How would you

describe it…
In your notes, describe the
ecosystem that is Mission Hills High
School.
What is your evidence?
Levels of Organization &
Biomes
Chapter 34
What you need to know

 The levels of organization ecologists

study
 The role of abiotic factors in the formation
of biomes
 Features of freshwater and marine
biomes
 Major terrestrial biomes and their
characteristics
Levels of Organization
 Ecologists have organized the
interactions of organisms into
different levels according to
complexity

4
1st Level of Organization
 Organism:
An individual
living thing that is
made of cells,
uses energy,
reproduces,
responds, grows,
and develops
5
2nd Level of Organization
 Population:
A group of
organisms, all
of the same
species, which
interbreed and
live in the same
place at the
same time
6
3rd Level of Organization
 Community:
All the
populations of
different
species that live
in the same
place at the
same time.
7
4th Level of Organization
 Ecosystem:
Populations of plants
and animals (biotic)
that interact with
each other and with
the non-living
(abiotic) parts of
that area

8
5 th Level of Organization
 Biosphere: is all the
ecosystems, or the
portion of Earth
that supports living
things

9
What level of Organization?

Ecosystem
10
What level of organization?

Organism

11
What level of Organization?

Biosphere 12
What level of Organization?

Population 13
In your notes…

 Construct your own definitions of the

levels of organization.
Ecology in a nutshell

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izRvP
aAWgyw
Biomes

 The major types of ecosystems that

occupy very broad geographic regions.
 Aquatic biomes make up the largest part
of the biosphere
Aquatic Biomes

 Broken into four layers:

1. Photic zone: enough light for PS
2. Aphotic zone: very little light
3. Thermoclines: mid level region with
fast temperature change (deeper 
colder)
4. Benthic zone: bottom of the biome
(sand, organic sediments, detritus)
In your notes…

 What type of life exists within these 4

layers?
Freshwater Biomes

1. Lakes & Wetlands

 Littoral zone (shore), limnetic zone (deep water)
 Oligotrophic lakes (deep lakes, nutrient poor, O2
rich), eutrophic (shallow lakes, nutrient rich, O2
poor) Why?
2. Rivers & Streams
 Defined by current, and divided among head
waters and mouth
 Estuaries are where freshwater rivers and
streams merge into the ocean
Marine Biomes

 Intertidal zone: land meets the water

(tidal regions)
 Neritic zone: shallow water
 Pelagic Biome: open blue water (most of
the ocean)
 Coral Reef: cnidarians make calcium
carbonate shells (coral); among the most
productive ecosystems
In your notes…

 Why do you think aquatic organisms can

only live in freshwater OR saltwater and
not both?
Climate

 Total annual rainfall

 Average annual temperature

Climate is largely determined by latitude,

but can be modified by mountain ranges,
trade wind patterns, and/or altitude
8 Major Biomes
1. Tropical rain forest
2. Savanna High temperature
Decreasing rainfall
3. Desert
4. Temperate forest
Lower temp
5. Temperate grassland
Decreasing rf
6. Chaparral
7. Taiga Very low temp
8. Tundra
Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical Rainforest
 Temperature is warm, rainfall 200-400 cm/year
 Photoperiod: 10-12 hr/day - year round
 No seasonal change
 Poor soil: rapid recycling rather than
accumulation
 Most complex terrestrial biome
 Plants: many varieties of vegetation (300 species of
trees)
 Animals: highest variety of species
 Highest amount of trophic levels
Savannah
Savannahs

 Temp. warm, rainfall 30-50 cm year

 Seasonal droughts and fires
 Plants: grasses, sparse trees
 Animals: Large herbivores and predators
Desert
Desert
 Driest terrestrial biome: low and
unpredictable rainfall (less than 30
cm/year, some none in decades!)
 Descending dry air mass: 30o latitude
 High temperature fluctuations
 Plants: Deep rooted, water storing, CAM
plants (cactus)
 Animals: Behaviorally adapted insects,
reptiles & mammals
 unique excretory adaptations
Temperate Forest
(deciduous/broadleaf)
Temperate Forests
(deciduous/broadleaf)
 Seasons, rainfall 200 cm/year
 Growing season 5-6 month
 Plants: Flowering seasonal trees
 High rates of decomposition, but low cycling of
nutrients, allows for thick layer of rich soil
 Animals: insects, birds, rodents, deer
 Good regeneration from human impact
Temperate Grassland
Temperate Grassland

 Seasonal Weather; rainfall 30-50 cm year

 Plants: grasses
 Animals: large herbivores and their
predators
Chaparral
Chaparral

 Semiarid regions, rainfall 10-30cm per

year (additional moisture from fog)
 Plants: Dense spiny shrubs, tough
evergreens
 annual plants
 Periodic firestorms necessary for
germination
 Animals: grazers, fruit eating birds,
rodents, lizards
Taiga (Coniferous Forest)
Taiga (Coniferous Forest)

 Long cold winters, short wet summers

 Most precipitation in form of snow
 Plants: Cone bearing evergreens
 Animals: Large grazing animals like
moose, elk deer
Tundra
Tundra

 Long bitter winter, short summer with

long 24hr days
 High moisture levels but no trees:
 Permafrost prevents root growth
 Plants: seasonal grass
 Animals: grazing migratory herds
(caribou)
In your notes…

 Explain how the idea of “Biomes”

developed.
 What are the main “defining
characteristics” that Biomes have in
common?
 In which Biome would you place MHHS?
Why?