ECOLOGY
AP Biology/ Biology 11E
Who is this person?
Rachel Carson – Silent Spring
Chapters in the text: 52.2, 53.1-53.6, 54.1-54.5, 55.1-55.5, 56.1, 56.4, this is required
reading.
Big Ideas: We will discuss these in class. Do not worry about them until we meet and
then I can explain this table. In the meantime, I would like to leave it in the note as it
will all make sense to you soon.
Big Idea
Chapters
Illustrative Examples
2. Biological systems utilize free energy and molecular building blocks to grow, to reproduce
and to maintain dynamic homeostasis. Essential knowledge
2.a.1 All living systems require
53.3, 53.4
• Change in the producer level can affect
constant input of free energy
55.2, 55.3
the number and size of other trophic
levels
• Change in energy resources levels such
as sunlight can affect the number and
size of the trophic levels
2.d.1 All biological systems from 52.2
• Cell density
cells and organisms to
53.1, 53.2,
• Biofilms
populations, communities, and
53.3, 53.4, 53.5 • Temperature
ecosystems are affected by
54.1-54.5
• Water availability
complex biotic and abiotic
55.1-55.4
• Sunlight
interactions involving exchange
• Symbiosis (mutualism, commensalism,
of matter and free energy
parasitism)
• Predator–prey relationships
• Water and nutrient availability,
temperature, salinity, pH
• Water and nutrient availability
• Availability of nesting materials and
sites
• Food chains and food webs
• Species diversity
• Population density
• Algal blooms
2.d.3 Biological systems are
affected by disruptions to their
dynamic homeostatis.
56.1
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
• Invasive and/or eruptive species
• Human impact
• Hurricanes, floods, earthquakes,
volcanoes, and fires
• Water limitation
• Salination
Page 1
• Niche and resource partitioning
• Mutualistic relationships (lichens;
bacteria in digestive tracts of animals;
and mycorrhizae)
• Biology of pollination
• Migration
4. Biological systems interact, and these systems and their interactions possess complex
properties
4.A.5: Communities are
53.1, 53.2,
• Predator/prey relationships spreadsheet
composed of populations of
53.3, 53.5, 53.6 model
organisms that interact in
54.1, 54.2
• Symbiotic relationship
complex ways.
• Graphical representation of field data
• Introduction of species
• Global climate change models
4.A.6: Interactions among living
54.2
No illustrative examples listed in the
systems and with
55.1, 55.3,
Curriculum
their environment result in the
55.4, 55.5
movement of matter and energy.
4.B.3: Interactions between and
54.1
• Loss of keystone species
within populations
• Kudzu
influence patterns of species
• Dutch elm disease
distribution and abundance.
4.B.4: Distribution of local and
25.4
• Dutch elm disease
global ecosystems
56.1, 56.4
• Potato blight
changes over time.
• Small pox [historic example for Native
Americans]
• El Nino
• Continental drift
• Meteor impact on dinosaurs
2.E.3: Timing and coordination of 54.1
behavior are regulated by various
mechanisms and are important in
natural selection.
4.C.3: The level of variation in a
population affects population
dynamics.
23.1, 23.2, 23.3
Campbell Biology offers many
examples:
• California Condors
• Black-footed ferrets
• Prairie Chickens
• Potato blight causing the potato famine
• Corn rust affects on agricultural crops
• Tasmanian devils an infections cancers
• Not all animals in a population
stampede
• Not all individuals in a population in a
disease outbreak are equally affected.
4.C.4: The diversity of species
within an ecosystem
may influence the stability of the
ecosystem.
54.2
56.1
No illustrative examples listed in the
Curriculum
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
Page 2
Chapter 52: An Introduction to Ecology and the Biosphere
Purpose: To understand the scope of Ecology, its importance in science
and learn the necessary vocabulary to explain the place of organisms in
ecosystems.
Read the introductory article on page 1224. Answer the questions below.
How is the fate of the harlequin toad linked to global warming?
During the 1980s and 1990s, roughly two-thirds of the 82 known species of harlequin toads
vanished. Scientists think that a fungal pathogen, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, contributed to
many of these extinctions.
Cloudier days and warmer nights associated with global warming appear to have created an
environment ideal for fungal success.
As of 2009, the species that Yeager found was surviving as a single known population of
fewer than 100 individuals.
What other questions could be asked about the survival of the harlequin toad?
What environmental factors limit the geographic distribution of harlequin toads?
How do variations in their food supply or interaction with other species such as pathogens
affect the size of their population?
What is ecology? _________________________________________________________

