Table of Contents
Ecology and the Biosphere
Ecology - the study of the interactions between organisms and their environments
The interactions between organisms and their environments determine their distributions and abundances
Figure 50.1 Distribution and abundance of the red kangaroo in Australia, based on aerial surveys
Figure 50.2 Sample questions at different levels of ecology
Examples of ecological questions:
Factors affecting the distribution of organisms
Biogeography
Figure 50.4 Biogeographic realms
Dispersal
Figure 50.6 Set of transplant experiments for a hypothetical species
Transplant successful - distribution limited because of dispersal problems
Invasive species
Figure 50.7 Spread of the African honeybee in the Americas since 1956
Figure 50.8 Expansion of the geographic range of the zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha) since its discovery near Detroit in 1988
Spartina alterniflora and Spartina anglica
Spartina are physiologically resilient and vigorous
PPT Slide
PPT Slide
Willapa Bay
Puget Sound
Managing the spartina problem
Distribution of hydrogen sulfide in sediments
Tolerating anoxic sediments
Biotic factors affect the distribution of organisms
Figure 50.9 Predator-removal experiments
Limpet and urchin removal experiments
Temperature and water are major climatic factors determining the distributions of organisms
Figure 50.10 A climograph for some major kinds of ecosystems (biomes) in North America
Global climate patterns
Figure 50.12 What causes the seasons?
Figure 50.14 How mountains affect rainfall
Figure 50.15 Lake stratification and seasonal turnover (Layer 1)
Spring - surface water warms and sinks allowing mixing. Oxygen to bottom waters and nutrients to surface waters
Summer -thermocline development
summer
Figure 50.15 Lake stratification and seasonal turnover (Layer 4)
Fall
Figure 50.16 Current geographic range and predicted future range for the American beech (Fagus grandifolia) under two climate-change scenarios
Figure 50.17 The distribution of major aquatic biomes
Figure 50.18 Zonation in a lake
Figure 50.19 Freshwater biomes: Oligotrophic lake (left), eutrophic lake (top right), stream flowing into a river (bottom right)
Figure 50.20 Damming the Columbia River Basin
Figure 50.21 Wetlands (top) and estuaries (bottom)
Figure 50.22 Zonation in the marine environment
Figure 50.23 Examples of marine biomes
Figure 50.23cx Black smoker
Figure 50.24 The distribution of major terrestrial biomes
Figure 50.25a Tropical forests
Figure 50.25b Savanna
Figure 50.25bx Savanna
Figure 50.25c Deserts
Figure 50.25d Chaparral
Figure 50.25dx Chaparral
Figure 50.25e Temperate grassland
Figure 20.25f Temperate deciduous forest
Figure 20.25g Coniferous forests
Figure 20.25h Tundra
Figure 50.26 A hierarchy of scales for analyzing the geographic distribution of the moss Tetraphis
Figure 50.27 Most species have small geographic ranges
Figure 50.x1 Patterns of distribution in the biosphere
|