biotic and abiotic characteristics . ABIOTIC BIOTIC water - PDF document

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 Students will explain that the biosphere is composed of ecosystems, each with distinctive biotic and abiotic characteristics . ABIOTIC BIOTIC water minerals Other organisms Question 1, 2, 3 p. 78 ­ Abiotic and Biotic components for pronghorns, humans and starfish Define and explain the interrelationship among species, population, community and ecosystem Levels of Study for Ecologists: Species: members of a population that can reproduce together to produce fertile offspring What are the adaptations of the organism? Why is the organism's distribution the way it is? Abiotic conditions! Banff Springs Snail Scientific name: The flower in the foreground is Old­Man­of­the­Mountain ( Hymenoxis grandiflora ). Physella johnsoni 1

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 Levels of Study for Ecologists: Species: members of a population that can reproduce together to Population: members of the same species that are in a defined area at a produce fertile offspring specific time Population: members of the same species that are in a defined area at a specific time How does the size of the population change?At what rate does the population change, both in size and in nature? Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the Which biotic and abiotic factors influence this? same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in p.80 a characteristic environment The collared pica (Ochotona colllaris) Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Within species Forest vs. Forest Fragment How many populations are there? How do different populations interact? - Competition - Predator/Prey - Abiotic factors Moisture and sunlight Between species Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment characteristic environment Environments change over After a forest fire, organisms that live time... as one species/ well in open spaces establish themselves. As they do so, they create population/ community/ biotic shade, alter the soil, and start making factor changes, it can make the environment more suitable for other the environment more or less organsims. suitable for other organisms! Species (biotic) Population (biotic) Community (biotic) Ecosystem (biotic and abiotic) 2

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 The biosphere contains many types of ecosystems. The biosphere can be divided into terrestrial (land) and aquatic (water) ecosystems. Each ecosystem can have distinct parts with different conditions! Ex: Terrestrial Ecosystem niches: Vertical Saltwater ecosystems: Oceans and seas stratification in forests Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Freshwater ecosystems: Lakes and ponds Explain how limiting factors influence organism distribution and range Examples: water availability, temperature, food availability, disease, predators Increases in these factors restrict the range and distribution of populations. Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Organisms only exist within the range of tolerance to their resources that support them. Biotic Factors: competition, predators, parasites Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Trout Arctic Foxes 3

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 Climate and Biomes: average weather conditions (temperature and rainfall) determine which biomes (large ecosystems) exist in certain areas Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Abiotic Factors: soil type, moisture/humidity, temperature range Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Ex: cottonwood trees in southwestern Alberta Changes to river flow affects the periodic flooding of banks and thus water availability to cottonwood trees. Habitat and Range: organisms live in their habitat (place with specific abiotic and biotic conditions) throughout their range (geographical area where they are found) Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Snow leopards inhabit the mountainous regions and alpine meadows of China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia and Tajikistan. (RANGE) In the summertime, they occur in high altitudes, from 2,700 and 6,000 m., but in the wintertime, they usually don't go above 1,800 m. in altitude. Their population is highly fragmented throughout their range. (SPECIFIC HABITAT) 4

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 Ecological Niche: species can share habitat and range if their niche (role) is different Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment Classification and Taxonomy Why classify organisms? • Predictive value: if several members of a group have a characteristic, another species in this group will probably also have this characteristic. Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment For example, if two plants are related (i.e., in the same genus) and one of the plants is a source of food or drug, there is a reasonable chance the other will, too. Consider taxol, from the bark of the Pacific yew ( Taxus brevifolia ) that is being used to treat breast cancer. Unfortunately, the bark of about 3 trees is required to treat a single patient.A thorough search has shown that taxol also occurs in other species (which from a practical perspective will make this potential medicine more readily available). 5

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 • Species identification: it is easier to find out which species Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment an organism belongs with if organisms are already classified rather than in a disorganized catalogue. Paua: Edible Sea Snails • Evolutionary links: species that are in the same group probably share characteristics because they have evolved from a common ancestor, so Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment the classification of groups can be used to predict how they evolved. (a) Silverswords (Asteraceae) in Hawaii - incredible diversity of form & habitat, adaptive radiation of ancestor from mainland, studies show that the transition from wet → dry occurred several times (b) Southern beech ( Notofagus ) - are distributed in New Zealand and southern South America. taxonomic studies can help explain this distribution (biogeography) and the date of divergences (ca. 80 mya); Taxonomy –is the process of classifying or organizing organisms into groups based on shared characteristics. It uses a system of rules to group or classify organisms. Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment 6

Unit B ­ Chap 3 ­ Class Slides.notebook May 06, 2011 Taxonomy was highly refined by Carl Linnaeus. He developed the system of binomial nomenclature. This means that every organism can be identified using two names. The rules for binomial nomenclature are as follows: • The first name is the genus name • The genus name is given an upper­case first letter Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area • The second name is the species name Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment • The species name is given a lower case first letter • Italics are used when the name is printed • The name is underlined if it is handwritten Phascolarctos cinereus Alligator mississippiensis Panthera tigris altaica Phascolarctos , is derived from phaskolos "pouch" and arktos "bear". cinereus , means "ash­coloured" Modern taxonomy divides all organisms on the planet in to five kingdoms, each with 8 other subdivisions, the last two always being the genus and species. The 7 levels of classification are: kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, and species. Species are defined as a group of organisms that can reproduce together to produce fertile offspring. Danish King Phillip Came Over For Green Spinach! The three domains of life have been added to this classification. Community: populations of different organisms that exist in the same area Ecosystem: the interaction of the biotic and abiotic components in a characteristic environment See p. 87 - characteristics! 7