The Biosphere

The Order of Things….

Subatomic Particles  Atoms
molecules  macromolecules 
Organelles  Cells  tissues  Organs
 Organisms 

(Ecological Order…) Populations 
Communities  Ecosystems  Biomes
 Biosphere
Biogeography

The study of the distribution of

organisms and the processes that
underlie distribution patterns (a
central question – evolutionary
and ecological answer -
Biogeographic Realms
Factors that Affect Distribution

Geologic history

Topography

Climate

Species interactions
Biosphere

Sum total of the places in which

organisms live

Includes portions of the hydrosphere,

lithosphere, and atmosphere

Climate

Average weather condition in a region

Affected by:

amount of incoming solar radiation

prevailing winds

elevation

precipitation
Climagraph, San Diego, CA
More Climagraphs
Fig. 5.4
The Atmosphere

Three layers

Outer mesosphere

Middle stratosphere (includes ozone

layer)

Inner troposphere (where air is warmed

by the greenhouse effect)
Earth’s Atmosphere
 Ozone Layer

Region 17 to 27 kilometers above sea
level in the stratosphere

Molecules of ozone absorb most layers
of ultraviolet light

Protects living organisms from excess
exposure to UV light
3O2 - 2O3 (ozone)
Warming the Atmosphere

Solar energy warms the atmosphere

and sets global air circulation patterns
in motion

Figure 49.4
Page 890
Rotation and Wind Direction

Earth rotates
faster under the
air at the equator
than it does at the
poles

Deflection east
and west
Figure 49.4
Page 890
 Global Wind Patterns

Trade winds, doldrums, and horse latitudes

Red Arrows Indicate Very Strong Winds
Seasonal Variation

Northern end of Earth’s axis tilts toward
sun in June and away in December

Difference in tilt causes differences in
sunlight intensity and day length

The greater the distance from the
equator, the more pronounced the
seasonal changes
Earth’s Axis Tilts
Ocean Currents

Upper waters move in currents that distribute
nutrients and affect regional climates

Figure 49.6
Page 892
Rain Shadow

Air rises on the windward side, loses

moisture before passing over the
mountain

Figure 49.7
Page 893
Monsoons

A monsoon is defined as a seasonal shift in
wind direction, being derived from the Arabic
word "mausim", meaning season.
Affect continents north and south of warm-
water oceans

Can cause seasonal variation in rains
Air Moves from Cool to Warm
Regions
Coastal Breezes

Breeze blows in direction of warmer region

Direction varies with time of day

Afternoon Night

Figure 49.8
Page 893
Biogeographic Realms

Eight areas in which plants and

animals are somewhat similar

Maintain their identity because of

climate and physical barriers that tend
to maintain isolation between species
Biogeographic Realms
Biomes

Regions of land characterized by
habitat conditions and community
structure

Distinctive biomes prevail at certain
latitudes and elevations

A biogeographic realm generally
composed of many biomes
Fig. 5.2
Olympic NP

The most famous temperate rainforest
is in the Olympic National Park of
Washington state.

It is locates on the western slope of an
Olympic mountain where it gets about
200 inches of rain per year.
 Temperate Rainforest Great
Smoky Mountains NP

Each 1,000 feet of elevation gained is
the equivalent of moving 250 miles
north. This creates a temperature
gradient combined with

additional precipitation (GT 100 inches
per year) classifies small sections of the
Park as a temperate rainforest.
http://www.great.smoky.mountains.national-park.com/info.htm
Forests in the Great Smoky
Mountains

Five forest types dominate the Great Smoky

Mountains.

The spruce-fir forest caps the Park's highest
elevations. (4500 – 5500 ft)

A northern hardwood forest dominates the middle
to upper elevations from 3,500- 5,000 feet.

Drier ridges in and around the Park hold a pine-oak
forest.

A hemlock forest often grows along stream banks.

The cove hardwood forest lines the valleys
throughout the Park.
Fig. 5.3
Hot Spots

Portions of biomes that show the
greatest biodiversity

Conservationists are working to

inventory and protect these regions

24 hot spots hold more than half of all

terrestrial species
Conservation International’s
Definition

Conservation International defines
hotspots as "regions that harbor a great
diversity of endemic species and, at the
same time, have been significantly
impacted and altered by human
activities."
 Hotspots Map

http://www.usaid.gov/locations/asia_near_east/sectors/env/biodiversity_eastasia.html
 Ecoregions

Large areas of globally important
biomes or water provinces

Currently vulnerable to extinction

Targeted by World Wildlife Fund for

special study and conservation efforts
 WWF global 2000 Project

“WWF has ranked the terrestrial Global 200
ecoregions by their conservation status -
classifying those ecoregions that are
considered critical, endangered, or vulnerable
as a result of direct human impacts, and
those that are relatively stable or intact.
Nearly half (47%) of the terrestrial
ecoregions are considered critical or
endangered; another quarter (29%) are
vulnerable; and only a quarter (24%) are
relatively stable of intact.”
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/ecoregions/global200/pages/mapdownload.htm#map3
Map of WWF’s Ecoregions
Soil Characteristics

