Chapter 4 The Role of Climate

What is Climate?

In the atmosphere, temperature, precipitation, and other environmental factors combine to produce weather and climate.

Weather is the day-to-day condition of Earth’s atmosphere.

Climate refers to the average, year-to-year condition in a particular region.

What is Climate?

Climate is caused by many factors:

Trapping of heat

The latitude

The transport of heat

The amount of precipitation

Shape of landmasses

Elevation of landmasses

The Greenhouse Effect

The atmosphere is the biospheres natural insulating blanket.

Carbon dioxide, methane, water vapor, and a few other atmospheric gases trap heat energy and maintain Earth’s temperature range.

This is called the greenhouse effect.

The Effect of Latitude on Climate

Solar radiation strikes different parts of Earth’s surface at an angle that varies throughout the year.

Earth has three main climate zones:

1.)polar zones- cold areas where the sun’s rays strike Earth at a very low angle.

The Effect of Latitude on Climate

2.)temperate zones- sit between the polar zones and the tropics. The climate in these zones ranges from hot to cold, depending on the season.

3.)tropical zone- is near the equator. Receives nearly direct sunlight year-round, making the climate almost always warm.

Heat Transport in the Biosphere

The unequal heating of Earth’s surface drives winds and ocean currents, which transports heat throughout the biosphere.

Winds form because warm air tends to rise and cool air tends to sink.

Heat Transport in the Biosphere

The prevailing winds bring warm or cold air to a region, affecting its climate.

Surface ocean currents warm or cool the air above them, thus affecting the weather and climate of nearby landmasses.

Section 2 What Shapes an Ecosystem

Biotic Factors

Ecosystems are influenced by both biological and physical factors

The biological factors are called biotic factors

Includes anything living an organism may interact with

Ex. Birds, trees, mushrooms, or bacteria

Abiotic Factors

The physical or non-living factors that affect ecosystems are called abiotic factors

The climate is an abiotic factor Ex. Temperature and precipitation

Soil type and wind are also factors

Habitats are the area in which organisms live

Habitats include both biotic and abiotic factors

The Niche

A niche is the full range of physical & biological conditions in which an organism lives

It also includes the way the organism uses those conditions

A niche includes what an organism eats and how it gets its food

NO two species share the same niche in the same habitat

Community Interactions

Community interactions can powerfully affect an ecosystem

These include:

1. Competition: organisms try to use the same resource in the same place at the same time

A resource is an necessity of life, including water, food, or space.

Results in a winner and a loser (usually dies)

Known as the competitive exclusion principle

Community Interactions

2. Predation – where one organism captures and feeds off another

Predator – the one that kills

Prey – the one that is eaten

Community Interactions

3. Symbiosis- any relationship in which two species live closely together

3 main classes

1. Mutualism

2. Commensalism

3. Parasitism

Symbiotic Relationships

1. Mutualism – both species benefit from the relationship

Ex. Bees help flowers reproduce and flowers feed the bees

2. Commensalism – one member benefits, other is not harmed or helped

Ex. Barnacles attach to whales to have easier access to food

Symbiotic Relationships

3. Parasitism – one organism lives on or inside another organism and harms it

Ex. Tapeworms live in a human’s intestines absorbing nutrients making the human sick

Ecological Succession

Ecosystems are constantly changing in response to natural and human disturbances

As an ecosystem changes, older inhabitants gradually die out and new organisms move in

This causes even greater change

Ecological Succession

Ecological Succession is the series of predictable changes that occur in a community over time

Primary succession takes place on bare rock surfaces where no soil exists

Ex. After a volcano destroys previous ecosystem

Pioneer species are the first species to live in these areas

Ex. Lichens appear

Ecological Succession

Secondary succession occurs when a disturbance changes a community without removing the soil

Ex. Mosses appear, grasses take root, trees begin to grow

Succession in a Marine Ecosystem

In 1987, a community of organisms was found to be living on a dead whale

Three stages of succession

1. After the whale died, it attracted scavengers and decomposers.

2. The nutrients from the whale supported many species of marine worms

3. With only the skeleton remaining, bacteria moved in and decomposed oils in the whales bones

Section 3 Biomes

Biomes and Climate

Earth’s diverse environments are grouped into biomes.

