Communities and Biomes

Community: In ecology, a community is an assemblage of two or more populations of different species

occupying the same geographical areaOr

biotic communities that are identified through a combination of parameters including species

composition, structure and habitat.

Ecosystems of North Carolina

• http://core.ecu.edu/BIOL/luczkovichj/NCecol/NCnathis.htm

• Biomes

• http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/estuaries.html

Limiting Factors and Tolerance

• Limiting factors (what are they?) may be the same for different species. If they have different tolerances, the effect of the limiting factor will be different for each species (In the desert, water is usually the limiting factor, but different organisms will have different tolerances and thus be affected differently)

Succession

• Primary and Secondary (know the difference)

• Pioneer species: The first to colonize in primary succession.

• Succession ends in the climax community (see p 68).

Biomes

• A large group of ecosystems sharing the same type of climax community

• In other words, similar conditions across the world lead to similar communities. There will be different species, but the niches in the different communities will be very similar (US Great Plains and African Plains, for instance.)

Aquatic Biomes

• Marine

• Photic-Zone with light

• Aphotic-Zone without light

• Tremendous amounts of biomass and production

• Also can be divided into depths or temperatures

Estuaries

• Where salt and fresh water meet and mix• Wide range of salinity, which can change

rapidly.• Very productive biologically• Where many species of fish come to

spawn (breed)• http://www.estuaries.gov/• http://w3.lasallehs.org/courses/science/

biology/html/biomes__estuary.html

Freshwater biomes

• Lakes and Ponds may have a thermocline

• Ponds have a “succession” also. Eventually they fill in.

Terrestrial Biomes

• Depend on temperature, altitude, latitude, and rainfall

• Graph p. 75

• Tundra- Permafrost, all low plants, COLD

• Taiga- a little warmer. Has evergreen conifer trees, much more animal life

• Desert-Arid (no rain)

• Deciduous Forests- Lose their leaves...which are recycled.

• Rain forests – Wet!!!!• Tropical rain forests…since they are in the

tropics, they get energy (from the sun) year round. They have never been covered by ice, giving a longer period of time to coexist and evolve.

• More species diversity than any other ecosystem or biome. P. 82 explains much of the diversity in terms of the physical structure.

Assessment

• Hint: make sure you can answer the questions in the chapter assessment on p.88 and 89