Biomes and Ecosystems

Science 10 Biology Unit

Abiotic

• Abiotic: the non-living parts

of an environment

Biotic

• Biotic: the living organisms

in an environment

The Breakdown

• Biosphere

• The Earth

• Biomes

• Includes regions with similar abiotic components

• Aquatic and terrestrial biomes

• Ecosystems

• Regions within biomes

•

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Tundra

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Boreal Forest

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Temperate Deciduous Forest

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Temperate Rainforest

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Temperate Grassland

• Tropical Grassland

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Tropical Rainforest

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Hot Desert

• Cold Desert

Eight Terrestrial

Biomes on Earth

• Permanent Ice (Polar Ice)

Most important abiotic factors

• Temperature

• Precipitation

• Rainfall, snow, mist, fog

• Other factors influence precipitation and

temperature…

Factors that influence

temperature and precipitation

• Latitude: the distance north or

south from the equator

• Elevation: the height of a land

mass above sea level

• Ocean currents: affect the

climate of a region

• Wind: affect the climate of a

region

Factors that influence

temperature and precipitation

• Latitude: the distance north or

south from the equator

• Elevation: the height of a land

mass above sea level

• Ocean currents: affect the

climate of a region

• Wind: affect the climate of a

region

Factors that influence

temperature and precipitation

• Latitude: the distance north or

south from the equator

• Elevation: the height of a land

mass above sea level

• Ocean currents: affect the

climate of a region

• Wind: affect the climate of a

region

Factors that influence

temperature and precipitation

• Latitude: the distance north or

south from the equator

• Elevation: the height of a land

mass above sea level

• Ocean currents: affect the

climate of a region

• Wind: affect the climate of a

region

Worksheet #1 (Use this diagram for question 6)

Biome Project

• 1. Meet with your groups and discuss the project

plan (i.e. divide up the tasks equally)

• 2. Complete the Group Action Plan and hand it in

(one action plan per person)

Adaptations

• Characteristics that enable organisms to better survive

and reproduce

1. Structural Adaptations

• A physical feature of an organism’s body

having a specific function that contributes

to the survival of the organism

2. Physiological Adaptations

• A physical or chemical event that occurs within the

body of an organism that enables survival

• A.k.a. functional adaptation ***

3. Behavioral Adaptation

• What an organism does to survive in the unique

conditions of its environment

Create your own “imaginary”

species

• Design and draw your OWN species with a particular adaptation

• Decide what environmental factor (abiotic or biotic) that your species is adapted to survive, and what type of adaptation it has

• Draw a picture of your species; pay particular attention to the specific adaptation your species has

• Be ready to explain your species’ adaptation!

• Name your species

• Be creative!

Work period for biomes

project

• Don’t forget!

• Your poster is to include:

• Two (2) region-specific plant adaptations with pictures

AND

• Three (3) region-specific animal adaptations with

pictures

Climatographs

• Temperature and precipitation are two important

factors that determine climate

• Climate: the average pattern of weather conditions

that occur in a region observed and recorded over a

period of years

• Climatograph: graph of climate data for a specific

regions of data obtained over 30 years

• includes an average monthly temperature and average

of the total monthly precipitation for each month

Climatographs

Don’t forget…

• Label the horizontal axis

• Label the TWO vertical axis

• Include units for all axis

• Plot the average monthly temperatures using a line

graph

• Plot the average monthly precipitation using a bar graph

Work period for biome project

• Don’t forget!

• Your poster is to include:

• A hand-drawn climatograph for your specific region

within your biome.

• Be sure that your climatograph includes all of the

necessary labels (axis are labeled, data is graphed

properly, etc.)

• Use Worksheet #2 to guide you

Ecological Heirarchy

• 1. Ecosystem: has abiotic components that interact

with biotic components. Biomes contain many types

of ecosystems

Douglas Fir

Ecosystem

Ecological Heirarchy

• 2. Habitat: the place in which an organism lives

The habitat of the red fox

often includes the edges of

forests or marshlands

Ecological Heirarchy

• 3. Community: all the populations of the different

species that interact in a specific ecosystem

Can you find the

clownfish in this

community?

Ecological

Heirarchy

• 4. Population: all the

members of a particular

species within an

ecosystem

Ecological Heirarchy

• 5. Species: a type of organism

• Group of closely related organisms

• Able to reproduce with one another and produce fertile offspring

• Ex. Clown fish species

Ecological Heirarchy

• 6. Organism: an individual organism

Species, Population or Community?

How important are the abiotic

components in an ecosystem?

• It is the abiotic components that allow the biotic components

to survive in an ecosystem

• Oxygen

• Produced by green plants & micro-organisms

• Plants and animals can’t survive without oxygen

• Sunlight

• Plants require light for photosynthesis

How important are the abiotic

components in an ecosystem?

• Water

• Water carries nutrients from one place to another

• No organism can survive without water

• Plant & animal cells are composed of 50-90% water

• Nutrients

• Required for plant and animal growth

• Ex. Nitrogen and phosphorus

How important are the abiotic

components in an ecosystem?

• Soil

• Anchors plants

• Provides nutrients

• Supports many small

organisms

Virtual Eco-Sphere Activity! http://www.open2.net/diyscience/ecosphere/virtual_ecosphere.html

Work on biomes project

• Remember!

• Your biome project is due NEXT DAY!

Biomes project due TODAY!

• You have 10 MINUTES to add any last minute

details to your project. If you are al finished, please sit

quietly.

Quick Trip around the Biomes

• Travel around the biomes with your Biome Passport

Symbiotic relationships

• Symbiosis refers to an interaction between members

of two different species that live together in a close

association

Commensalism

• Symbiotic relationship

• One species benefits and the other species is neither

helped nor harmed

Mutualism

• Symbiotic relationship

• Both organisms benefit

• In some, the two species are unable to survive

without the other

Parasitism

• Symbiotic relationship

• One species benefits and another is harmed

• Parasites live in or on a host and obtain food from

the host’s blood or body tissues

• Usually, the host is not killed

Commensalism, Mutualism, or

Parasitism?

Niches, Competition, and

Predation

• Niche: the role an organism has within an

ecosystem

• Also refers to the environment in which

a species prospers.

• What it eats, where it lives, what are its

predators

• The great blue heron lives near water

where they can fish and nest. Because

of their long longs, they can find food

in deeper water than the other heron

species with shorter legs.

Niches, Competition, and

Predation

• Competition: occurs when a limited

resource is desired by two or more

individuals in a niche

• This limits the size and health of

individual organisms, and perhaps

the population

Niches, Competition, and

Predation

• Predation: the relationship between the “eaters” and the “eaten”

• Predators have adaptations to help them catch prey

• Ex. Pointed teeth, good eyesight, keen sense of smell

• Prey have adaptations to help avoid predators

• Ex. Spines, shells, camouflage, and mimicry

Biodiversity in Ecosystems

• Biodiversity: the variety and

number of different individuals

and species in an ecosystem

• Healthy ecosystems generally

have high biodiversity

• Most biodiversity losses occur

from the loss of habitat

• Humans often have a negative

impact on biodiversity

• Ecological management programs

try to balance human progress

with maintaining biodiversity

Predator-Prey Simulation

• http://puzzling.caret.cam.ac.uk/index.php?section

=home&style=1&PHPSESSID=99422e47cd553881

483afcbb9ffe9371

Biomes and Ecosystems TEST

• Chapter 1 TEST is next day!

• Chapter 1 Review Questions

• Text page 52 #1-22