Biomes and Biodiversity (Chapter 5)

• Terrestrial biomes

• Aquatic habitats

• Biodiversity

What are biomes?

Bio = life + -ome = abstract entity, mass, or group

Thus, biomes are “masses of life,” large areas with similar physical features, inhabited by similar types of organisms

They are usually recognized by their vegetation

Biological Hierarchy

Biosphere

Biome

Community

Population

Organism

Biomes are related to large-scale

climate features, especially

temperature and moisture

Text Fig. 5.2

Effective moisture is important

• The amount of moisture potentially available to plants is, to a first approximation, determined by the interaction of precipitation and temperature

• Evapotranspiration

• Timing of precipitation in relation to seasonal variation in temperature

Earth’s Temperature Zones

Text Appendix 4

Climate Patterns

• Timing is important

• Means don’t always mean a lot

Text Fig. 5.4

World Biomes

Deserts

• Very low effective moisture

• Wide range of temperatures

(Photos of Mojave Desert, CA, Sonoran Desert, AZ, and Great Basin Desert, UT)

Grasslands

• Low effective moisture• Wide range of temperatures• Grasslands include more than grasses

(Photos of native prairie, southern MT, one with wildflowers and butterflies)

Mediterranean Shrublands

• Low-moderate moisture with dry season

(Two photos of California shrublands:

• Chaparral, comprised mostly of evergreen plants with thick leathery leaves

• Coastal sage scrub, comprised mostly of plants with soft drought-deciduous leaves)

Woodlands

•Moderate moisture, often with a dry season

(Photos of Pinyon-juniper woodland, AZ and oak woodland/savanna, CA)

Temperate Deciduous Broadleaf Forests

• Strong seasonal pattern: warm and moist during growing season, then cold

(Photos of tree canopy, colorful fall leaves, and spring wildflower that grows before trees leaf out)

Temperate Evergreen Broadleaf Forests

• Less pronounced seasonal pattern: cool to warm year-round, moist during growing season

(Photos of eucalyptus forest in Tasmania, Australia, and eucalyptus leaves, flowers, and fruits)

Tropical Moist Forests

• Essentially season-less: warm and wet year-round

• Masses of green, extremely high productivity

(Photos of lowland rainforest in Costa Rica)

Tropical Seasonal Forests

• Warm and wet, with a dry season

• Less productive than tropical moist

forests

(Photos of forest in north Queensland, Australia)

Tundra• Very cold year-round• Occurs both at high latitudes (arctic

tundra) and high altitudes (alpine tundra)• Can be wet or fairly dry

(Photos of alpine tundra in Rocky Mountains, CO, alpine tundra plants and lichens in Olympic

Mountains, WA and Norway, and arctic tundra north of Fairbanks, AK)

Conifer Forests

• Warm and wet enough to produce a moderately long growing season

• Growing season limited by cold and/or drought

(Photos of conifer forests in central AK, Great Lakes region, Yosemite National Park, UW Pack Forest, and the Rocky Mountains, CO, plus forest

floor lichens and shrubs)

Aquatic Biomes?

• Inland fresh waters (lakes, rivers, and streams)

• Wetlands• Estuaries• Seas and oceans

Inland Fresh Waters

• Why doesn’t the biome concept work for inland fresh waters?

(Photos of lake and stream)

Wetlands

• Upland areas that are saturated with water, at least periodically

• Many different types and classifications• Why doesn’t the biome concept work for

wetlands?

(Photos of three wetlands)

Estuaries

• Transitional areas between rivers and seas or oceans

• Water usually brackish

(Photos of mangrove ‘swamp’ and salt marsh)

Seas and Oceans

• Important factors for organisms include depth, distance to nearest land, and latitude any others?

• Could biome concept be applied?

(Photo of rocky coast, OR and aerial view of coral reef)

Biodiversity

• Bio = life + diversi = various

• What is it?

• Importance and benefits

• Threats

• Protection and preservation

Types of Biodiversity

• Genetic

• Species

• Ecological or functional

• Plus many others

Genetic Diversity

• The variety of different versions of the same gene(s) within a species

(Photos of red, orange, yellow, and white Amanita muscaria mushrooms)

Species Diversity

• The number and relative abundance of different species in an area or community

(‘Family portrait’ of different species of mushrooms)

Species Diversity

• Usually the diversity of two or more areas or communities is compared

(Photos of lichen-covered rock and headstone)

How many species are

there?

Some of these totals are gross underestimates which ones

would you guess?

Which are likely to be fairly accurate?

Insect Biodiversity

The population geneticist JBS Haldane was asked what might be learned about a Creator by examining the world.

His response: ‘(s)he must have an inordinate fondness for beetles.’

Ecological Diversity

The number of different functions

being performed in an area or community

Text Fig. 3.22

Ecological Diversity

(Photos of four different kinds of mushrooms, rotting a snag, large fallen tree branch, pine cone,

and pine needles)

Biodiversity Hotspots

Certain areas of the world have high percentages of species that occur nowhere else on Earth (Text Fig. 5.20)

Benefits of Biodiversity

• Many organisms are of direct benefit to humans

• However, biodiversity also has enormous indirect benefits

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

Article from the journal Nature

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Population Dynamics

Biological Diversity

Ecosystem Functioning

Landscape Dynamics

GLOBAL CHANGES

SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS

Biodiversity acts as a buffer against environmental change

Benefits of Biodiversity

• ‘Variety is the spice of life’

(Photos of mushrooms in baskets – one full of one kind of brown mushroom, the other with mushrooms of many shapes and colors)

Threats to Biodiversity

• There are both natural and human-caused threats to biodiversity

• Just as the benefits of biodiversity are both direct and indirect, so are the threats

Threats to Biodiversity

• Extinction

Threats to Biodiversity

• Habitat destruction and fragmentation

(Photos of agricultural fields, open-pit copper mine, and skyscrapers)

Threats to Biodiversity

• Hunting, fishing,

specimen collecting

Text Fig. 5.29

Threats to Biodiversity

• Introduced species

(Photo of Scots broom, a widespread intruder in western WA)

Protection of Biodiversity

• Hunting and fishing laws

(Photos of signs for commercial mushroom buyer, ‘mushroom-picking permits required’,

and ‘no-picking forest products’)

Protection of Biodiversity

(Far Side cartoon: wildlife preserves)

Endangered Species Act

• Passed in 1973

• Listing of organisms in danger of extinction

(endangered species) or in danger of becoming

endangered (threatened species)

Endangered Species Act

• Habitat Conservation Plans

• Landowners develop a plan for managing their lands in such a way as to produce a long-term benefit for listed species

• In return, they receive a permit allowing ‘incidental take’

Endangered Species Act

• City of Seattle’s Cedar River Watershed is being managed in accordance with a Habitat Conservation Plan