Ecosystem

Diversity &

Change

Part 2

Biome Regions with similar types of life

Terrestrial & Aquatic Diversity Chapter 6 & 7

• Chapters 6 & 7

Earth has three major climate zones: Tropical, Temperate, Polar Climate is the average weather pattern (precipitation & temperature) for an area over a

long period of time (30—1,000 years) & is influenced by latitude, altitude, and ocean

currents

Mountain

Ice and snow Altitude

Tundra

(herbs,

lichens,

mosses)

Coniferous

Forest

Tropical

Forest

Deciduous

Forest

Tropical

Forest

Deciduous

Forest

Coniferous

Forest

Tundra (herbs,

lichens, mosses)

Polar ice

and snow

Latitude

Terrestrial Diversity

Desert Biomes evaporation > precipitation

Tropical A: hot & dry; B: succulents (no leaves, store water in their flesh, open stomata at night); Africa’s Sahara

Temperate A: hot summers, cold winters; B: Shrubs, cacti;

reptiles (nocturnal, thick scales to minimize evaporation;

North America’s Mojave Cold A: Winters are quite cold, summers are warm/hot B:

Bactrian camel; China’s Gobi

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/lizard_thornydevil

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0037p9f bactrian camel Ecology from the Air: http://www.ted.com/talks/greg_asner_ecology_from_the_air http://www.ted.com/talks/frans_lanting_s_lyrical_nature_photos http://www.ted.com/talks/e_o_wilson_on_saving_life_on_earth

A= Abiotic

B= Biotic

Desert Threats:

Development

Soil destruction by off road vehicles

Soil salinization from irrigation

Storage of toxic and radioactive waste

*take a long time to recover from

disturbances slow plant growth &

nutrient cycling, lack of water, &

species diversity

v

DESERT BIOMES

Tropical desert

(Saudi Arabia)

Polar desert

(northwest China)

Desert Climate Graphs:

Grasslands Biomes *Persist b/c of Seasonal drought, Grazing, Occasional fires

Tropical Savanna (Africa, South America, Australia) A: Alternating dry & wet seasons; B: Acacia trees; elephants, giraffes; Animals have mass migrations to find water; plants adapted to drought; Threats: over grazing (fecal pavement) *solution: rotational grazing

Temperate Prairie (North America, South America, Asia) A: warm summers, cold winters; Has fertile topsoil B: Grasses have thick root network; Animals include prairie dogs, bison, coyote, eagles; Threats: farmland urban development

Cold: Tundra (and Alpine tundra) Canada, Russia A: during cold, short summer bogs form; Permafrost= large carbon reservoir that contains methane & CO2; B: Dwarf shrubs, reindeer(thick fur) & hordes of mosquitos during summer Threats: oil drilling, pipelines, roads, & facilities

*ANWR estimated billions of barrels of oil, would require roads, facilities drilling sites; Impacts loss of nesting grounds, disrupt hibernation, displace organisms; Fragile ecosystem- slow growth & decomposition, low diversity, poor soil

A= Abiotic

B= Biotic

GRASSLAND BIOMES

Tropical grassland (savanna)

(Harare, Zimbabwe) Polar grassland (arctic tundra)

(Fort Yukon, Alaska)

Grassland Climate Graphs

*services: stores carbon, erosion control

Forest Biomes

Tropical Rain forest (Near equator )

A: Warm temps & high rainfall, Nutrient-poor acidic soil, quick decomposition, nutrients taken up immediately or leached out by rain B: Dominated by broadleaf evergreen plants create canopy, High NPP & biodiversity

Threats: farming, cattle production, logging

Temperate Rain forest (NW America)

A: Moderate temps & high precip., coastal

B: Coniferous evergreen trees (spruce, fir, redwoods), elk, bear, cougar, salmon, etc.

Threats: logging *services: support energy flow & nutrient cycling, reduce erosion, absorb water, store carbon, regulate temperature, provide chemicals for medicine

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9MV5CgPgIQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=trWzDlRvv1M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btM0A3jOEoc

A= Abiotic

B= Biotic

Temperate deciduous forest (US, Europe)

A: Warm summers, cold winters, thick leaf litter, slow decay; B: Dominated by broadleaf deciduous trees (oak, maple), birds, rodents, insect, deer, skunks, foxes, bears

Threats: degraded more than any other biome, logging, urban expansion

Taiga/ Boreal forest/Coniferous (South of tundra)

A: Cool to Warm short summers, cold winters, Slow decomp.

acidic soil due to falling pine needles

B: Coniferous evergreen trees (spruce, pine, fir, cedar-waxy, needle leaves prevent water loss), bears, wolves (Hibernate)

Threats: logging, off road vehicles * 2 types of forest fires: surface- burns away leaf litter, helps control destructive insects, stimulates germination; crown- tree top to tree top, burns entire tree, kills wildlife, increases erosion

Protect old growth forests (uncut 200 yrs. +) by relying on tree plantations *could supply most of the worlds wood used for industrial purposes (i.e. papermaking)

Harvesting Trees requires roads which lead to erosion, increase sediment runoff, & habitat

fragmentation.

