The Biosphere and Animal

Distribution
Chapter 37
Earth Environment - Overview
 Water has physical properties critical to life on
earth.
 The steady supply of sunlight maintains a
suitable range of temperatures for life
metabolism.
 Living matter requires a supply of major and
minor elements available on earth.
 The earth’s gravity is strong enough to hold an
extensive gaseous atmosphere.
Earth Environment
 The environment is modified by organisms.
 Organisms are adapted by evolution to the
environment.
 The earth is an open system with a continuous
supply of energy.
 Building materials for life come from producers
and are cycled through consumers.
 Life is part of a cycle of life-death-decay-
recycling.
Earth Environment
 The primitive earth of 4.5
billion years ago had a
reducing atmosphere of
ammonia, methane, and
water and was fit for pre-
biotic synthesis of early living
forms.
 This early atmosphere
would be fatal to today’s
organisms.
 The appearance of free
oxygen in the atmosphere is
an example of the reciprocity
of life and the earth.
 Living organisms produce
changes in their environment
and must adapt and evolve.
Biosphere

 The biosphere
is the thin outer
layer of the
earth capable
of supporting
life.
 Includes living
organisms as
well as the
physical
environments.
Biosphere - Subdivisions

 Lithosphere – rocky material of the

earth’s outer shell.
 Source of mineral elements required for life.
 Hydrosphere – water on or near the
earth’s surface.
 Atmosphere – the gaseous component
of the biosphere.
 Atmospheric oxygen is produced by
photosynthesis.
Greenhouse Effect

 Materials in the atmosphere, such as CO2 and

water vapor retain heat, raising atmospheric
temperature.
 Greenhouse effect
 Burning fossil fuels increases CO2 in the
atmosphere.
Greenhouse Effect

 The greenhouse effect

provides conditions
essential for life on
Earth.
 Humans are
increasing this effect.
 Increased
temperatures could
lead to a rise in sea
level as polar ice
melts.
Biomes

 Varying combinations of both biotic and

abiotic factors determine the nature of
Earth’s many biomes.
 Biomes are the major types of
ecological associations that occupy
broad geographic regions of land or
water.
Biomes

 Each biome grades into the next –

without sharp boundaries.
 Boundary areas are called ecoclines.
Terrestrial Biomes

 Climate is
particularly important
in determining why
particular terrestrial
biomes are found in
certain areas.
 Temperature
 Rainfall
 Solar radiation
Terrestrial Biomes

 The sun’s rays strike

higher latitudes at a
lower angle.
 Atmospheric
heating is less.
Terrestrial Biomes

 Air warmed at the equator rises and

moves toward the poles.
 Replaced by cold air moving away from
the poles.
 Rotation of the earth complicates this
pattern.
 Three latitudinal cells result.
Terrestrial Biomes

 Hot, moist air rises at

equator, cools,
condenses and provides
rainfall (tropical forests).
 Warm air flows
northward, and sinks at
20-30° latitude – dry.
 Air heats, absorbs
moisture (desert areas),
then the air flows toward
the equator again.
The Distribution of Major Terrestrial
Biomes
General Features of Terrestrial
Biomes
 Vertical stratification
is an important
feature of terrestrial
biomes.
 Canopy
 Low-tree
 Shrub understory
 Ground layer
 Forest floor (litter
layer)
Temperate Deciduous Forest

 Temperate deciduous forests receive

rain year-round.
 Cold winters and hot, humid summers.
 Animals may migrate, hibernate, or survive
on scarce available food or stored fat
through the winter.
Coniferous Forest

 Coniferous forests, or taiga, are

common in the northern hemisphere.
 Evergreens dominant
 Colder, less rain than temperate forests.
Coniferous Forest

 Mammals that
inhabit coniferous
forests include deer,
moose, elk,
snowshoe hares,
wolves, foxes,
lynxes, weasels,
bears.
 Adapted for long,
snowy winters.
Tropical Forest

 Tropical rain forests receive lots of rain

and are generally warm year-round.
 Stratified
 Diverse
Tropical Forest
 Canopy – insectivorous birds and bats fly
above the canopy.
 Fruit bats, canopy birds, and mammals live in the
canopy eating leaves & fruit.
 Middle zones are home to arboreal mammals
(monkeys, sloths), birds, bats, insects,
amphibians.
 Climbing animals move along the tree trunks
feeding at all levels.
 Ground level contains larger mammals
(capybara, paca, agouti, pigs) as well as a
variety of reptiles and amphibians.
Tropical Forest

