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.