ECOLOGY

ECOLOGY
The science that examines the interactions between
organisms and their environment.
It also deals with the relationship between organisms and
their environment.
An ecosystem has biotic and biotic factors.
Population organisms of the same species that can breed
with each other.
Community- all living things that can interact in a specific
area.
ECOLOGY
BIOSPHERE

Composed of all places

on Earth where life
can exist.
BIOMES
The vast biosphere into
smaller areas with similar
environmental conditions and
similar plant and animal life.
TERRESTIAL BIOMES
TROPICAL FOREST
Has the greatest diversity of species
Occur near the equator
Rainy and dry seasons with high
annual rainfall
Evergreen trees, flowering herbs
and shrubs, ferns, mosses, and
palms make up most plant species.
SAVANNA
Also known as tropical grassland
Occurs between the tropical rainforest and desert
biomes
Warm all year round with a wet summer and a
dry winter and a little annual rainfall.
Short trees and shrubs and grass are the dominant
plant species.
Numerous gazing mammals and birds of prey
thrive here
DESERT
Occurs mostly in the Tropic of Cancer or
Capricorn or close to the poles
May be hot and dry like the Sahara or cold like in
the Antarctic, experiences very little rainfall
Specialized vegetation like cacti, and shrubs can
withstand the lack of water
Reptiles and small mammals found here are
adapted to the dry conditions
POLAR AND HIGH MOUNTAIN ICE
Occurs at high altitudes or near the
poles
Short cool summers with long winters
Low evergreen vegetation grows over
frozen soil
Small and grazing mammals , fowl, and
insects are the dominant animals
CHAPARRAL
Found in the North and Central
America and the Mediterranean
Mild wet winters and hot dry summers
Low drought-tolerant plants dominate
the landscape
Insects, small mammals, and reptiles
are found here
TEMPERATE GRASSLAND
Found in the middle latitudes and in the
central parts of continents
Hot summers and cool winters with
moderate rainfall
Grasses and herbaceous plants are abundant
Grazing and small mammals, fowl and
predatory birds, snakes, and insects are
commonly found here
TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST
Occurs in eastern North America, Asia, and
Central Europe
Has a distinct winter and moderate rainfall
Trees with broad leaves that are lost
annually (deciduous foliage) and herbs
dominate the area
Mammals, birds, and decomposers are
common
CONIFEROUS FOREST
Occurs in high altitudes and close to the
poles
Dry summers and wet winters and low to
moderate rainfall
Evergreen conifers like pine as well as other
towering trees are abundant
Mammals, birds, and decomposers are
common
TUNDRA
Surrounds the North pole
Low temperature all year round with little
precipitation leads to the formation of a
permanently frozen soil layer called
permafrost.
Common plants include low vegetation like
shrubs, moss, and grasses
Small herbivores, foxes, wolves, bears, migratory
birds, and insects are found here
AQUATIC BIOMES
PONDS AND LAKES
Many are seasonal and last for only a few months
while others may exist for hundreds of years
With limited species diversity that includes plankton,
aquatic plants, mollusks, crustaceans, fishes, and
amphibians
Divided into three zones: littoral zone near the
shore, well-lit limnetic zone with numerous
plankton, and deep-water profundal zone
Temperature varies seasonally and the different zones
can undergo mixing when the seasons change
STREAMS AND RIVERS
Flowing water moving from springs, snowmelt,
or lakes to another body of water or the ocean
Characteristics change throughout: water is
clearer and colder close to the source, width is
larger towards the center with numerous aquatic
plants, and water is murkier towards the mouth
Wide variety of aquatic plants and animals may
found throughout
WETLANDS
Examples are marshes, swamps, and
bogs that have standing water
Wide variety of aquatic plants and
many species of insects, mollusks,
crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles,
and birds inhabit the area
OCEANS
Largest ecosystem
Divided into four separate zones: the
intertidal zone close to the shore, the
pelagic zone comprising the open
ocean, the benthic ocean close to the
ocean floor, and the abyssal zone in the
deepest parts of the ocean
CORAL REEFS
Distributed in clear shallow water
in warms areas like the tropics
Corals that are made up of
photosynthetic zooxanthellae and
cnidarians are dominant organism
Support a variety of aquatic life
ESTUARIES
Areas where streams and rivers meet
with the ocean causing varying salt
concentrations
Support diverse communities of aquatic
plants like seaweed and mangroves and
aquatic animals like worms, mollusks,
and birds