1. Levels of Organization & Biomes Chapter 34

2. What you need to know  The levels of organization ecologists study  The role of abiotic factors in the formation of biomes  Features of freshwater and marine biomes  Major terrestrial biomes and their characteristics

3. 3 Levels of Organization  Ecologists have organized the interactions of organisms into different levels according to complexity

4. 4 1 st Level of Organization  Organism: An individual living thing that is made of cells, uses energy, reproduces, responds, grows, and develops

5. 5 2 nd Level of Organization  Population: A group of organisms, all of the same species, which interbreed and live in the same place at the same time

6. 6 3 rd Level of Organization  Community: All the populations of different species that live in the same place at the same time.

7. 7 4 th Level of Organization  Ecosystem: Populations of plants and animals (biotic) that interact with each other and with the non-living (abiotic) parts of that area

8. 8 5 th Level of Organization  Biosphere: is all the ecosystems, or the portion of Earth that supports living things

9. 9 What level of Organization? Ecosystem

10. 10 What level of organization? Organism

11. 11 What level of Organization? Biosphere

12. 12 What level of Organization? Population

13. Biomes  The major types of ecosystems that occupy very broad geographic regions.  Aquatic biomes make up the largest part of the biosphere

14. Aquatic Biomes  Broken into four layers: 1.Photic zone: enough light for PS 2.Aphotic zone: very little light 3.Thermoclines: mid level region with fast temperature change (deeper  colder) 4.Benthic zone: bottom of the biome (sand, organic sediments, detritus)

15. Freshwater Biomes 1.Lakes & Wetlands  Littoral zone (shore), limnetic zone (deep water)  Oligotrophic lakes (deep lakes, nutrient poor, O 2 rich), eutrophic (shallow lakes, nutrient rich, O 2 poor) 2.Rivers & Streams  Defined by current, and divided among head waters and mouth  Estuaries are where freshwater rivers and streams merge into the ocean

16. Marine Biomes  Intertidal zone: land meets the water (tidal regions)  Neritic zone: shallow water  Pelagic Biome: open blue water (most of the ocean)  Coral Reef: cnidarians make calcium carbonate shells (coral); among the most productive ecosystems

17. Climate  Total annual rainfall  Average annual temperature Climate is largely determined by latitude, but can be modified by mountain ranges, trade wind patterns, and/or altitude

18. 8 Major Biomes 1.Tropical rain forest 2.Savanna 3.Desert 4.Temperate forest 5.Temperate grassland 6.Chaparral 7.Taiga 8.Tundra High temperature Decreasing rainfall Lower temp Decreasing rf Very low temp

19. Tropical Rain Forest

20. Tropical Rainforest  Temperature is warm, rainfall 200-400 cm/year  Photoperiod: 10-12 hr/day - year round  No seasonal change  Poor soil: rapid recycling rather than accumulation  Most complex terrestrial biome  Plants: many varieties of vegetation (300 species of trees)  Animals: highest variety of species  Highest amount of trophic levels

21. Savannah

22. Savannahs  Temp. warm, rainfall 30-50 cm year  Seasonal droughts and fires  Plants: grasses, sparse trees  Animals: Large herbivores and predators

23. Desert

24. Desert  Driest terrestrial biome: low and unpredictable rainfall (less than 30 cm/year, some none in decades!)  Descending dry air mass: 30 o latitude  High temperature fluctuations  Plants: Deep rooted, water storing, CAM plants (cactus)  Animals: Behaviorally adapted insects, reptiles & mammals  unique excretory adaptations

25. Temperate Forest (deciduous/broadleaf)

26. Temperate Forests (deciduous/broadleaf)  Seasons, rainfall 200 cm/year  Growing season 5-6 month  Plants: Flowering seasonal trees  High rates of decomposition, but low cycling of nutrients, allows for thick layer of rich soil  Animals: insects, birds, rodents, deer  Good regeneration from human impact

27. Temperate Grassland

28.  Seasonal Weather; rainfall 30-50 cm year  Plants: grasses  Animals: large herbivores and their predators

29. Chaparral

30. Chaparral  Semiarid regions, rainfall 10-30cm per year (additional moisture from fog)  Plants: Dense spiny shrubs, tough evergreens  annual plants  Periodic firestorms necessary for germination  Animals: grazers, fruit eating birds, rodents, lizards

31. Taiga (Coniferous Forest)

32.  Long cold winters, short wet summers  Most precipitation in form of snow  Plants: Cone bearing evergreens  Animals: Large grazing animals like moose, elk deer

33. Tundra

34. Tundra  Long bitter winter, short summer with long 24hr days  High moisture levels but no trees:  Permafrost prevents root growth  Plants: seasonal grass  Animals: grazing migratory herds (caribou)