Chapter 15: The Biosphere and Chapter 16: Human Impact on Ecosystems

1. Chapter 15: The Biosphere and Chapter 16: Human Impact on Ecosystems Freshman Honors Biology

2. Chapter 15: Biomes in the Biosphere • A biome is a complex system of land communities that cover a large area • For example: Tropical rain forests, desert, tundra • Biomes have unique climate ranges • Climate is the specific weather pattern of an area over a period of time • For example: Climate of Indiana is that we have four seasons; climate of Antarctica is that they have frozen water with very little snow.

3. Climate Zones • The world is divided into three climatic zones: • Polar • Cold, non-humid temperatures • Geographic range: Canada to the North Pole • Tropical • Hot, humid temperature range • Geographic range: Florida to the Equator • Temperate • Mild climate; seasonal changes • Geographic range: Florida to Canada

5. Climate & Biomes • So what influences climate? • Latitude • Location on landmass (on the coast or inland?) • Proximity to land features, like mountain ranges • Biomes have specific climate patterns • Because each species is adapted to live in a specific set of environmental conditions, animals and plants usually die if a climate changes too much • For example, if Indiana were to become like it was in the Ice Age, most plants and animals would die because they couldn’t adapt to the colder weather.

6. Biomes, Continued • Organisms that live in a specific biome have unique adaptations • Gives them a better ability to live successfully in that environment • Examples: • Cactus living in the desert that has a waxy coating to prevent water loss • Mountain goats living on top of mountains have very thick fur coats to prevent internal body temperature drop

7. RA Activity • Each lab group will read and learn about ONE of the the 6 major biomes • Text: Pages 462-467 (Alligator) • Other resources: Biomes Overview Video(26 min) • Your task: • Summarize the most important distinguishing features that set your assigned Biome apart from the others. • Write your final draft of your group summary on a large Post-It Note • Create a tree map with each of the different Biomes • 1: Tropical, 2: Grasslands, 3: Desert, 4: Temperate, 5: Taiga, 6: Tundra, 7: Polar Ice Caps and Mountains (p. 467)

8. Biome Examples Tundra Boreal Forest Temperate Forest Temperate Woodland/Shrubland Temperate Grassland Desert Tropical Savanna Tropical Seasonal Forest Tropical Rain Forest

9. Commensalism

10. Biomes in Detail • Deserts (hot & cold) • VERY little rain • Plants and animals have adaptations to prevent water loss • Tropical Rainforest/Jungle • Rain amount is very high • Temperatures are stable around 75°F • Grassland (temperate/savannah) • Savannah – think Safari! • Temperate – like Indiana

11. More Biomes • Arctic/Tundra • Also have very little rain • Contain permafrost (topsoil is frozen year-round) • Deciduous Forest • Leaves change colors, die, and fall to the ground • Mountainous (taiga) • Animals include moose, eagles, mountain lions and goats • Swamp/Marsh • Very moist soil, often with standing water • Plants include mangroves and lily pads

12. More Biomes • Pond/Lake • Sitting bodies of water • Animals include turtles, fish (carp, trout, bass, etc.), egret birds • River/Stream • Flowing bodies of water • Animals include salmon, eagles, brown bears • Estuary • Where rivers/streams meet the saltwater of the ocean • For example: New Orleans • Ocean • Several depths create many animal adaptations • Read “Open Ocean Ecosystems” on page 80 in the Zebra book with your partner – do a Think Aloud.

13. RA Activity – Marine Ecosystems Pages 468-470 (15.4 Alligator book) 1’s read “Intertidal Zone” 2’s read “Open Ocean Ecosystems” 3’s read “Coastal ocean and coral reefs” We will then rotate and discuss! Take GOOD notes!

14. Chapter 16: Human Impact on Ecosystems

15. 16.1: Human Population Growth • Demography is the study of the size of human populations • Growth rates are controlled by the same factors as animal populations • Birth Rate • Death Rate • Immigration and Emigration • Age Structure

16. Historical Demography Human population used to be low and relatively stable Limited by resources and disease Past 500 years Exponential growth as limits have been removed

17. Age Structures Histogram depicting the number of people in each age category within a population (Figure 14, page 104, Zebra book) Can be used to predict future growth

19. Ecological Footprint

21. What effect does Human Population Growth have on Pollution? • Water • Chemicals, Trash, Temperatures, Noise, • Eutrophication (causes algae overgrowth) • Land • Chemicals, Trash • Air • Chemicals and Noise

22. Acid Precipitation Effects

23. Effects of Pollution: Ozone Depletion; Ozone; Greenhouse Effect • While watching the BrainPop clips, answer the following: • 1. What is ozone? Include chemical formula! • 2. Why is it important to the atmosphere?

24. Water Quality & Pollution: Biological Magnification • Chemical pollutant becomes more concentrated as it moves up the trophic levels within a food chain or web • Very dangerous for top level predators • Fig. 16.11, page 495

25. Threats to Biodiversity • Habitat Loss • Deforestation • Overexploitation (overuse) • Habitat Fragmentation • Pollution • Biomagnification, Acid Precipitation • Introduction of Invasive Species • Threats to Biodiversity

26. Overexploitation (overuse) • The excessive use of species that have economic value • Bison hunted for meat, hides, and just for sport • Population went from 50 million to 1000 • Passenger pigeons • Now extinct • Ocelot and white rhinoceros • Overexploitation used to be the number one reason for extinction; now it’s habitat destruction

27. Habitat Loss

28. Habitat Fragmentation – page 499

29. Invasive (Introduced)Species • Also called non-native species • Introduced to new habitat • Often grows without check because of lack of natural predators or disease in the area • Pages 500-501

30. Losing Biodiversity • Species experiences a decline in growth • Threatened • Canadian lynx • Prairie dog • Endangered • Bald Eagle • Many Marine Mammals • Extinct • Dodo • Passenger Pigeon

31. Section 3: Conserving Biodiversity • Pages 502-505 • Class Activity: reading “16.5 Conservation” • 1’s Read “Sustainable Development…” • 2’s Read “Conservation practices…” • 3’s Read “Protecting Earth’s resources…” • Take good notes to share ideas about how we can conserve biodiversity…do you have ideas that are not in the text?