Selective cutting- small group of mature trees are cut down

Clear cutting- quick, efficient, for maximum profit, leads to erosion, habitat fragmentation,

water pollution

Tropical forests store 1/3 of terrestrial carbon; Amazon basin could

become grassland if current burning & deforestation continues.

Management: full cost pricing, “kenaf” (paper alternative- requires less

pesticides & space), reusable vs. throw away items

Fuelwood crisis: Haiti was 60% covered w/forests now 2%; alternatives

to fuel wood solar ovens, solar powered hot plates

Reduction of tropical rainforest deforestation w/debt for nature “protect

forests for debt relief”, Conservation Concessions “pay to preserve”, Green belt Movement plant

Trees & cut down on deforestation

FOREST BIOMES

Tropical rain forest

(Manaus, Brazil) Temperate deciduous forest

(Nashville, Tennessee)

Forest Climate Graphs

AQUATIC BIOMES

Coral reefs Rivers

Lakes Mangroves

Ocean

Ecological Services: Climate Moderation, CO2 Absorption,

reduced storm impact (mangroves, barrier islands), habitats, nursery areas,

Economic Services: Food, pharmaceuticals, recreation, employment, oil & natural gas

Plankton: Drifting organisms

Phytoplankton

Producers/Autotrophs

produce 50% of the O2 you breath everyday

Ex: Diatoms, cyanobacteria

Zooplankton

consumers

Ex: fish & crab larvae

Nekton: Strong swimmers

Ex. turtles, whales, adult jellyfish

Benthos: Bottom dwellers

Ex. sea stars, clams, crabs, anemones

Types of Aquatic Organisms:

http://www.planktonchronicles.org/en/episode/embryos-and-larvae

https://www.ted.com/talks/the_secret_life_of_plankton

http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/media/plankton-revealed/?ar_a=1

*Watch short videos on plankton

Limiting

Factors that

decrease

w/depth:

Temperature,

Light,

Oxygen

Limiting

Factors:

nutrients,

Turbidity

(cloudiness)

Estuaries: where fresh mixes w/saltwater

Estuaries form between Atlantic Ocean and 5 major Georgia rivers -the Altamaha,

Ogeechee, Satilla, Savannah, & St. Mary’s

Wetlands: land covered with water all or part of year

Hydric soil -saturated by water, resulting in anaerobic conditions

Intertidal

*Services: absorbs pollutants, control flooding, act as a

storm buffer, & provide habitat/nurseries

Watch & Answer Questions: Bill Nye wetlands

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k7wO3W1mWnA

• The Savannah River broadens into an estuary about 28 miles upstream from the Atlantic

• Sewage & industrial waste pollution

• Mercury contamination from coal fired power plants & the manufacture of chlorine

• Savannah Harbor Expansion Project (SHEP) is predicted to affect the fresh/salt water composition impacting flora & fauna

Threats:

Organisms

Adaptations

Marsh grass (spartina) & cattails

flexible stems to withstand tides, vacuoles to store salt, air spaces for oxygen transport (hydric soil not aerated), barriers to block salt

Fiddler Crab gills & a primitive lung, to breath in water & on land, burrows for escape from high tide, decrease activity level

Cypress Trees Cypress knees (provide stability)

*In general organisms will have excretory organs which remove excess salt & water

FOCUS: Coral Reefs: Tiny animals or “polyps” secrete calcium carbonate shells

Polyps and zooxanthellae algae = mutualism

Services: Biodiversity (Marine equivalent of tropical rain forests, *Valuable compounds for pharmaceuticals), Provides habitat ¼ of all marine species, Food, Recreation

Threats:

• Warmer ocean temperatures = coral bleaching: kills algae

• Increasing ocean acidity

• Coastal development

• Pollution, runoff

• Overfishing/ trawling

• Dredging

• Ozone depletion- UV rays harm coral

get O2 & chemical energy get a home & CO2 for photosynthesis

Neritic Zone

http://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/Contexts/Life-in-the-Sea/Sci-Media/Animations-and-Interactives/Marine-ecosystem

Open Ocean/Pelagic Zone:

