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%CFAverage global temperatures 1.4%CB over the past century, mostly over the past 30 years. %CFNorthern Hemisphere and the Antarctic Peninsula have heated up the most.
%CFAlaskan winter temperatures have risen by 5-6%CB
%CFPermanent Arctic Sea is shrinking, polar bears are showing signs of starvation as their winter hunting grounds melt away.
%CFAntarctic Peninsula limits access of Ad |
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scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment
%CFField research is fundamental to ecology.
Ecologists use discovery based natural history or hypothesis driven science to learn more about organisms react to their environment and vice versa. |
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| All the organisms in the area |
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All the nonliving components. Includes chemical and physical factors
Temperature
Air
Water
Minerals |
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| specific environment including biotic and abiotic factors that an organism lives in. |
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organism
population
community
ecosystm |
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| an individual living thing |
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| evolutionary adapatations that enable organisms to meet the challenges posed by their abiotic environments. |
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| group of individuals of the same species livingin a geographical area |
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| Concentrates mainly on factors that affect population density and growth. Biologists who study endangered speciesa are especially interested in this level of ecology |
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| consists of all the organisms that inhabit a particular area. Assemblage of populations of different species. |
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| Focuses on how interactions between species, such as predation and competition, affect community structure and organization |
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| includes all the abiotic factors in addition to the community of species in a certain area |
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| questions concern energy flow and the cycling of chemicals among the various biotic and abiotic factors |
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| global ecosystem - the sum of all the planet's ecosystems or all of life and where it lives. Most complex level of ecology. Includes atmosphere to an altitude of several kilometers, the land down to water-bearing rocks about 1500 m deep, lakes, streams, caves and oceans to a depth of several kilometers. |
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acclimation-gradual, temporary, reversible adjustment that occurs in response to an environmental change.
Ex: temperature, season, altitude |
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| a change in body shape or structure |
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| Moving to another location, dressing warmer for winter, birds migrating |
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| major terrestrial or aquatic life zone characterized by vegetation type in terrestrial biomes and physical environment in aquatic biomes. |
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| Freshwater, Rivers and Streams, Wetlands, Marine |
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●Standing water (lakes and ponds) and Flowing water (rivers and streams)
●Covers less than 1% of earth and contain a mere .01% of its water. Harbors an estimated 6% of all described species. |
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| Communities of plants, algae and animals are distributed according to the depth of the water and its distance from shore. Less oxygen than rivers or streams. |
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| Shallow water near the shore and the upper layer of water away from the shore. Named so because light is available for photosynthesis. |
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| If lake or pond is deepy or murky enough it will have an aphotic zone where light levels are to low to support photosynthesis. |
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| Bottom of all aquatic biomes. Made of sand and organic and inorganic sediments. Occupied by communities oforganisms that are collectively called benthos. |
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| Collective name for microscopic algae and cyanobacteria in aquatic biomes. Mineral nutrients nitrogen and phosphorus typical regulate the growth. |
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| Flowing water generally supports quite different communities of organisms than lakes and ponds. Changes greatly between its source and the point at which it empties. |
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water is usually cold, low in nutrients and clear. Channel is often narrow with swift current that does not allow much silt to accumulate. Inhibits growth of phytoplankton. Most organisms are supported by the photosynthesis of algae attached to rocks or by organic material (leaves)
Insects that eat algea, leaves or one another. Trout are predominant fishes, locating their food mainly by sight in the water. |
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| River or Stream - Downstream |
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Definition
Typically widens and slows. Water is usually warmer and may be murkier because of sediments and phytoplankton.
Worms and insects that burrow, waterfowl, frogs and catfish and other fishes that find food more by scent and taste than by sight. |
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transitional biome between aquatic ecosystem and a terrestrial one.
Among the most productive areas on earth.
Includes swamps, bogs and marshes. |
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Oceans and Seas.
Salt concentration generally around 3% |
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| Sea floor (or floor of freshwater biomes) |
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| All open waters. In shallow areas, submerged parts of continents, the photic zone includes both pelagic and benthic regions. |
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| free floating animals, including microscopic ones |
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| where the ocean meets land. |
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| Aphotic zone - "no light" |
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1000 m to 6-10,000 m Most of benthic organisms consume organic material on the seafloor.
Crustaceans, polychaete worrms, sea anemones and echinoderms such as sea cucumbers, sea stars and sea urchins. |
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| Aphotic Zone - "twilight" |
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Definition
200 m to 1000 m
Some light reaches this zone but not enough for photosynthesis. Here animals feed on sinking food from the photic zone. Some fishes have enlarged eyes, enabling them to see in the very dim light and light-emitting orkgans that attract mates and prey.