__ the scientific study of the interactions between organisms and their environment.
Ecologists try to determine 1) what limits the distribution of a species and 2) what limits
its abundance?
Give some examples of abiotic components of the environment. ___________________
biotic factors affect the distribution of organisms:
eg. Sunlight, salinity, temperature, water, soil, minerals, pH
________________________________________________________________________
Give some examples of biotic components of the environment. _____________________
biotic factors affect the distribution of organisms:
Eg. Food resources, predators, diseases, competitors, food and habitat.
________________________________________________________________________
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
Page 3
Ecology can be studied at many different levels: Global, Landscape, Ecosystem,
Population, Community, and Organismal. You must understand what defines each of
these and be able to differentiate between them. Write out a research question for each of
these levels. (It must be different to the text ideas)
p. 1225
a) Organismal ecology: ___________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
b) Population ecology: ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
c) Community ecology: ___________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
d) Ecosystem ecology: _____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
e) Landscape ecology: _______________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
f) Global ecology:
________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
What is the biosphere? This is the global ecosystem – the sum of all planet’s ecosystems
and landscapes. Global ecology examines how the regional exchange of materials
influences the functioning and distribution of organisms across the biosphere.
Effect of Global Climate change on organism distribution. P. 1230
If researchers can determine the climatic limits of current geographic distributions for individual
species, they can predict how that species distribution will change with global warming.
Will plants and other species be able to keep up with the much more rapid warming projected for
this century?
 The fossil record can inform predictions about the biological impact of current global
warming trends on the geographic range of the American beech, Fagus grandifolia.
Comment on the plight of the American Beech as the climate warms.
Two different climate-change models predict that the northern limit of the beech’s range
will move 700–900 km north over the next century and its southern range will move
northward even farther.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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The beech will have to migrate 7–9 km per year to maintain its distribution in a warming
climate.
However, since the ice age, the beech has migrated into its present range at a rate of only
0.2 km per year.

Some species are already on the move in the face of climate change today.
Ecologist Camille Parmesan and her colleagues showed that 22 of 35 European butterfly
species, including the silver-washed fritillary (Argynnis paphia), have shifted their ranges
northward by 35–240 km since 1900.

Other scientists reported that the Pacific diatom, Neodenticula seminae, recently colonized
the Atlantic Ocean for the first time in 800,000 years. How was this possible?
With the loss of arctic sea ice in the past decade, increased flows of Pacific water carried
the diatom around Canada and into the Labrador Sea, where it has become established.

Overall, changes in animal and plant distributions are evident in all well-studied groups of
marine, freshwater, and terrestrial organisms, consistent with the signature of a warmer
world.

