Study the pictures below. Can you name the abiotic factors as well as the biotic factors?
Abiotic Factors Biotic Factors

A “factor” is something essential to the existence of life. And we know that all living organisms require some non-living (abiotic) factors to survive.
List several factors an organism needs to survive:
1.
_______ (moderate temperature) __________ How many of these factors are non-living,
or abiotic? _____ 3 _______
2.
_____________ (water )___________________
3.
____________ (nutrients/minerals) _________________
4.
_____________ (sunlight) _________________
What kind of environmental changes might alter the availability of these resources? (Hint: Consider weather cycles, or the effect of human community development.)
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Introducing: The Producers
Autotrophs (“auto” means _self_ and “troph” means _nourish ) use photosynthesis (or chemosynthesis) to build their plant bodies and produce ATP, stored energy. Oxygen is a byproduct of photosynthesis. Write the chemical formula for photosynthesis below:
___ 6 CO
2
____ + __ 12 H
2
O ____+ sunlight ___ C
6
H
12
O
6
__ + _ 6O
2
_ + _ 6H
2
O _
Carbon dioxide + water + sunlight Glucose + oxygen + water
Introducing: The Consumers
Heterotrophs- “hetero” means __________
1 st order heterotroph/primary consumers are herbivores that eat plants.
2 nd order heterotroph/secondary consumer are carnivores that eat herbivores.
3 rd order heterotroph/tertiary consumers are carnivores that eat carnivores.

An omnivore is a consumer that eats both plants and animals.
Introducing: The Decomposer
A decomposer is a consumer that breaks down and releases nutrients from
(e.g. bacteria, protozoans, fungi)
QUESTION: Can a tertiary consumer be an herbivore? dead organisms
Other nifty terms to describe feeding habits: (provided by the teacher)
Detritivore - consumes dead organic/plant matter
Piscivore eats fish
Planktivore eat plankton
Scavenger - eats carrion (dead animals)
Food Chains and Food Webs
Trophic level (feeding step in a food chain)
Although there are a number of different abiotic factors that affect producers, two we will look at are temperature and sunlight.

1.
The effect of temperature on the rate of photosynthesis (i.e. food production).
Enzymes are an important factor in photosynthesis. But they are sensitive to temperature. The enzymes will not function if temperatures are extreme. Enzymes will reduce or even halt their processes in extremes. Study the graph below and answer the questions following. http://fhs-bio-wiki.pbworks.com
1) What happens to the rate of photosynthesis (y axis) as the temperature climbs to 25 degrees
Celsius?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2) Once the temperature exceeds 25 degrees Celsius, what happens to the photosynthesis production?
______________________________________________________________________________
3) Compare the ineffectiveness of photosynthesis on either side of the graph. Make a statement about the “curve” as you compare both sides. ________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
4) Considering that photosynthesis is food production (glucose) for the plant, what can you generalize about temperature and the health of plants?
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2.
The effect of sunlight on the rate of photosynthesis.
We know that there are producers (plants) in aquatic environments, just as there are on terrestrial (land) biomes.

Name several aquatic plants:
__________________________ ________________________
__________________________ ________________________
So often we think of trees as the oxygen producers for living organisms, when in reality, it is the oceans’ algae that produces at least half, if not more of our atmospheric oxygen. The green areas below indicate the highest degree of high biologicigal productivity.
Types of Aquatic Systems
Have the students give local examples of each in your locale if possible.

1) Flowing- rivers and streams
2) Wetlands- swamps, marshes, bogs
3) Water bodies- ponds, lakes, ocean, estuaries
Identify the components and characteristics of an aquatic environment. How can we define a pond environment as it differs from the aquatic environment of a deep ocean trench?
Question: What are some characteristics that make them different?
1.
__ light ________________
2.
__ temperature _________
3.
__ salinity _____________
4.
__ oxygen level _________
5.
__ flow _____________________
Factor #1 Light
We have established that sunlight is essential for photosynthesis to occur. But as light strikes the surface of the water, much is reflected back. The more movement made by the water, the more light is reflected off of the surface and back into the atmosphere. Most visible light waves are absorbed within
33 ft. (10 meters). Blue and violet waves of light travel deepest, giving most water its color. Identify below the two zones of aquatic environments, one with sunlight and the other without.
1.
Photic zone - ___ the zone in which there is sufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to take place in aquatic plants, such as phytoplankton. ______________________________________________

Brown kelp is a large type of algae common in ocean waters.
Microscopic phytoplankton is an essential food source to many marine animals.
2.
Aphotic zone ____ the region of perpetual darkness where there is insufficient sunlight for photosynthesis to occur. _________________________________________________________
Knowing what you do about photosynthesis, can you sketch the curves on the following graphs?
Light intensity increasing in shallower waters
Factor #2 Depth
Light intensity decreasing in deeper waters
So what about the depths of aquatic environments? Is it lifeless and useless? Not at all! Most things that die sink to the bottom where decomposers or ______ detritivores ___________ recycle those nutrients.
If the recycled nutrients are on the bottom, how do they bring nourishment to plant life near the surface?
UpwellingTemperature and currents will cause the recycled nutrients on the bottom of the ocean to move up and come to the surface. This provides nutrients for the phytoplankton, and thus for the entire ecosystem!