Sponges, sea pen, octopus, sperm whale, hatchet fish |
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down to 200 m
phytoplankton, zooplankton, man of war, blue shark, turtle |
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| occurs in the photic zone of warm tropical waters. Built up slowly by successive generations of coral animals - a diverse group of cnidarians that secrete a hard external skeleton - and by multicellular algae encrusted with limestone. Unicellular algae live within the coral's cells providing the coral with food. |
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| Where the ocean meets lands. Home to many sedentary organisms, such as algae, barnacles and mussels, which attach to rocks and are thus prevented from being washed away. |
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a transition between a river and the ocean. Saltiness of estuaries ranges from nearly that of fresh water to that of the ocean.
Waters are enriched by nutrients from the river, making estuaries among the most productive areas on earth. |
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| largely the result of the input of radiant energy from the sun and the planet's movement in space. |
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| The region from the tropic of cancer to the tropic of capricorn. |
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| latitudes between the tropics and artic circle and the antartic circle. Generally milder climates than the tropics or the polar regions. Coniferous forests dominate the landscape. |
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occurs in equatorial areas where the temperature is warm and days are 11-12 hours long year round. 200-400 cm of rain per year.(6.6 to 13 feet)
Treetops create canopy. Many trees covered by woody vines. Orchids gain access by growing on branches or trunks of tall trees.
Monkeys, birds, insects, snakes, bats and frogs. |
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dominated by grasses and scattered trees. Temperature is warm year-round. Rainfall average is 30-50 cm (12-20 inches) per year. Fires are common here.
Zebra, anteloupe, lions and cheetah. |
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Driest of all biomes, characterized by low and unpredictable rainfall. Sometimes less than 30 cm (12 inches) per year. Some are very hot 140○ daytime with large daily temp flux. Others are cold
Water-storing vegetation includes cacti and deeply rooted shrubs.
Snakes, lizzards and seed-eating rodents. |
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Definition
Small coastal areas.
Dense, spiny, evergreen shrubs cominate chaparral. Many plants contain flammable chemicals and burn fiercely. Southern
Deer, fruit-eating birds, seed-eating rodents, lizards and snakes. |
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Mostly treeless except along rivers or streams. Rainfall averages between 25-75 cm per year (10-30 inches)
Bison and pronghorn, rabbits, voles, ground squirrels, prairie dogs and pocket gophers. |
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| Temperate broadleaf forest |
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Definition
Annual temp varies over a wide range. Annual precip is high 75-150 cm (30-60 inches) and typically distributed evenly throughout the year.Hot summers and cold winters.
Deciduous trees.
Bobcats, foxes, black bears and mountain lions. |
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Cone-bearing evergreen trees such as pine, spruce, fir and hemlock dominate. Northearn coniferous forest or "taiga" is largest terrestrial biome on earth. Also found at high elevations in more temperate latitudes. Mountainous region of western North America. Long, snowy winters and short, wet summers that are sometimes warm.
Moose, elk, hares, bears, wolves, grouse and migratory birds. |
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Definition
Covers expansive areas of Arctic between the taiga and polar ice. Very little annual precipitation.
Small shrubs, grasses, mosses and lichens. |
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covers land at high latitudes north of the artic tundra in the Northern Hemisphere and Antarctica in the Southern Hemisphere. Extremely cold all year round. Precipitation is very low.
Polar bears (northern hemisphere) penguins (southern hemisphere) and seals. |
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| Adjoining edges of earth's giant plates where molten rock and hot gases are spewed into the ocean. Chemicoautotrophic bacteria that derive energy from the oxidation of inorganicchemicals such as hydrogen sulfide. Bacteria with similar metabolic talents support communities of cave-dwelling organisms. Giant tube worms, annelids that may grow to 2 m long are members of the vent community. |
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| Humans dumping in the ocean, oil spills, pollution and alteration of freshwater inflow. Coral reefs are imperiled by ocean acidification and rising sea surface temperatures due to global warming. |
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| Certain gases in the earth's atmosphere are transparent to solar radiation but absorb or reflect heat. |
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| Greenhouse Effect on Global Climate Change |
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| Extensive deforestation and burning of fossil fuels and wood is flooding the atmosphere with CO2. Excess CO2 was sucked up by the oceans for decades, making the ocean more acidic. |
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| Distribution and reaction of species from global climate change |
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Definition
| Many species have already shifted toward the poles or to higher elevations. Animals at higher elevations have nowhere to go and some have begun to disappear. 20 species of frogs and toads have disappeared from Coasta Rica. |
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| The amount of greenhouse gas emitted as a result of the actions of a single individual |
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| Reducing carbon footprint |
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| Reduce home energy. Share rides with friends or find alternate means of transportation when possible. Recycle or reuse items purchased. Eat less meat. |
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| Extinction due to global climate change |
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| species with long life spans are not high candidates for evolutionary adaptation to save the species and will likely become extinct. |
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