Euphotic zone: lit upper zone

Phytoplankton perform photosynthesis

Nutrient levels low & d-Oxygen levels high

Fast swimming, predatory fish (sharks, tuna)

Bathyal zone

Dimly lit, Have zooplankton and smaller fishes

Abyssal zone

Dark & cold, high pressure, No photosynthesis, little d- oxygen, nutrient levels vary

Deep, hot ocean vents (black smokers)

w/chemosynthetic bacteria using hydrogen

sulfide to create chemical energy

*Watch short video on abyssal creatures

http://youtu.be/FswYwyke7cc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufxGw8EqY5Q

A lot of the marine fish

we eat come from

pelagic fisheries

(mackerel, sardine &

tuna.) Stocks have

been over-exploited

and some species

even face extinction

due to overfishing.

Ocean Threats : Coastal development

Habitat destruction

Overfishing, trawling

Pollution

Invasive species

Climate change &coral bleaching

Ocean acidification

Eutrophication(dead zones)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uc605ajWIBE

http://www.nbcnews.com/video/nightly-news/52403911#52403911

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ahOmeTOIrRg

http://www.smm.org/deadzone/what/top.html

http://i2i.stanford.edu/AcidOcean/AcidOcean3.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wo-bHt1bOsw

*Watch short videos on ocean threats

Ocean pH is currently around 8.1, models by end of century it may be around 7.7

Littoral [lit-er-uh l] zone: near shore

Limnetic zone: away from shore Photosynthetic (photic) zone

Profundal zone: Deep, No photosynthesis

Benthic zone: Decomposers & detritivores

Great Lakes -largest

supply of fresh surface

water in the world

Lentic (standing): Lakes Lake z

ones

Lotic (flowing): Rivers

Economic Services: Food, drinking

water, hydroelectricity, recreation,

employment

Ecological Services: Flood control,

climate moderation, groundwater

recharge, habitat

Oligotrophic Lake Eutrophic Lake

Low nutrients

Low NPP

Good light penetration

High DO

Deep waters

Low algal growth

Small mouth bass, lake trout

High nutrients

High NPP

Poor light penetration

Low DO

Shallow waters

High algal growth

Carp, catfish, bullhead

Cultural (artifical) eutrophication: input of excess nutrients (fertilizers) causing excess

algal growth

Lake Types Based on Nutrient Levels:

Oligotrophic lake

Eutrophic lake

Freshwater Degradation:

–Dams destroy habitat by flooding above dam & decreasing flow below the dam; sediments get trapped behind the dam

– Flood control levees and dikes along rivers alter flow & destroy habitat

–Pollutants from cities and farms on streams, rivers, and lakes

–Draining wetlands for agriculture & development

O2

CO2

O2

CO2

Producers /Autotrophs/ 1st trophic level

Perform photosynthesis:

Or chemosynthesis

Ex. Plankton, phytoplankton, moss, grass, bacteria

Consumers aka heterotrophs:

Herbivores: catepillar

Carnivores: spider

Omnivore: bear

Scavenger: vulture

Detritivore: worm

Decomposer bacteria & fungi

http://www.planktonchronicles.org/en/episode/plankton

Digest on molecular scale & return

nutrients back to environment

6CO2 + 12H2S C6H12O6 + 6H2O + 12S\

Both Producers & Consumers Perform Respiration

Aerobic respiration: making energy from sugar w/ oxygen

Anaerobic respiration/ fermentation: energy gained w/out

oxygen. End products include methane gas (CH4), ethyl

alcohol, acetic acid, and hydrogen sulfide

Review

1.Where is some energy transferred to along the food chain?

2.How many trophic levels are in the diagram?

3.Where do all organisms ultimately get their energy from?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iM8s1ch5TRw&list=UUC552Sd-3nyi_tk2BudLUzA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lnAKICtJIA4

Bozeman energy flow in an ecosystem

10% Rule (Ecological Efficiency)

Only 10% of the energy is

transferred from one trophic

level to the next.

Energy flows one way!

1. What are some abiotic

components in the

diagram that are

directly important to

the tree?

2. What is the primary

consumer getting

energy from?

3. How is the secondary

consumer dependent

on the producer?

Most of the energy, mass, numbers are at the bottom of the food

chain! Many producers are needed to feed fewer primary consumers

which feed fewer secondary consumers which feed fewer tertiary

consumers

1. In this food chain, we could hypothetically assume that for every kilogram of biomass in the osprey eagle, it would require __________ kg of shrimp to keep the food chain balanced. 2. The snapping turtle lives in a small pond, where its major prey is bass. In turn, the bass primarily eat minnows. This snapping turtle weighs 40 pounds. If the pond has 10 mature snapping turtles of this size, how many pounds of minnows are required to support them?