 Nutrients in a tropical forest are tied up

in living organisms.
 Soil is poor.
 Slash and burn agriculture involves
removing vegetation to grow crops – but
the soil is so poor that the fields must be
moved often.
Grassland

 Temperate grasslands receive seasonal

precipitation and have cold winters and hot
summers.
 Prairie
Grassland

 Grasses and herds of

large grazing
mammals are
dominant.
 Jackrabbits, prairie
dogs, and ground
squirrels are
common.
 Predators include
coyotes, cougars,
bobcats, raptors,
badgers, and ferrets.
Grassland

 Savannas are tropical grasslands with

seasonal rainfall.
Grassland

 Chaparral receives highly seasonal

rainfall.
 Shrubs and small trees are common.
 Adaptations to fire.
Tundra

 Tundra has a permanently frozen layer of soil

called permafrost that prevents water
infiltration.
 Very cold, short growing season.
 Little rain
Tundra

 Tundra is often covered with bogs, marshes, or ponds.

 Grasses, sedges, and lichens may be common.
 Lemmings, caribou, musk-oxen, arctic foxes, arctic
hares, ptarmigans and other migratory birds.
Desert

 Deserts have very low precipitation –

less than 30 cm/yr.
 Variable temperatures.
 Animals often nocturnal and live in burrows.

 Reptiles and small mammals are common.

Aquatic Biomes
Aquatic Biomes

 Aquatic biomes account for the largest

part of the biosphere in terms of area.
 Can contain fresh or salt water.
 Oceans cover about 75% of Earth’s
surface.
 Have an enormous impact on the
biosphere.
Inland Waters

 Only about 2.5% of the earth’s water is

fresh.
 Much of that is found in polar ice caps or
underground aquifers.
Inland Waters

 Lotic, or running water habitats include

streams and rivers.
 More oxygen
 Lentic, or standing water habitats
include lakes and ponds.
 Less oxygen
Inland Waters
LAKES

 Oligotrophic
lakes – nutrient
poor & oxygen
rich.
 Eutrophic lakes
– nutrient rich &
sometimes
oxygen poor.
 Eutrophication
An oligotrophic lake A eutrophic lake
Inland Waters
STREAMS AND RIVERS

 Streams and
rivers have a
current.
Inland Waters

 Animals living in vegetation or debris of

the bottom (benthos) are called benthic.
 Snails, mussels, crustaceans, insects.
 Animals up in the water column are
pelagic.
 Swimming animals are called nekton.
 Floating or weak swimmers are called
plankton.
Wetlands
WETLANDS

 Wetlands
include areas
that are able to
support aquatic
plants.
 May be
freshwater or
marine.
Estuaries
ESTUARIES

 Estuaries are
transition areas
between river and
sea.
 Salinity varies from
nearly fresh to the
salinity of seawater.
Aquatic Biomes

 Many aquatic biomes are stratified into zones

or layers defined by light penetration,
temperature, and depth.
 The photic zone is the most productive.
Rocky Intertidal Zone

 The rocky intertidal zone is alternately

submerged and exposed by the tides.
 Upper zones are exposed to air longer.
 Physical stress (desiccation, waves, temp,
salinity), predation, and competition produce
distinct bands.
Rocky Subtidal Zone

 Kelp forests
dominated by
brown seaweeds
occupy shallow
subtidal waters.
 Grazing urchins
and molluscs are
common.
 Predators include
sea stars, fishes,
and otters.
Rocky Subtidal Zone
CORAL REEFS

 Coral reefs are

limited to the
photic zone in
tropical marine
environments
with high water
clarity.
 Highly diverse
Nearshore Soft Sediments

 Intertidal and subtidal environments with

soft sediments include beaches,
mudflats, salt marshes, sea-grass beds,
and mangrove communities.
Nearshore Soft Sediments

 Salt marsh habitat

includes grasses,
mussels, crabs,
shrimp, and
polychaetes.
 Burrowing organisms.
 Deposit or filter
feeders.
 Small fishes and birds
that feed on them are
common.
Nearshore Soft Sediments
 Calm, tropical, coastal
areas support
mangrove
communities.
 Mangrove trees grow
submerged in soft
sediments.
 Rich community of
detritus feeders
(oysters, crabs,
shrimp).
 Many fishes – often
used as a nursery
ground.
Deep-Sea Sediments