Amount of humus

pH

Degree of aeration

Ability to hold or drain water

Mineral content
 Soil Profiles

Layer structure of soil

Soil characteristics
determine what plants
will grow and how well

Rainforest Desert Grassland

Figure 49.12
Page 896
Deserts

Less than 10 centimeters annual
rainfall, high level of evaporation

Tend to occur at 30 degrees north and
south and in rain shadows

One-third of land surface is arid or
semiarid
Sonoran Desert
Temperate Grasslands
Precipitation less than 60 centimeters per
year and greater than 10 cm per year

Temperature range -5 to 20 C0 (usually)

Grasslands
Dry Shrublands
and Woodlands

Semiarid regions with cooler, wet
winters and hot, dry summers

Tend to occur in western or southern

coastal regions between latitudes of
30 and 40 degrees
Dry Scrubland
 Savannas

“A savanna is a rolling grassland, dotted
with trees, which can be found between
a tropical rainforest and desert biomes.”

“There are actually two very different

seasons in a savanna; a very dry
season (winter), and a very wet season
(summer).”
http://www.rain.org/global-garden/biomes/BIOME_SA.HTM
Map of Savannas
African Savanna
Forest Biomes
Tall trees form a continuous canopy

Evergreen broadleaves in tropical
latitudes

Deciduous broadleaves in most
temperate latitudes

Evergreen conifers at high temperate
elevations and at high latitudes
Evergreen Broadleaf Tropical
Forest
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Evergreen Forest, Pacific
Coast
Taiga

Biome that borders the artic tundra

Few trees

Most common tree is the black spruce

Can be considered an ecotone

Low bio - productivity and diversity
Taiga
Taiga
Arctic Tundra

Occurs at high
latitudes

Permafrost lies
beneath Do not post
on Internet
surface
Arctic tundra in Russia in summer

Nutrient Figure 49.19

Page 903
cycling is very
 Alpine Tundra

Occurs at high
elevations

No underlying
permafrost

Plants are low
cushions or mats as
in Arctic tundra Do not post
on Internet
Figure 49.19
Page 903
 Lakes

Bodies of standing freshwater

Eutrophic: shallow, nutrient-rich, has
high primary productivity

Oligotrophic: deep, nutrient-poor, has
low primary productivity
Lake Zonation
LITTORAL LITTORAL
LIMNETIC
PROFUNDAL Figure 49.21
Page 904
Thermal Layering

In temperate-zone lakes, water can
form distinct layers during summer

THERMOCLINE

Figure 49.22
Page 904
Seasonal Overturn

In spring and fall, temperatures in the
lake become more uniform

Oxygen-rich surface waters mix with
deeper oxygen-poor layers

Nutrients that accumulated at bottom
are brought to the surface
Eutrophication

Enrichment of a body of water with
nutrients

Can occur naturally over long time span

Can be triggered by pollutants

Streams

Begin as springs
or seeps

Carry nutrients Do not post
on Internet
downstream

Solute concentrations influenced by
streambed composition and human
activities Figure 49.23
Page 905
 Ocean Provinces
neritic oceanic
zone zone
intertidal
zone
continental a te r
shelf lit w ater
n
su ht" w
0 ilig
200 "t w
bathyal PELAGIC
PROVINCE t er
shelf wa
BENTHIC s
PROVINCE 1,000 n les
su
2,000
abyssal
zone
4,000
hadal zone

deep-sea
Figure 49.24 trenches 11,0000
Page 906 depth (meters)
 Phytoplankton

Floating or weakly swimming

photoautotrophs; form the base for
most oceanic food webs

Ultraplankton are photosynthetic

bacteria
Plankton Nets
Diatoms and Dinoflagellates
Primary Productivity

Primary producers are usually the
phytoplankton

Productivity can vary seasonally
north temperate
north polar

tropical

Figure 49.25
Page 906
Deep Ocean Food Webs

Regions too dark for photosynthesis

Marine snow supports a detrital food
web

Organic matter drifts down from
shallower water

Diverse species migrate up and down in
water column daily
 Hydrothermal Vents

Openings in ocean floor
that spew mineral-rich, Do not post
superheated water on Internet

Primary producers are

chemoautotrophic
bacteria; use sulfides as
energy source
Tube worms at hydrothermal vent

Figure 49.26
Page 907
Mangrove Wetlands

Tropical saltwater ecosystem

Form in nutrient-rich tidal flats

Dominant plants are salt-tolerant
mangroves

Florida, Southeast Asia
Estuary

Partially enclosed area where
saltwater and freshwater mix

Dominated by salt-tolerant plants

Examples are Chesapeake Bay, San
Francisco Bay, salt marshes of New
England
 Estuarine Food Webs

