Chapter+6+Kinds+of+Ecosystems+and+Communities

Succession - the concept that communties proceed through a series of recognizable, predictable changes in sturcture over time.

Primary Succession: when an environment begins without any organisms and minimal resources. i.e. Volcano goes kaboom ---> everything dies. Completely new environment with hardly any resources.Pineer communites begin to inhabit the area --> lichen, bacteria. This can take a really long time. (But this video takes 20 seconds to explain primary succession to a climax community! [] )

To progress to the later stages of succession, a thin layer of soil is needed.

BIOMES!

﻿Biomes are terrestrial climax communities that are distinguished by the patterns of precipitation and temperature. Some major biomes of the world... - DESERTS: really high temp, arid conditions... I need water. Parched... parched...Some examples include the Gobi Desert. Though the conditions are extreme, there are some organisms that have adapted like lizards and cacti. - TEMPERATE GRASSLAND (prairie or steps): rains an average amount, Organisms eat grass... - SAVANNA: (Think of the Lion King!) There is a decent amount of rain, so it suffers from agricultural development. Poor Simba... Dem farmers be taking der landd. - TROPICAL DRY FOREST: monsoon climate! Rain is seasonal. - TROPICAL RAINFOREST: Warm temperature, precipitation is high constantly. Most biodiverse biome! - TEMPERATE DECIDUOUS FOREST: Avg amount of rainfall, mild winters and warm summers. - TUNDRA: It's cold there... minimal resources. - TEMPERATE RAINFOREST: coastal areas, temp is constant and rainfall is kind of a lot. - TAIGA: Short cool summers and long winters with a lot of snowfall. Organisms include conifers, woodpeckers, grouse and owls. Some mammals include moose (pl. moosen? mooses? moose?), wolves, hares and squirrels. Generally affected by logging, and herding of reindeer in Scandinavian forests. (Largest biome in the world) - TUNDRA: the layer of soil is permanently frozen (permafrost). Due to extreme cold, there are little to no trees here. Plants include grasses, dwarf birch, and lichens. Some small mammals include arctic foxes and wolves.

AQUATI﻿C ECOSYSTEMZ

So far, we’ve only mentioned terrestrial biomes. Of course, the world is comprised of both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. There are two kinds of aquatic systems: marine and freshwater. MARINE ECOSYSTEMS: - Pelagic ecosystems: open water. Organisms here swim actively such as fish and whales. - Benthic ecosystems: the ocean bottom. Sunlight can penetrate this, meaning it can give rise to coral reef ecosystems. Organisms include clams, oysters, sponges and sea anemones. o A special kind of ecosystem in the mangrove swamp ecosystem. They are near the shore, right next to the land. Trees makeup this system which provide places for oysters, jellyfish and fish to live. o Abyssal ecosystems are located in the very, very bottom of the ocean. Imagine that scene in //Finding Nemo// where they almost got eaten by a lantern fish. That’s an abyssal ecosystem. - Estuaries: enclosed areas where freshwater enter the ocean. Organisms here need to adapt to the constantly changing salinity levels of estuaries. Estuaries have a lot of nutrients from the basin which aid in plankton growth. Estuaries make great nurseries for fry and crustaceans.

FRESHWATER ECOSYSTEMS:
 * Lakes and Ponds - Similar to open ocean. Productivity is determined by tempurature, water depth, and nutrients available. DEPEND ON DISSOLVED OXYGEN.
 * Zones - **Littoral** has roote vegeaation, **limnetic** does not.
 * Strems and Rivers - Difficult for photosynthetic organism to grow because of the water flow. Nutrients in the water end up there because it fell in from the banks. Organisms are adapted to use the debris.

= Questions = New Hampshire is Temperate Deciduous Forest. When humans do any type of clearcutting or developing of an area, they throw a wrench in the secession process. This has a particularly strong impact if the people only disrupt a certain aspect of the area (such as a specific because each species plays a critical role in secession. In addition to clearcutting and development, humans affect terrestrial biomes by air pollution, littering, and hunting. Humans affect freshwater biomes by fishing (and usually over-fishing) an area. Humans are also responsible for the excessive amount of litter found in freshwater biomes every year.
 * What kind of biome is New Hampshire?
 * How do humans impact secession? Terrestrial biomes? Freshwater biomes?

How does the amount of rainfall effect organisms living in a biome? The amount of water in an environment determines the how much is available for different organisms to use in different ways. Put simply, the more water the more diversity because animals don't have to be super specialized and compete so harshly.

A biome is shaped by the climate that influences what organisms are able to live there. An ecosystem could return to primary succession due to a large-scale natural disaster, such as a volcanic eruption, tsunami or avalanche or basically anything that would cause the landscape to have to naturally rebuild
 * Do the organisms shape the biome or is the biome shaped by the organisms?
 * What are causes of an ecosystem going back to primary succession stages?