Biology 100/101
Lecture 2: Ecosystems in Space
(Print Version)

Announcements &
Assignments

Lecture Objectives

Terminology:
Assemblages of organisms

Terminology:
Assemblages of organisms
& the environment

Biome Location

Characteristics
of Biomes

Lecture Syllabus

IB 100/101 Home Page

Announcements

Text readings in Life 6th ed. by Ricki Lewis, et. al.

Chapter 44 (Communities and Ecosystems
Pgs 865-870, 873-875)

Chapter 45 (Biomes and Aquatic Ecosystems)
Pgs 889-901

The "Reviewing Concepts" boxes are valuable summaries of the main ideas in these sections of the text.

You have open access (no log-in or password needed) to instructional materials on the Text web site student "Online Learning Center". Select the text chapter you want and use the links to the e-learning modules or other available materials.

Web Crossing

You may also ask questions and see answers to your classmates' questions in Web Crossing in the "Talk to Sarah and Ed" discussion.

Objectives:

The content of today's lecture will help you answer question #1 on this assignment:

Take-home Assignment #1, Ecosystems, Biomes, and Succession Due at Lecture Monday September 17

Note that exam questions and written assignments will be based on the learner objectives included in this lecture outline. Not all the questions provided at the chapter ends in the text or on the text web pages may be appropriate study aids. Use those that reflect the lecture objectives.

After studying this material you should be able to:

1. Define and explain the relationships among these concepts: individual organisms, populations, species, biological communities, ecosystems, biomes, and the biosphere.

2. Give an explanation why many species can coexist in an ecosystem when they are competing for limited resources.

3. Explain why different regions of the globe have different climates, and consequently support different biomes. Describe and explain the effect the following have on the climate (rainfall and temperature) of an area:

   latitude

   altitude

   tilt of the axis of the earth

   global air circulation patterns

   global ocean currents

   proximity to bodies of water

   mountain ranges

4. Describe the characteristics of the following major terrestrial biomes: tundra, desert, prairie (grassland), temperate deciduous forest, temperate rain forest, tropical rain forest.

Key Terms:

Terminology: Assemblages of organisms

Individual: One organism - could be one human being, one corn plant, one bacterial cell.

Population: "A group of interbreeding organisms living in the same area." (Lewis, Life - glossary)

Species: "A group of organisms with similar structural and functional characteristics which breed only with one another" - could consist of several populations.

Biological Community: "...a community includes all the organisms, sometimes hundreds of species, in a given area." (Lewis, Life - pg. 855)

• Champaign-Urbana, your room, even your roommate, all harbor biological communities...

  • Eyelash Creatures

  • Body Creepy Crawlies from PBS' Nova Series

  • Body Beasts: No man is an island. He is an ecosystem. National Geographic, Dec. 1998

Terminology: Assemblages of organisms + the environment

Ecosystem:"All organisms and their nonliving environment in a defined area", (Lewis, Life - glossary)

• Includes all biotic (living) and abiotic (non-living) factors in the environment.

• Ecosystems may be:

  • Large or small - we could think of a small pool or the entire earth as ecosystems.

  • distinct or indistinct - ecosystems sometimes blend one into another so the boundaries are not distinct.

  • Nested - small, separate ecosystems can be nested within a larger ecosystem, like a pond ecosystem located in a forest ecosystem.

Habitat: "the physical place where an organism lives" (Lewis, Life - glossary)

Niche: "all resources a species uses for survival, growth, or reproduction" (Lewis, Life - glossary)

• HOW (and where) individuals "MAKE A LIVING" in their habitat

• Differences in niches among species allow multiple species to occupy the same habitat.

• Niches - Lewis, Life Fig. 44.4, page 869

Biome: "one of several major types of terrestrial ecosystems" (Lewis, Life - glossary)

• At large spatial scales, groups of interacting ecosystems are called Biomes, characterized by a particular type of vegetation and largely determined by temperature and rainfall.

• Spread over large areas

• Not sharply delineated - vegetation types tend to blend into another where temperature and rainfall change.

• You probably know the major types of biomes already - deserts, grasslands, tundra, rainforests, etc.

Biosphere "the ecosystem of the entire planet" (Lewis, Life - glossary)

• At the largest scale the biosphere is the living shell around the planet

In what biome is Champaign-Urbana located?

• Biomes of Central and North America Image from ecologyandsociety.org,

• Tallgrass Prairie Photo

• Prior to settlement, more than 60% of Illinois, approximately 22 million acres, were covered with prairie. Today, just over 2,000 acres remain, less than one-hundredth of one percent. Tall grass prairies are endangered ecosystems in Illinois.

