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The rainforest ecosystem. Where do rainforests occur?. Why is the rainforest both an ecosystem and a biome?. A biome is An ecosystem is The rainforest is both because. What are the two main factors that affect where different biomes occur?
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Why is the rainforest both an ecosystem and a biome? A biome is An ecosystem is The rainforest is both because
What are the two main factors that affect where different biomes occur? What climatic conditions do rainforests need to grow?
Productivity in the rainforest What is the climate of the rainforest? What causes it to rain so much?
Which area (Africa or Europe) did we say had the sun directly overhead? Which area has the sun spreading out over a larger area? Which area is hotter then?
So, based on what you have just found out, what causes the lush vegetation in the rainforest?
How do we measure biomass? To construct pyramids of biomass: need biomass. To get it: Measure mass of one organism/average of a few organisms x total of all organisms present Biomass = total energy within a living being So, biomass = mass of organisms – water content (water contains no energy and is not organic) Weigh organisms, put in hot oven, reweigh etc 2 readings the same = finish Measured: / unit area e.g. /m2 Can do flora or fauna Equipment: quadrat, container, oven, weighing scales.
Does a forest with four layers have more or fewer habitats than a forest with two layers? • If there are more habitats does that mean there are more niches? • If there are more niches what does that mean about species diversity?
More than 50% of the world's plant and animal species inhabit the 7% of the world that is covered in rainforest.A four-square mile patch of rainforest contains as many as 1500 species of flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 125 species of mammals, 400 species of birds, 100 species of reptiles, 60 species of amphibians, and 150 species of butterflies. • Using what you now know, explain why the rainforest has such a high species diversity.
Definitions Primary productivity: the energy or biomass gain by producers per unit area per unit time Secondary productivity: the gain in biomass by consumers per unit area per unit time Which one is to do with animals eating vegetation? Which one is to do with solar energy becoming vegetation? Which one involves photosynthesis? Which one involved absorption by animals? GPP = gross PP (the total gain) NPP = net PP (the gain in energy – that lost through respiration)
Which ecosystems have the greatest gross primary productivity?
What role do the producers (plants) have in this ecosystem?What role do the decomposers have?What role do the consumers have?
What would happen to the food web if poachers killed ocelots?
How do we measure the number in a population? Lincoln Index Marks animals caught Releases them Catches animals again Count marked To estimate population N = total no. of animals n1 = no. on first day N2 = number recaptured M = no of marked ones on 2nd day Also called: capture-mark-release-recapture
On the ES field capture grasshoppers Paint all of them Release them Recapture all grasshoppers on field Count number of painted ones If all the recaptured ones are painted then that must be the whole population
How do we measure species diversity? Diversity means – a) the no. of different species b) the evenness each species
Ecosystem A 25 24 21 Ecosystem B 65 3 4 A:3.07 B:1.22 High value = diverse/stable, low value = not diverse
Where are nutrients stored in this cycle? Where do nutrients come from? How can nutrients be lost from this system?
What are the inputs and outputs in photosynthesis and respiration?
What are the energy transformations in photosynthesis and respiration?What happens to light energy?
Photosynthesis and respiration: How is a tree a system? Is it open, closed or isolated? Why?
Where does the world’s energy come from and where does it go to?
How is energy transferred and transformed as it flows through the rainforest ecosystem?
How is carbon transferred and transformed as it moves around the rainforest ecosystem?
Water cycle • Which of the processes are transfers and which are transformations?
What would happen if the rain became more acidic? How would the productivity of the forest change?
Water cycle • What happens to the rain that falls in a rainforest? • What will happen in the short term if the trees are cut down? • And in the long term?