1.5 The Distribution of Organisms in the Biosphere

1. 1.5 The Distribution of Organisms in the Biosphere (Sec 3.1 pg 51-60)

2. The distribution of life on Earth is controlled by two major factors (Fig.1 pg.51): • temperature • precipitation.

3. Long-term patterns of temp and precip. is called climate, which is affected by (Fig.2 pg.51): • latitude (distance from equator) • elevation (height above sea level).

4. Latitude affects the amount of solar energy regions receive: at the equator the Sun’s rays hit Earth directly; at the poles the rays strike a greater amount of surface area (Fig.3 pg.52) • The more solar energy received, the greater the average temperature!

5. the Earth’s tilt causes seasonal temperature changes in many regions (Fig 4 p.52)

6. Wind patterns drive the movement of ocean currents, which circulate global heat (more on this in Chapter 15...) • Latitude affects the amount of moisture a climate recieves. (see Fig. 5 p.52

7. Near the equator there are jungles and lots of rain. Near the tropics of cancer and capricorn there are deserts and little rain. More forests and rain as you get approach the poles, then tundra and ice caps.

8. Note the topography of coastal regions will influence relative precipitation too (Fig.6 p.53)

9. A climatograph(Fig.7 p.53) shows the amount of rainfall each month as well as the average temperature. It tells us a lot about the climate of the biome.

10. Fig 8 pg.54 shows the world’ biomes (next slide). • Biomes can be considered a large ecosystem with a specific range of abiotic and biotic factors such as temperature, precipitation, and characteristic organisms (including plants & animals).