Can all kinds of organisms live in every biome?

No. Species vary in their adaptation to different conditions like soil and climate.

Biomes and Climate

Plants and animals exhibit variations in tolerance:

ability to survive and reproduce under conditions that differ from their optimal conditions.

Biomes and Climate

The climate of a region is an important factor in determining which organisms can survive there.

The climate in a small area that differs from the climate around it is called a microclimate.

Two main components of climate

Temperature

Precipitation

The Major Biomes

Ecologists recognize ten different biomes. Each biomes is defined by a unique set of abiotic factors (climate) and an assemblage of plants and animals.

1.) Tropical rain forest

2.) Tropical dry forest

3.) Tropical savanna

4.) Desert

The Major Biomes

5.) Temperate grassland

6.) Temperate woodland & shrub land

7.) Temperate forest

8.) Northwestern coniferous forest

9.) Boreal forest

10.) Tundra

Other Land Areas

Some areas of land do not fall into the major biome categories:

Mountain Ranges

Found on all continents

Abiotic and biotic conditions vary with elevation.

Temperature, precipitation, plant, and animals.

Other Land Areas

Polar Ice Caps

Polar regions that border the tundra.

Cold year-round.

Dominant plants- mosses, lichens, & algae.

Dominant animals- polar bears, seals, insects, penguins, marine animals & mites.

(Depending on the polar region)

10 Different Biomes

** Open your books to page 100.

** You need to write the remainder of notes on your own about each biome.

** Include: Characteristics

Abiotic factors

Dominant plants

Dominant wildlife

Geographic distribution

Section 4 Aquatic Ecosystems

Aquatic Ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems are grouped by the abiotic factors that affect them

the depth

flow

temperature

chemistry of the overlaying water

Aquatic Ecosystems

In many aquatic ecosystems, tiny free-floating swimming organisms can be found

These organisms are called plankton

Phytoplankton are single-celled algae that use nutrients in water to make food

Form the base of many aquatic food webs

Zooplankton are animals that feed on phytoplankton

Aquatic Ecosystems

There are 3 main groups of aquatic ecosystems

1. Freshwater ecosystems - divided into 3 types.

A. Flowing-water ecosystems – include rivers & streams which flow over land

B. Standing-water ecosystems – include lakes & ponds

C. Freshwater wetlands – includes bogs, marshes, and swamps. Water covers the soil or is present at or near the surface for at least part of the year

Aquatic Ecosystems

2. Estuaries – wetlands formed where rivers meet the sea

Contain a mixture of fresh and salt water

Most food made in estuaries enters food webs as tiny pieces of organic matter called detritus

Aquatic Ecosystems

Estuaries cont.

Two types

1. Salt marshes – temperate estuaries

Salt tolerant grasses and seagrasses are the dominant plant life

2. Mangrove swamps – tropical estuaries

The dominant plant life includes several species of salt-tolerant trees, called mangroves and seagrasses

Aquatic Ecosystems

3. Marine Ecosystems – exist in the ocean

The ocean is divided into zones based on how much light penetrates the water Photic zone – well-lit upper layer of water where

photosynthesis can take place

Aphotic zone – permanently dark lower layer of water where producers use chemosynthesis to make food

Marine Ecosystems

The ocean is also divided into three zones based on depth and distance from shore

1. The intertidal zone

Exposed to regular and extreme changes in their surroundings

Marine Ecosystems

2. The coastal ocean

Relatively shallow, lies entirely within the photic zone, and is often rich in plankton and other organisms

Coral reefs grow in tropical coastal oceans

3. The open ocean

Largest zone covering more than 90% of the surface area of the world’s oceans

These areas typically have low levels of nutrients and support only small producers