Climate and Life

Climate Different than weather Climate is about averages –Average temperature, average humidity, average precipitation Climate affects the structure of food webs and nutrient flow

Greenhouse effect This is natural Heat is trapped on the earth Acts as thermostat to keep the temperatures of earth acceptable for life

Environment Physical factors (abiotic) –Climate, soil type, pH, nutrient availability Biological factors (biotic) –Other living things around our target organism Combination of biotic and abiotic factor is called an ecosystem

Niche Tells you everything about an organism Full range of physical and biological conditions in which organisms in a species live

Habitat The type of surroundings in which a species lives and thrives Organisms can share the same habitat but have different niches

Environments and Life

Changes in Ecosystems Life changes environments Older inhabitants die and are replaced by new plants and animals Plants change soil, allowing new plants to move in Plant communities change trees can appear Read about Rakata Island on page 106

Ecological Succession The process by which an existing ecosystem is gradually and progressively replaced by another ecosystem Good Illustration: Look at figure 4-12 and 4-13 on page

Climax Community The relatively stable collection of plants and animals that result when a relatively stable state is reached in the interaction between organisms and their environment Climax communities do change –Fires, floods, wind, humans. Succession begins again

Biomes Has to be someone’s favorite bio word……

Biome An ecosystem identified by its climax community is a biome

Terrestrial Biomes Tundra Tropical rain forest Desert Grassland Temperate deciduous forest Taiga (=boreal forest)

Aquatic Biomes Open water Fresh water Estuary Rocky inter-tidal

Everyone needs a chart List the biome List the abiotic factors –Temperature range, rainfall, sunlight, nutrients as applicable List the biotic factors –Vegetation, animals