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Chapter 4 Ecosystems & communities. The Role of Climate. Weather: day-to-day condition of Earth’s atmosphere Climate: year-after-year average for a region The Greenhouse Effect: Gases such as CO 2 , Methane, water vapor, etc. that trap heat and maintain Earth’s temperature range.
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The Role of Climate • Weather: day-to-day condition of Earth’s atmosphere • Climate: year-after-year average for a region • The Greenhouse Effect: Gases such as CO2, Methane, water vapor, etc. that trap heat and maintain Earth’s temperature range.
Latitude and Climate • Latitude changes the angle of heating. • Polar zones • Temperate zones • Tropical zone
Heat Transport in the Biosphere • The unequal heating of the Earth’s surface drives winds and ocean currents • Causes weather and climate patterns
What Shapes and Ecosystem • Biotic factors: biological influences • Ecological community • Abiotic factors: non-living influences • Climate, wind, nutrients, etc • The area in which an organism lives is called its habitat.
The Niche • Full range of physical and biological conditions in which an organism lives and the way in which the organism uses those conditions. • What and how it eats, what eats it… • Factors needed for survival…
Competitive Exclusion • No two species can occupy the same niche in the same habitat at the same time. • Why? Because resources are necessary for survival and limited
Community Interactions • Competition: attempt for more than one species to do the same thing • Predation: one organism feeds on another • Symbiosis: two species live closely together • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1aRSeT-mQE
Types of Symbiosis • Mutualism: both species benefit • Commensalism: one species benefits but the other is not affected • Parasitism: one organism lives off of another and brings harm to it
Ecological Succession • Primary succession: occurs where no soil exists • Bare lava rock • The first species to populate the area are called pioneer species.
Ecological Succession • Secondary Succession: occurs after a disturbance that destroys the community but not the soil. • Wildfire • Flood
Biomes • Group of ecosystems that have the same climate and dominant communities. • Plants and animals can be tolerant of different conditions. • Microclimate- small area with a different climate than the surrounding area