• Types of grasslands in NA

Why are biomes located where they are?

Lewis, Life Fig. 45.4, page 893

The location of different biomes is determined by local climatic conditions, mainly average annual TEMPERATURE and PRECIPITATION.

These two factors strongly influence the types of plants that can survive in the area.

Why do temperature and precipitation vary?

• Latitude and temperature from Encyclopedia of the Atmospheric Environment

  • The concepts to understand are these:

    The Earth is a sphere

    The sun's rays are more directly overhead and deliver more intense energy per unit area near the equator.

    The further away from the equator (north or south), the lower in the sky the sun appears and the same amount of solar energy is spread over a larger surface area.

• Seasons and the tilt of the earth

  • Earth Rotation and Revolution from physicalgeography.net

    • Northern hemisphere winter solstice animation from physicalgeography.net

    • Northern hemisphere summer solstice animation from physicalgeography.net

    • Comparison of the equinoxes and Northern hemisphere summer solstice from physicalgeography.net

  • Try the 5 question Survey to see if you really do understand this concept. (from learner.org, Annenberg/CPB)

  • Lewis, Life Fig. 45.2, page 892

  • Seasons on Mars?

  • The concepts to understand are these:

    The intensity of sunlight varies with the angle of the sun's rays.

    The angle of the sun's rays varies over the course of a year because the axis of the Earth is tilted 23.5 degrees.

  • Lecture Activity

• Global air circulation and precipitation

  • Altitude and temperature from USA Today Weather

  • Lewis, Life Fig. 45.1, page 891

  • Lewis, Life Fig. 45.3, page 892

  • Location of deserts on earth

  • The concepts to understand are these:

    Rising, warm, moist air expands and cools at higher altitudes, causing the moisture in the air to condense and form rain clouds.

    Falling air is compressed and heated at lower altitudes, increasing it's ability to hold moisture and dry the surface of the land.

• Mountains and the rain shadow effect from Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at St. Louis University

  • Local climate is affected by prevailing wind patterns and local topographic features

  • Rain Shadow in the NW U.S. Prevailing winds W -> E

  • Rain shadow in South America Prevailing winds E -> W from NASA Earth Observatory

  • The concepts to understand are these:

    Rising, warm, moist air expands and cools at higher altitudes, causing the moisture in the air to condense and form rain clouds.

    Falling air is compressed and heated at lower altitudes, increasing it's ability to hold moisture and dry the surface of the land.

• Global Ocean Currents and Climate

  • Current Sea Surface Temperature

  • Gulf Stream and Climate in N. Europe

  • What is El Niño? from UIUC WW2010 Project

  • Lake Effect Snow from USA Today Weather

  • The concepts to understand are these:

    Water temperature changes more slowly than land surface temperatures.

    The temperature of large bodies of water affects the air temperature.

Characteristics of some biomes

We will not "cover" specific biome characteristics in lecture, but use your text to learn the basics and follow these links if you are interested in learning more about a particular biome.

Tundra

• Photo: Lewis, Life Fig. 45.13, page 901

• Missouri Botanical Garden - Tundra Select the folowing links on the Tundra page:

  • Some tundra facts

  • Tundra plants

  • Tundra animals

Taiga (northern coniferous forest)

• Missouri Botanical Garden - Taiga Select the folowing links on the Taiga page:

  • Some tundra facts

  • Tundra plants

  • Tundra animals

Desert

• Photo: Lewis, Life Fig. 45.8, page 896

• Missouri Botanical Garden - Deserts Select the folowing links on the Desert page:

  • Types of deserts - cold vs. hot deserts

  • Deserts of the world - see deserts of North America

  • Desert plants

  • Desert animals

• The Ultimate Desert Resource

Grasslands

• Photo: Lewis, Life Fig. 45.10, page 898

• Savannah photo

• Types of grasslands in NA

• The Tallgrass Prairie in Illinois

• Ken Robertson's Prairie Page

• Missouri Botanical Garden - Grasslands Select the folowing links on the Grassland page:

  • Grassland plants

  • Grassland animals

Temperate Deciduous Forest

• Photo: Lewis, Life Fig. 45.11, page 899

• Missouri Botanical Garden - Temperate Forests Select the folowing links on the Temperate Forests page:

  • Temperate deciduous forest animals

Temperate Rain Forests

• Big tree!

• The Coastal Temperate Rain Forests of North America

Tropical Rain Forests

• Photo: Lewis, Life Fig. 45.5, page 894

• Rainforest Action Network

• Missouri Botanical Garden - Rainforests Select the folowing links on the Tropical Rainforest page:

  • Rain forest plants

  • Rain forest animals