Ecology

Chapter 3 Notes

New Voc. Words: weathering, erosion, deposition, nutrient, territory, dormant, hibernation, species, habitat, geographical range, population, community, Ecosystem, and Biodiversity

Chapter 3.1: The Changing Lithosphere

(Revisit) Lithosphere-One of the four Earth systems

  • Involves the Crust and part of the Upper Mantle
  • Crust is either oceanic or continental
  • The lithosphere is made up of several movable tectonic plates that help change the Earth.
  • The movement of the plates is determined by the type of Plate Boundary
  • Divergent-the plates move away from one another (often made from continental crust)
  • Rift valleys form which can later be filled with sea or ocean water
  • Convergent-the plates move toward and collide into one another
  • Three types
  • Continental to Continental
  • Continental to Oceanic
  • Oceanic to Oceanic
  • Transform fault-the plates slide past one another in opposite directions or at different rates or combination of both

Weathering-Is the breaking down of rock material by mechanical or chemical means

  • Ex. Of mechanical is a tree root cracking a piece of cement sidewalk
  • Ex. Of Chemical usually involves water: Acid Rain, Oxidation-rust

Erosion-Is the wearing away of the Earth either by surface or ground water, wind, glaciers, and/or gravity

  • Depositionis the final stage of erosion where the worn material is deposited somewhere else.

Changes in the Hydrosphere

  • Ice age
  • Glacial periods-increase in glaciers
  • Interglacial periods-melting of the glaciers (occurring now)
  • El Nino
  • Warming of the Pacific Ocean which causes opposite conditions in some areas.
  • Some drought areas get flooding
  • Some areas that normally get a lot of rain have drought conditions
  • Our worst snowstorms in our area often occur during these times

Changes in the Atmosphere

  • Greenhouse effect
  • Ozone depletion
  • Interglacial climate

Chapter 3.2

Needs of Organisms

  • Water
  • Shelter
  • Food and Energy
  • Need nutrients to stay healthy
  • Living Space
  • Territory-living space claimed by an individual animal or group of animals
  • Climate
  • Dormant-The life processes slow down
  • Hibernation-A dormant sleep-like condition

Chapter 3.3

  • Species: Group of organisms with similar characteristics and that are able to interbreed together
  • Habitat: Where an organism lives
  • GeographicalRange: The total area where a species lives
  • Population: Group of the same species living in the same geographic area
  • Community: All the different organism living in the same geographic range
  • Ecosystem: Biotic and Abiotic factors interacting together in their community
  • Biodiversity: The variety of species in an ecosystem

Organization (or Hierarchy) of Life

1st Organism (species)-lowest

2nd Population

3rd Community

4th Ecosystem

5th Biosphere –top

Biosphere

______

Ecosystem

______

Community

______

Population

______

Organism

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