Biology Study Guide

1. Biomes a. A species distribution is constrained by historical (contingent) and biotic factors, as well as by abiotic factors such as soil, disturbances and climate. 1. -Factors such as infertile soil and toxic conditions can modify what vegetation is produced in a certain climate. (Young lava in Hawaii, terraces of carbonate minerals left by flowing water in Turkey) b. Terrestrial Biomes i. Tropical Wet Forests (Rainforests) 1. Very high species diversity and extraordinary structural diversity 2. Abundant growth, high temp. and rainfall, low variation. No seasonal patters. 3. High aboveground biomass 4. Competition intense (niches narrow) 5. Nutrients concentrated in plant tissue. N-fixers common. 6. Soil is very Infertile. 7. Slash and burn destroys forests ii. Tropical Savanna 1. Productivity is very low 2. Plants spaced widely (possibly because of competition of water) 3. Adapt by growing at a low rate or growing rapidly in response to rainfall. 4. High temp and low precipitation 5. No photosynthesis because of dryness 6. Shrubs, cacti, leaf-less plants dominate. No trees. iii. Temperate Grasslands 1. Well-defined growing season. 2. Grass dominate: Drought; fire restricts trees. 3. Productivity is generally lower than forest communities 4. Soils are highly fertile 5. Major temperate zone food production areas. iv. Temperate Rain Forests 1. Cold in winter; plant growth stops. Rainfall relatively high/constant. 2. Dominated by deciduous trees. 3. Lower productivity levels than those of tropical forests but higher than deserts and grasslands. 4. Diversity is moderate. 5. Highly seasonal. 6. Photosynthesis not supported all year. Leafy in Summer, but not in winter.

v. Boreal Forests 1. Cold winters and short, cool summers. Variation extreme. Rainfall is low, but due to cold condition evaporation is minimal. Moisture abundant to support trees. 2. Dominated by mostly ever-green trees. 3. Productivity is low. Biomass is high because of slow-growing species. 4. Diversity is exceptionally low 5. Soils usually acidic and contain low nitrogen vi. Arctic Tundra 1. Low temperatures/low rainfall, high temp variation. 2. Growing season is only 6-8 weeks 3. Most soils are in permafrost 4. Dominated by small shrubs, lichens, and herbs. 5. Low species diversity, low productivity, low biomass 6. Sink for carbon c. Global warming is caused by CO2 release and can change the biomes that are existed right now. Global warming can cause Tundras to give way to Boreal forests. The species diversity decreases and more grasses and shrubs will exist and less mosses and lichens (Tundra species). 2. Biogeography a. If a newly introduced insect devours only one important woody species which is commonly found in the middle stages of succession, diversity will begin to drop. Successional species are the precursors for later successional species, so without them there can be no late successional species. b. To predict whether a species will become a pest or a steady member of a community we must look at two things: i. One, if the climate is similar to that of its native range. ii. Two, if there are enemies present from their normal range. 1. If climate is similar and no enemies present, the species will become a pest. 2. If climate is similar and enemies present, it will become a rare, but consistent member of the community. c. Species richness/diversity in isolated habitats will be dependent on climate and size of the habitat. 3. Diversity a. We use several alternative ways to measure diversity because abundance is not included in species richness. i. Evenness is equality of each species present. With less equality, species are more prone to extinction. We may look into this if species heavily rely on each other to survive ii. Species richness is the amount of different species. Species richness may be important to look into because it determines the amount of soil nutrients that

are used. With an increase in the number of species we see an increase in productivity. iii. Both evenness and richness (H ) may be used to determine how well the species use nutrients and how productive they will actually be. With more species there will be less disease, less nitrogen in the soil (because of various methods of utilizing the nitrogen), and higher extinction rates. b. With increasing concentrations of heavy metals or Nitrogen there will be less diversity and richness. Too much Nitrogen can cause plants to grow soft and lush and more pron to disease. c. Soil nitrogen decreases with species richness because with a higher amount of species there will be more unique ways of harvesting the nitrogen from the soil so that it may be put to good use. d. More species diversity = less disease, more productivity, more utilization of nitrogen to generate more biomass. e. Diversity appears to improve nutrient efficiency and NPP (photosynthesis respiration (Net Primary Productivity) ) by 3 methods: i. Resource use efficiency: 1. When species diversity is high, more overall water is used and more photosynthesis can occur. ii. Facilitation: 1. Certain species or functional groups facilitate the growth of other species by providing them with nutrients, partial shade, or other benefits. iii. Sampling effects: 1. With more species, it is more likely to find a major producer which yields higher NPP than with less species. 4. Community Ecology and Disturbance a. Hypothesis i. Clement s Hypothesis: Communities are highly structured (highly coevolved; lots of interactions; predictable) 1. Patterns: 2. Communities have a mature ( climax ) stage that is unchanging. It is the target that is always achieved. 3. Community composition is predictable because it is determined by climate and dominated by biotic interactions. 4. Communities develop over time like an individual organism. If disturbed, the climax community will reconstitute itself by reiterating stages of development. ii. Gleason s Hypothesis: Communities are loose assemblages of species (Little coevolution/dependence) 1. Patterns: 2. Communities are not stable. They are dynamic (constant change)

3. Community composition is not predictable, because the species present in an area are there largely because of chance 4. If a community is disturbed, a different community is likely to develop. iii. If Clements was correct then the dominant species of trees should remain the same continually with a change in elevation. b. There is a hump in the intermediate hypothesis because without disturbance, one species will take up all the living space in an environment. With disturbance, more space can become available for other species to reproduce. i. With no disturbance, one species would dominate and push other species out. ii. With too much disturbance, all the species are at risk of going extinct. iii. Keystone species help keep species, that may become over abundant, in check. c. With suppression of fires, the abundance of Chaparral (resistance to fires) would decrease in the environment because other species would become more abundant due to fewer fires killing them off. Chaparral may become more susceptible to increased predation. 5. Community Succession a. Early successors alter physical environment in ways that favor later-successional species: Facilitation. b. i. Primary Succession: Starts on newly created surface (no biota/soil) 1. Initially, conditions are very stressful ii. Secondary Succesion: Starts on existing surface 1. Recovery more predictable than in primary succesions. iii. Primary is less predictable because there are many factors and knowing which species will get there first and disperse is difficult. With secondary, we know what species thrived before a disturbance, so we can guess which species may thrive again in that location. Primary succession due largely to chance. c. An early successional species may be a facilitator to other species by making the soil and living conditions more favorable. An early successional species may also be an inhibitor to late successional species such as plants that require high light levels to germinate. The early successional species could be mature trees that prevent sunlight from reaching the floor. d. Primary succession is stochastic (unpredictable) because processes such as site amelioration (fertility and heterogeneity), dispersal and establishment, and development all affect which type of species will be present during primary succession. 6. Energy Flow a. Energy is in the form of a pyramid because no energy transfer is 100% efficient (entrophy), maintenance energy, and defense (not all that s green is food). i. When the top consumers are eliminated a chain reaction occurs. As the predators of earlier consumers are eliminated, there is less food for that species to survive off because it will become overpopulated due to lack of a predator. This effect continues until something intervenes.

b.