Even though there is no visible light, one really cool adaptation is the ability to produce bioluminescence, the emission of light. It is a characteristic of some bizarre looking deep sea fish as well as some insects on land.
____ Bios ____is Greek for “living” and ___ lumen ____ is Latin for “light”. Fireflies and deep water fish both produce light when the pigment, luciferin , is activated by the enzyme luciferase .
One example is the angler fish that uses it for bait. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXl8F-eIoiM Planet Earth web bite!
Factor #3 Temperature
We know that the visible light translates into heat. There are three temperature zones in ocean water.
The surface layer , or mixed layer, is the warmest as it is most affected by the surrounding air and sunlight, as well as wind and rain. The shallow coastal surface waters in the tropics can reach 100°F
(38°C). The second layer, the thermocline , is where the water temperature drops as the depth increases. In the third layer, the deep-water layer , water temperature decreases slowly as depth increases. Water temperature in the deepest parts of the ocean is averages about 36°F (2°C).

The location on the earth makes a difference as well.
• Light intensity is higher at lower ___ latitudes ___ (closer to the equator)
• The more light absorbed by the water, the __higher___ the temperature
From "Ocean Talk" by Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command
1) Where would you expect to see temperature fluctuate , or change, the most?
Surface waters due to changes in light intensity and wind convection/currents
2) Where would you expect to see more constant temperatures?
At great depth and nearest the poles (north and south).
Factor #4 Salinity
Salt water becomes more concentrated in areas where the sun’s intense heat causes water to evaporate. This denser surface water forms currents as it falls to the lower levels of the ocean and rises again. These are called thermohaline currents. ___ ”Thermo” ____ means heat, and
“___ ”haline” ____ means salt.
Bill Nye demonstrates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_8mw-1HYFg&feature=related

Most organisms are adapted to a specific, narrow range of salinity.
Estuaries are very special in that the organisms that live within this environment must be tolerant of a constantly changing level of salinity. Animals that have the ability to adapt are blue crabs and oysters.
Mangroves are short trees with roots that not only tolerate change in salinity, but they also provide protection for nesting animals among their many exposed roots.
Other creatures of the estuary are mud worms (bristleworms), stalk-eyed mud crabs and cockles, a small burrowing shellfish. Scallops , a popular seafood live in this constant flux of salinity.
Factor #5 Dissolved Oxygen
Oxygen is an essential element required for aerobic ___ respiration ___ Remember, respiration has the opposite chemical reaction to photosynthesis. Write the formula for respiration below:
C
6
H
12
O
6
+ 6O
2
6 CO
2
+ 6H
2
0 + energy (ATP stored energy)
ATP provides energy to all organisms. Life on earth would cease to exist without it.
The concentration of ___ dissolved _______ __ oxygen _____ (DO) varies in water. Using prior knowledge of light, temperature and depth, hypothesize about the concentration of DO in various levels of the ocean:
Where do you think most of the oxygen is located in the ocean waters? _________________________
Here are two hints:
Hint #1 - Wind currents and waves stir up the surface water.
Hint #2 -Decomposers are doing a lot of work at depth (cellular respiration) and there are typically no plants (no photosynthesis)
Surface oxygen from the air is constantly being trapped in the upper surface area of the ocean by wind and wave activity.
Sunlight in the surface area allows for the growth of plant life. Their product is ___ oxygen ____.
Whereas, ____ detritivores _____ consuming dead matter in the ocean depths, utilize oxygen for respiration.

Fill out the table below to characterize and define the different types of aquatic systems. Use the following terms: low, moderate, high, variable
Aquatic
System
A shallow
River/Stream
Swamp/Bog
The bottom of a deep
Lake
Shoreline of a Salt Marsh
Estuary
The surface of the Ocean
The bottom of the Ocean
Characteristic
Light Depth
Thought Questions!
Temperature Salinity
1) How might the salinity change in an estuary after a heavy rainfall?
Dissolved
Oxygen
2) How might the salinity of an estuary be different in different locations, such as the mouth of an input river or at the pass leading to the ocean?
3) Would you expect the dissolved oxygen to be higher or lower at the head or bottom of a river?