Do some research to find one local species that is threatened by the changing climate in it’s
ecosystem.
Arbutus trees.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
Page 5
Concept 52.2 The structure and distribution of terrestrial biomes are controlled by climate
and disturbance.
What is biogeography? ____________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
What factors limit the geographic distribution of any particular species?
Barriers to dispersal prevent organisms from inhabiting new areas. These barriers may be
geographic, climate, food source, behavioral, suitable habitat, water.…..
Climate plays an important role in determining the nature and location of Earth’s
biomes. What is a biome? (Remember this from grade 10)
Biomes are major life zones characterized by vegetation type (in terrestrial biomes) or by the
physical environment (in aquatic biomes) as well as animal life. Their distribution depends
on rainfall (water) and temperature in an area. Because there are latitudinal patterns of
climate over Earth’s surface, there are also latitudinal patterns of terrestrial biome
distribution.
Factors other than mean temperature and precipitation also play a role in determining where
biomes exist.
Environmental characteristics such as bedrock in an area may affect mineral nutrient
availability and soil structure, which in turn affect the kind of vegetation that can grow.
light and wind to a lesser extent.
What are the major terrestrial biomes? tropical forest, desert, savanna, chaparral, temperate
grassland, coniferous forest, temperate broadleaf forest, and tundra.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
Page 6
What is a climograph?
A climograph plots the annual mean temperature and precipitation of a particular region.
Temperature and rainfall are well correlated with different terrestrial biomes, and each
biome has a characteristic climograph.
Figure 52.10
The climograph is based on annual averages, but often the pattern of climatic variation is as
important as the average climate.
For example, two areas may receive the same annual precipitation. One area may receive
regular precipitation throughout the year, whereas the other area has distinct wet and dry
seasons.
Each biome is also characterized by the microorganisms, fungi, and animals adapted to that
environment.
For example, temperate grasslands are often populated by large grazing mammals and
have mycorrhizal fungi.
Terrestrial biomes usually grade into each other without sharp boundaries.
The area of intergradation, called the ecotone, may be narrow or wide.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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Explain vertical layering in terrestrial biomes.
Vertical layering, largely defined by the shapes and sizes of plants, is an important feature of
terrestrial biomes.
The canopy of a forest is the top layer, covering the low-tree layer, shrub understory,
ground layer of herbaceous plants, forest floor (litter layer), and root layer.
Grasslands have a herbaceous layer of grasses and forbs (small broadleaf plants), a litter
layer, and a root layer.
Layering of vegetation provides many different habitats for animals.
See pages Fig 52.12 for photos and descriptions of the major terrestrial biomes.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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Identify the types of biomes shown below and then create a note to describe the main
characteristics of each. (point form is fine as this may be easier to study from)
Include any threats to the biome.
 Coniferous forest, or taiga, is the largest terrestrial
biome on Earth.
o Coniferous forests have long, cold winters and
short, wet summers.
o The conifers that inhabit these forests are adapted
for snow and periodic drought.
o Coniferous forests are home to many birds and
mammals.
These forests are being logged intensively, and old-growth
stands of conifers may soon disappear
o
 Temperate broadleaf forests have very cold winters,
hot summers, and considerable precipitation.
o A mature temperate broadleaf forest has distinct
vertical layers, including a closed canopy, one or two strata
of understory trees, a shrub layer, and an herbaceous layer.
o The dominant deciduous trees in Northern
Hemisphere broadleaf forests drop their leaves and become
dormant in winter.
o In the Northern Hemisphere, many mammals in this
biome hibernate in the winter, while many bird species migrate to warmer climates.
Humans have logged many temperate broadleaf forests around the world.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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 Temperate grasslands exhibit seasonal drought,
occasional fires, and seasonal variation in temperature.
o Large grazers and burrowing mammals are native
to temperate grasslands.
o Deep fertile soils make temperate grasslands ideal
for agriculture, especially for growing grain.
o Most grassland in North America and Eurasia has
been converted to farmland.

Tundra covers large areas of the Arctic, up to 20% of Earth’s land surface.
o Alpine tundra is found on high mountaintops at
all latitudes, including the tropics.
o The plant communities in alpine and Arctic
tundra are very similar.
o The Artic tundra winter is long and cold, while
the summer is short and mild. The growing season is
very short.
o Tundra vegetation is mostly herbaceous,
consisting of a mixture of lichens, mosses, grasses,
forbs, and dwarf shrubs and trees.
o A permanently frozen layer of permafrost
prevents water infiltration and restricts root growth.
o Large grazing musk oxen are resident in Arctic
tundra, whereas caribou and reindeer are migratory.
o Migratory birds use Arctic tundra extensively during the summer as nesting grounds.
o Arctic tundra is sparsely settled by humans but has recently become the site of significant
mineral and oil extraction.

