animals that eat plants (herbivores) or other animals (carnivores).

• Decomposers: Organisms like fungi and bacteria that break down dead matter, returning nutrients to the soil.

• Energy Flow: Energy moves from producers to consumers and then to decomposers.

• Balance: A healthy food web maintains ecosystem stability and biodiversity.

The 10% Rule

90% of energy is lost as heat and respiration

General Vocab

Decomposers: Breaks down organic material

Detritivore: Eats dead material

Scavenger: Eats everything

Biomass: The mass of living biological organisms in a given area or ecosystem at a given time

Niche: An organism’s job in an environment