Ecology Biome Notes Template In our first semester, we discussed many ecological concepts. Throughout this semester, you will see many examples of those concepts as we tour the major terrestrial and aquatic biomes found on Earth. As we go along, fill in information to give you a good overall picture of what those ecosystems are like. Some of this information will be in powerpoints, some will be in readings, and some will be in videos we watch. Aquatic Biomes Biome Name:___Open Ocean____________ Is this aquatic biome freshwater or marine? Where is it located? (Indicate on the map also) __This biome is located over the entire ocean away from the coasts and coral reefs___________ Write a brief description of the biome: ______The open ocean biome consists of a huge area of the sea and is characterized by a food chain dependent in the photic zone dependent on nutrient limited algal growth, and a food chain in the benthic zone dependent on detritous_________ ____________________________________________________ What is water flow like in this biome? ________It is dominated by large ocean currents, driven by thermohaline circulation.________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ What is the water depth like in this biome: __The water in this biome is thousands of feet deep__________ ____________________________________________________ In general, what are the oxygen levels like in this biome? Does it vary across different zones or is it relatively uniform?_______At the surface, above the thermocline the ocean is well oxygenated, but below it, the water is poorly mixed and very oxygen poor. ___________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Describe the plant life in this biome. Is it mostly algae, or are there multicellular plants? Plant life in the bime is exclusively algae and cyanobacteria floating in the surface waters. These are referred to as phytoplankton.______________________________________ _______________________________ What are the nutrient levels like in this biome? ____________________________________________________ In the surface waters with lots of algal growth, there are not many available nutrients other. Deep down, mineral nutrients become more available as there is less life to use them up_________________________________________________ ___ What is the seasonal variation like in this biome? How has life adapted to that? ____In general that depends on the latitude, but the ocean does have a moderating effect on temperature. The big seasonal changes have to do with light intensity and nutrient availability due to shifts in ocean current patterns. This means the best places for phytoplankton growth move all over the place. As such, most open ocean fish are capable of travelling long distances. Are there any other physical factors of note in the ecosystem? The thermocline is a specific depth at which above their I light and warm, less dense, light heated water, and below, there is cold, dense, oxygen poor water. The layers don’t really mix. ____________________________________________________ What are common limiting factors within this ecosystem? Nutrients are the big limiting factor in the open ocean. Also, because of this, food is a major limiting factor for the animals higher on the food chain. Finding a mate in the ocean’s vastness can be a problem, as can predation of juveniles. ____________________________________________________ How has the animal life in this biome adapted to these limiting factors? ____________________________________________________ Most organisms are capable of traveling vast distances to find the plankton blooms and the feed fish that follow it. To find a mate many species gather in mating grounds at a particular time of year. The threat of juvenile predation is mitigated with producing thousands of offspring (r-select species). ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Compared to other biomes, how biodiverse is it? ________It is less biodiverse than the other marine biomes, with medium alpha diversity and low beta diversity___________________________________________ _____________________________________________ On a scale of 1-10 (1 = low, 10 = high) how productive is this biome compared to others? _3 because of nutrient limitation, with some selected very productive spots.____________ Does succession take place in these ecosystems? How do the plant and animal communities change? What are the stages? Is it fast or slow? What is the climax community? What sort of disturbances can restart succession in these ecosystems? _________Succession is not a big factor here, as physical changes are rarely very significant. An exception is the importance of things floating in the water, which will accumulate a nursery of small fish and predators over its lifespan until it sinks. Also, dead whales can support large communities of detritovores on the ocean floor and their composition changes as the carcass is gradually eaten.______________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ______ Are there any examples of keystone species? What do they do to balance the ecosystems they live in? ________ ____________________________________________________ Sardines are and other plankton eaters are key prey for the vast majority of life in the ocean, and keep the algae populations down______________________________________________ ______ Are migrations common in this biome? What causes them? Migrations are very common, both for reproductive purposes and to find the ever moving food sources. Do any mating systems predominate in this biome? Why is it that way? Most fish spawn, as do most other marine aquatic life. It is faster and relatively easy in aquatic environments. Example Organisms Organism Blue Fin Tuna Sea birds like albatrosses Manta Rays How are they adapted to life in this biome? Super strong metabolism for swimming fast and far Almost never have to land, stay gliding above the water for months at a time Efficient swimmers of long distance and filter feeders of plankton Dolphins Social animals that help other members of the pod get food by herding their prey Detritovores on the ocean floor, like They can live on very little food polychate worms Fill in the tropic pyramid below with examples of organisms we discussed from this biome. Sharks, dolphins, toothed whales Small tuna sardines zooplankton phytplankton Are there any symbioses that are particularly important to life in this biome? ________cleaning symbioses to remove the many common parasites in marine habitats_________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Use the following space to draw a habitat that could be found in this biome. Include some of the example organisms from the previous list. What are some famous examples of specific habitats that fall within this biome? ____________Atlantic ocean, pacific ocean_______________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ Vocabulary Use this space to fill in four vocabulary words, new or old, that are pertinent to this biome? Word Definition thermocline Dividing line between cold lower lever and warm upper pelagic Having to do with open ocean phytoplankton Floating photosynthesizers Filter feeders Animals that feed on phytoplankton What are some of the threats to the conservation of this biome? ____________________________________________ ________overfishing, eutrophication,_____________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ _______ Did we talk about any unique subhabitats within this biome? What makes them different from each other? How does this influence the composition of the communities found there. ____________________________ ____________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________ The photic and aphotic zones are very different because of the lack of food in the aphotic zones Use this space to diagram any zonation that exists within this biome.