Organization of the environment
Models are useful when conducting ecology investigations
Name: ________________
Ecology: Biomes – notes
Ecology and its importance
_________________ is the study of interactions between organisms and their environment; focus is on energy transfer – It is a science of relationships!
Ecologists complete investigations on the environment, climate change, farming, energy, food, health, green living, and eco friendly products, etc.
The two parts of the environment
1. _________________- all of the organisms that live together and interact with one another.- Living factors
Examples: _____________________________________________
2. _________________- part of the environment that includes all of the physical,
Non-living, factors.
Examples: _____________________________________________
_______________ : An area containing an interaction of living and non-living factors in a region
•
Example ecosystems :
–
South Georgia forests
– Clark’s Hill Lake
1. _______________ - the individual.
2. _______________ - group of individuals of the same species that live together and reproduce in the same area at the same time.
3. _______________ - all of the populations of different species that live and interact in an area.
4.
are areas on earth that can be characterized by the climate, vegetation, and organisms that live in a specific environment.
5. _______________ -The part of the earth and its atmosphere in which living organisms exist .
_______________ : Tracking changes in a small section of the environment
_______________ : Only measuring a small, random part of an environment
Ecology Sampling Example
• pH: the measurement of how acidic, basic, or neutral a solution is
1 ------------ 4 ----------- 7 ------------ 11 ------------- 14
A scientist performs an experiment to see if acids have an effect on the health of a particular type of plant. Three sets of plants were treated with acidic solutions of known pH while the control set was treated with a solution of neutral pH 7.
What is the best conclusion for this experiment?
A.
Acid has no effect on the health of this type of plant
B.
High acidity is helpful to this type of plant
C.
Low acidity is harmful to this type of plant
D. High acidity is harmful to this type of plant

Major Biomes of the Earth
Aquatic
Biomes
1. ______________________________– poor soil, hot, humid, & heavy rainfall all year; tall trees; occur around the equator; most biodiverse of all biomes = many different species; most species live in the canopy of the trees, birds, frogs, snakes, monkeys
2. _______________– largest biome in the world, coniferous forest; long cold winters; Canada; usually only one or two types of conifers – evergreen trees like pines; animals like bears, caribou, deer, elk, beaver
3.
______________________________- Eastern U.S.; 4 seasons; leaves of trees change color, warm summers and mild winters; maple, oak, and elm trees, squirrel, deer, fox
4. _______________– hot in the daytime, cold at night; dry; Africa; U.S.; Australia, plants and animals exhibit adaptations and behaviors that help them conserve water, cactus, short shrubs, scorpions, rodents, snakes (Cold deserts – water locked in ice)
5. _______________– long cold winters and short cool summers; permafrost- soil is permanently frozen; little rainfall; soggy soil, Arctic; lichen and moss grow, caribou, arctic fox, arctic hare, owl
6. _______________ -tropical _grassland_with a few scattered trees; Africa; wet & dry season, have large grazing animals like zebra, elephants, giraffes
Prairie - temperate; North American Grassland; U.S- very fertile soils, grasses, rodents, prairie dog
7. _______________ Biomes- controlled by abiotic factors like temperature, amount of sunlight that travels thru the water, salt content, distance from the land, and depth of the water.
Three types – marine, estuary, and freshwater
1. _______________ – Base of the food chain is phytoplankton (producers) and zooplankton (consumers); ocean and sea biomes are divided into different zones based on the depth of water and distance from land.
2. _______________ – freshwater flows into salt water; tidal changes cause salt concentration changes; nutrient rich due to run-off from land; large numbers of plankton and algae
3. _______________ – 3 types depending on speed of water
_______________– rivers; producers and consumers cling to rocks
_______________- river grows wider as it approaches the ocean; deltas form due to sediment build up; example: Mississippi Delta
_______________ – lakes and ponds, divided into different zones; shore, open water, and deep water