Solve the following energy pyramid problems… [Use the 10% law across each trophic level.]

1 kg

A snake weighs 2 lbs. Ecologists estimate

2000lbs. of grass plants exist. How many

snakes can the ecosystem support?

grass plants

mice

snakes

lbs.

1,000,000 lbs.

10,000, 000 lbs.

Fill in the biomass for the top trophic level in the ecological pyramid above.

At maturity a lion weighs 500 lbs. Ecologists estimate 10, 000, 000 lbs of grass plants exist in

the ecosystem. How many adult lions can the ecosystem support?

How Fast Can Producers

Produce Biomass?

Gross primary productivity

(GPP): the rate at which

producers in an ecosystem

convert solar energy into

biomass *Measured in Kcal/m2/year

Net primary productivity

(NPP): the rate at which

producers do photosynthesis

minus the rate at which

they do respiration

• Some ecosystems have higher NPP than others:

Human Impact on hydrologic cycle

– Over pumping aquifers

– Increase runoff & erosion by replacing vegetation w/buildings &

asphalt

– Draining wetlands for development (urban & ag.) increases

flooding

– Global Warming increase evaporation & precipitation

Biogeochemical Cycles:

Evaporation from

plant leaves

Rain, sleet, snow

Movement of water

through soil & rock to

aquifers Surface movement

down slopes to the sea

Hydrologic (water) Cycle

Human Impact on the Carbon Cycle:

Fossil fuel use (Electricity & Transportation)

Clearing forests

Removes carbon-absorbing trees

Burning trees puts out CO2

*CO2 is a greenhouse gas that

traps heat in our atmosphere

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oblMClD2oU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D7hZpIYlCA

Crash Course Hydrologic & Carbon

CO2 removed from atmosphere by photosynthesis & dissolved in ocean CO2 released during aerobic respiration, decomposition, forest fires, deforestation, burning of

fossil fuels,

CH4 released

from livestock, landfills, rice paddies, swamps, fossil fuel

production Major sink/reservoir:

ocean, permafrost,

limestone or sediments

Carbon

Cycle

Carbon sequestering in

ocean, peat bogs,

plants, trees

Human Impact on the nitrogen cycle :

– Burning of fossil fuels releases nitric oxide (NO) makes

NO2 then makes HNO3 (nitric acid; part of acid rain)

– Use of fertilizers adds nitrous oxide (N2O) to atmosphere

through microbial action

– Agricultural processes remove nitrogen from topsoil

– Runoff of Fertilizer & manure adds excess nitrates to

aquatic systems Causes eutrophication & algal blooms

– Results in oxygen depletion & biodiversity loss

– Creates Dead Zones; examples: Gulf of Mexico, Chesapeake Bay Estuary

– Can create “Red Tide” – toxic algal bloom

*In proteins &

nucleic acids

*78% of air is N2

Fixation: bacteria convert N2 to NH3 (ammonia)

lightning converts N2 to NO3

- (nitrate)

Nitrification: bacteria convert NH4

+ to NO2-

(nitrite) to NO3-

(Nitrate) * taken up by plants

Ammonification

bacteria convert nitrogenous wastes & dead organisms back into NH3 and NH4

+

Denitrification:

Bacteria convert NO3

- in soil back into N2 or N2O (nitrous oxide)

Human Impact on the phosphorus cycle:

– Removing phosphate salts from mining

– Phosphate-rich runoff from fertilizer enters aquatic

systems (esp. freshwater) & causes algal blooms

(eutrophication)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leHy-

Y_8nRs

Crash Course N & P

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6LAT1gLMPu4

*Important for nucleic acids and energy transfer molecules (ATP) Does not include the atmosphere! Reservoir: rock & ocean bottoms

phosphate in soil taken up by

plantstaken up by animals & returns

to soil through decay

Phosphorous Cycle

Human Impact on the sulfur cycle:

– Refining petroleum

– Combustion of coal

– Leads to acid precipitation (sulfuric acid)

– Smelting metallic ores (copper, lead, zinc)

*Smelt: To melt (ores) in order to separate the metallic constituents.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn41lXKyVWQ

Bozeman biogeochemical cycles

*All these processes

release SO2

Reservoirs: rocks &

minerals & sulfate

(SO42-) salts in

ocean sediments

Released in atmosphere by volcanoes, hot springs, soil decomposition, smelting,

burning coal, & refining petroleum. In the air it is converted to sulfur dioxide (SO2) is

converted to sulfur trioxide gas (SO3) & sulfuric acid (H2SO4) & falls as acid rain