Deserts
o
o occur in a band near 30° north and south latitudes
and in the interior of continents.
o Deserts have low and highly variable rainfall,
generally less than 30 cm per year.
o Temperature varies greatly both seasonally and
daily.
o Desert vegetation is usually sparse and includes
succulents, such as cacti, and deeply rooted shrubs.
o Many desert animals are nocturnal, so they can avoid
the heat.
o Desert organisms display adaptations that allow
them to resist or survive desiccation.
Threatened by
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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
o
Savanna
o is found in equatorial and subequatorial regions.
o Rainfall is seasonal, averaging 30–50 cm per
year.
o The savanna is warm year-round, averaging 24–
29°C with some seasonal variation.
o Savanna vegetation is grassland with scattered
trees.
o Large herbivorous mammals are common
inhabitants.
o The dominant herbivores are insects, especially
termites.
o Fire is important in maintaining savanna
biomes.
Threatened by agriculture, urbanization
Tropical forests
o are found close to the equator.
o Tropical rain forests receive constant high amounts of
rainfall (200–400 cm annually).
o In tropical dry forests, precipitation is seasonal.
o In both rain and dry forests, air temperatures range
between 25°C and 29°C year-round.
o Tropical forests are stratified, and competition for light
is intense.
o There is more animal diversity in tropical forests than in
any other terrestrial biome.
o Threatened by habitat loss to urbanization, farming,
exploitation for natural species.
 Chaparrals have annual precipitation ranging from 30 to 50
cm, with mild, wet winters and dry, hot summers.
o Chaparral is dominated by shrubs and small trees, with a
diversity of grasses and herbs.
o Plant and animal diversity is high.
o Adaptations to fire and drought are common.
o Threatened by agriculture, urbanization
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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.

In ecological terms, disturbance is an event such as a storm, fire, or human activity that
changes a community, removing organisms from it and altering resource availability.
o Hurricanes create openings for new species in tropical and temperate forests.
o Fires and outbreaks of pests, such as pine beetles and spruce budworms, produce gaps in
northern coniferous forests that allow deciduous species, including aspen and birch, to
grow.

As a result of disturbances, biomes exhibit patchiness, with several different communities
represented in a single area.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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Concept 52.3: Aquatic biomes are diverse and dynamic systems that cover most of
EarthActivity: Aquatic Biomes
What are some of the major aquatic biomes?
Marine (salt conc. of 3% average) and freshwater biomes (less than 0.1% salt)
differentiated by their chemical and physical differences.
Divided into different regions classified by
 amount of sunlight,
 distance from shore,
 water depth.
Review these very briefly in Fig: 52.16
Great Ocean conveyer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdgUyLTUYkg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boiFoSRq1BM&feature=related Gulf Stream
Conveyer Belt Stops?
Five abiotic factors that affect aquatic biomes are:
Light, oxygen, temperature, nutrients, salinity, pH.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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Marine biomes cover ¾ of the earth’s surface.
This is the most stable biome with temperatures that vary little because water has a high
specific heat capacity and the volume is so large.
The marine biome provides most of the earths food and oxygen.
How does an oligotrophic lake differ from a eutrophic lake?
Oligotrophic are nutrient poor and oxygen rich
Eutrophic are nutrient rich and oxygen poor.
Pelagic = open water.
Discussion of Scientific Inquiry p. 1169 #13.
Remember to use Chapter Review 52
 The Self-Quiz includes multiple-choice questions from the end of the textbook chapter.
 The Practice Test will test your knowledge of the content in the textbook chapter.
AP Biology: Ecology guided notes chapter 52
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