Primary producers are phytoplankton

and salt-tolerant plants

Much primary production enters detrital
food webs

Detritus feeds bacteria, nematodes,
snails, crabs, fish
 Intertidal Zones

Littoral zone is submerged only during

highest tides of the year

Midlittoral zone is regularly submerged
and exposed

Lower littoral is exposed only during
lowest tides of the year
 Rocky
Intertidal

Grazing food webs
prevail

Vertical zonation is
readily apparent

Diversity is greatest
in lower littoral zone Do not post
Figure 49.29 on Internet
Page 909
Sandy Coastlines

Vertical zonation is less obvious than
along rocky shores

Detrital food webs predominate
 Beaches

http://www.infocom.cqu.edu.au/Units/aut98/00101/DONE/Assign02/Nfi/beaches.jpg
 Beach Processes

“Sandy beaches form by the accretion
of sand particles, the product of
erosion, which have been carried in
and deposited by waves.

Once it forms, a beach changes
continuously. Winds are constantly
blowing the sand - often in the opposite
direction of the waves.”
http://www.amyingalls.net/jekyll/pages/beach/sandy_b.html
 Accretion

Accretion: the process of growth or enlargement by
gradual buildup. Barrier islands grow through the
process of accretion. Currents wash the sand from
the northern end of the island and deposit it on the
southern tip.

The growth of the islands in this manner causes the islands to migrate
up and down the coast.
Jekyll Island is migrating south toward Florida.
Erosion

Erosion:
Erosion: the process
or state of being
slowly worn away.
Soil is eroded by
wind and water .
 Biotic Factors

Crabs and other
animals are moving
sand from the
bottom up as they
emerge from their
burrows. Crabs can
move several tons of
sand in one day
http://www.amyingalls.net/jekyll/pages/beach/sandy_b.html
THE GHOST CRAB, Ocypode quadrata
Beach Dynamics

Through the seasons, the waves
constantly rework the sand and reshape
the beach.

During spring and summer, gentle
waves deposit sand onto the beach
platform forming a broad sandy slope
called a berm.
Summer Sand Accretion

During the summer, the gentle waves
build up sand on the beach platform.
Berm

A berm is a narrow shelf or ledge of

sand and debris running parallel to the
beach. It is made by the building up, or
accretion, of sand.
Winter Sand Removal

Through the seasons, the waves
constantly rework the sand and reshape
the beach.

During the Winter, storms often remove
sand from the berm.

The Southerly long shore current tends
to move the entire barrier island
southward.
Sand Dunes

Sand dunes are vital to the barrier
island ecosystem. They provide shelter
for shorebirds and sea turtles.
Dune Sand Reservoirs

Dunes also provide the necessary sand
supply for the constantly changing
beach.

This supply of sand helps to control
beach erosion - a problem many
beaches experience.

Sand dunes provide the first line of
defense from severe storms and
hurricanes.
Dune Zonation

There are three different zones in the
sand dunes: primary dunes,
secondary dunes, and the interdune
meadow.

As the dunes get older, they migrate
back toward the maritime forest.
Interdune Meadows

Between the dunes in a interdune
meadow, water will begin to collect. If
there is enough soil to hold this water,
a swamp will form.

These swamps are called sloughs
(pronounced slews).
Role of Freshwater

Because they are far enough back from
the ocean, sloughs contain fresh, and
not salt water.

Fresh water allows more animals and
plants to live and grow.

If enough time passes, the slough will
find itself in a maritime forest.
 Later, alligator - 9-footer
comes ashore on St. Simons

Fri, Aug 23, 2002

By KAREN SLOAN
The Brunswick News
Tourists were not the only ones who wanted to enjoy
the sun and surf on the beach near the old U.S.
Coast Guard Station on St. Simons Island Thursday.
A 9-foot alligator was found about 10 a.m. lingering
in the waters about 20 feet from the beach….

http://www.thebrunswicknews.com/local/278347593804907.php
 Upwelling
Upward
movement of
water along a
coast; replaces
surface waters
that move away
from shore
Figure 49.31
Page 910
ENSO

El Nino Southern Oscillation

Climactic event that involves changes in

sea surface temperature and air circulation
patterns in the equatorial Pacific Ocean
(Western Pacific waters become warmer)
 Between ENSOs

Warm water and heavy rainfall move

west across the Pacific

Warm moist air rises in the western
Pacific causing storms

Upwelling of cool water along western
coasts
 During an ENSO

Trade winds weaken and warm water

flows east across the Pacific

Sea surface temperatures rise

Upwelling along western coasts ceases

Heavy rainfall occurs along coasts,
droughts elsewhere
 Cholera Connection

Cholera outbreaks
correlate with rises in
sea temperature

Copepod population
Do not post
increases when on Internet
phytoplankton Copepod host of Vibrio cholerae
increase in warming harbors dormant stage

seas Figure 49.34

Page 913