 The deep sea includes the continental

slope, continental rise, and abyssal
plain.
 Sand where there are currents, fine mud
where currents are weak.
 Suspension feeding invertebrates are
common.
 Deposit feeders found in muddy areas.
Hydrothermal Vents

 Hydrothermal vents occur on the abyssal plain in

areas of submarine volcanic activity.
 Archaebacteria that derive energy by oxidizing sulfides
form the basis of the food chain.
 Grazed by bivalves, limpets, and crabs.
 Other organisms, like tube worms, have symbiotic
archaebacteria.
Pelagic Realm

 The pelagic realm includes the open

ocean area.
 High oxygen, low nutrient levels.
 Areas of upwelling bring nutrients up from
the sea floor.OCEANIC PELAGIC BIOME
Pelagic Realm

 Epipelagic – surface
waters
 Mesopelagic –
twilight zone,
supports a varied
community of
animals.
 Deep sea forms
depend on a rain of
organic debris from
above.
Zoogeography

 Zoogeography describes patterns of

animal distribution and species diversity.
 Why species and species diversity are
distributed as they are.
Zoogeography

 The history of an animal species must be

documented before we can understand why it
lives where it does.
 Camels originated in North America and spread to
Eurasia, Africa, and South America.
 Camels went extinct in North America 10,000 years
ago.
 Today, we see true camels in Eurasia & Africa and
camel descendents (llamas, alpacas etc) in South
America.
Zoogeography

 Geologic change is responsible for much

of the alteration in animal distribution.
Zoogeography

 Phylogenetic systematics allows us to

reconstruct histories of animal
distributions.
 Geographical distributions of closely related
species are mapped onto a cladogram to
generate hypotheses of the geographic
history.
Zoogeography

 Disjunct distributions are closely related species that

live in widely separated areas.
 Dispersal – a population moves to a new location.
 Vicariance – environmental changes break up a once
continuous population into small pockets.
Distribution by Dispersal

 Dispersal involves emigration from one

region and immigration into another.
 One way outward movement.
 Different from a periodic movement back & forth.
 Active or passive
 Center of origin

 Explains movement of animal populations

into favorable habitats adjacent to the place
of origin.
Distribution by Vicariance

 Areas once joined may become

separated by barriers.
 Population becomes fragmented into
smaller, isolated populations.
 Lava flows

 Continental drift

 Emergence of mountain ranges

Distribution by Vicariance

 Vicariance by
continental drift
helps to explain the
disjunct distribution
of ratite birds.
 Ancestral species
widespread
throughout
Southern
Hemisphere.
Continental Drift

 The concept of continental drift was

proposed by Alfred Wegener in 1912.
 Not fully accepted until the mechanism was
found.
Distribution by Vicariance

 As the continents
moved apart, the
ancestral species
was fragmented into
disjunct populations
that evolved
independently
producing the
diversity seen today.
Continental Drift

 Plate tectonics is the mechanism of

continental drift.
 The earth’s surface is composed of 6-10
rocky plates which shift position on a more
malleable underlying layer.
Continental Drift

 Pangaea – the single great landmass –

broke up 200 million years ago.
 Two supercontinents resulted:
 Laurasia – North America, Eurasia, Greenland
 Gondwana – South America, Africa,

Madagascar, Arabia, India, Australia, New

Guinea, Antarctica
Continental Drift

 Continental drift explains several

puzzling distributions of animals.
 Similarity between some organisms in
South America and Africa.
Continental Drift - The Case of
Marsupial Evolution
 Marsupials appeared about 100 million years ago in
South America.
 They spread through Antarctica and Australia that
were at that time joined together.
 Marsupials encountered placental mammals in North
America, could not compete, and became extinct.
 The modern opossums are recent arrivals from South
America.
 The placental mammals expanded into South America,
but the marsupials were well established there.
 About 50 million years ago, Australia drifted apart from
Antarctica and remained in isolation with only
marsupials to diversify on the continent.
Wallace’s Line

 Wallace’s line
represents a
geographic
separation between
Asian and Australian
faunas.
 A collision of tectonic
plates brought
formerly distant land
masses closer
together.
Temporary Land Bridges

 Temporary land
bridges have been
important pathways for
dispersal.
 Land bridge connected
Asia and North America
across the Bering
Strait.
 Today, a land bridge
connects North and
South America