1. The Biosphere and its Biomes

2. The Study of Ecology
The scientific study of organisms and between organisms and their environments.
Biotic- living factors in an environment
Abiotic- nonliving factors in an environment

3. Key Abiotic Factors Sunlight Water Temperature
Soil- product of abiotic factors (ice, rain, wind) and the actions of living things (microorganisms, plants, worms, etc.) on rocks and minerals.
Wind
Severe Disturbances

4. Identify Specific Key Abiotic Factors

5. 5 Levels of Ecological Study
Individual Organism
Populations- group of organisms (of the same species) living in the same area
Communities- all of the organisms inhibiting a particular area
Ecosystems- abiotic + biotic factors in an area
Biosphere- broadest level of ecological study; sum of all of the earth’s ecosystems (biotic and abiotic factors)

6. Identify 5 Levels of Ecological Study

7. Biomes
Major type of terrestrial ecosystems that cover large regions of Earth (8 land biomes).
Characterized by specific biotic (plants & animals) and abiotic factors.

8. Tropical Rain Forest Warm year-round (near the equator) LOTS of rain
Diverse life

9. Savanna Tropical regions of Africa, Australia, & South America
Grasslands with scattered trees
Warm; wet & dry seasons

10. Desert VERY dry (less than 30 cm per year!)
Hot or cold (deserts in Asia)

11. Chaparral Temperate coastal biome Dense evergreen shrubs
Mild, rainy winters & hot, dry summers

12. Temperate Grassland
Deep, nutrient-rich soil that supports a variety of plants
No woody shrubs and trees
“Prairies”

13. Temperate Deciduous Forest
Deciduous trees (trees that drop their leaves each year)
4 seasons

14. Coniferous Forest (Taiga)
Cone-bearing evergreen trees
Long, cold winters with heavy snow

15. Tundra
VERY cold, high winds
Permafrost- permanently frozen subsoil

16. Biomes Project Draw a picture of a polar bear. What does it eat?
What is its habitat?
Who has been to the artic?
How do you know what a polar bear acts like then?

18. Your Zoo Proposal 5 biomes Things to consider… 2 animals
5 plant species
Things to consider…
1) How do you maintain the climate?
2) Abiotic factors (sunlight, shade, air quality, water, etc)

19. Your Zoo Proposal Requirements
Map of the zoo
Written proposal
Info poster for each of the 5 habitats (what will be included at the beginning of each biome)

20. Food Chains What did you eat for dinner last night?
Heterotroph or autotroph?

21. Food Chains
Food chain- Pathway of food transfer from one trophic level to another.
Trophic level- feeding level

22. Food Web
The patter of feeding represented by interconnected and branching food chains in an ecosystem.

23. Energy Flow Through Ecosystems
There is a limited amount of energy available in an ecosystem– an “energy budget” that is divided among the trophic levels.
What determines the “energy budget”?

24. Energy Pyramid
Emphasizes the energy loss from one trophic level to the next.
Rule of 10- Only 10% of the energy is transferred from one trophic level to the next; rest is lost as heat.

26. Activity The crackers represent 100 “units” of energy from the sun.
Get in groups of 4.
Each student should choose a label from the bag.
Identify your trophic level.
Plant= producer
Grasshopper= primary consumer
Rat= secondary consumer
Hawk= tertiary consumer

27. Activity
Rule of 10- An average of 10% of the energy in 1 trophic level transfers to the next level.
Model this energy transfer process by passing the appropriate amount of “energy” (crackers) to the next trophic level.

28. Activity What amount of “energy” was passed on to each trophic level?
Grasshopper?
Rat?
Hawk?
Why do higher trophic levels (i.e. the hawk) contain fewer individuals?

29. Global Warming Atmospheric CO2 levels have risen dramatically. Why?
Burning of wood
Burning of fossil fuels
Deforestation

30. Global Warming CO2 and the Greenhouse Effect
Global Warming (the overall rise in Earth’s average temperature)

31. Possible Effects of Global Warming
Melting of glaciers & polar ice caps, raising sea levels & flooding low-lying coastal areas.
Changing precipitation patterns (more hurricanes)
Shifting biome boundaries, affecting species that live there.