Weather vs. Climate
Weather is the day to day conditions of the earth’s atmosphere. Climate is the year to year patters of temperature and precipitation.
A microclimate can form when environmental conditions vary over small distances.
Factors that effect climate:• Trapped solar energy• Latitude• Heat transport by winds and currents
Solar Radiation and The Greenhouse Effect
The balance between heat that stays in the biosphere and that lost to space determines earth’s average temperature.
The Greenhouse Effect allows solar radiation to enter our biosphere but slows the loss of reradiated heat to space.
If the greenhouse gasses rise, more heat is trapped and earth is warmed. If greenhouse gasses drop, so does the temperatures.
Greenhouse Effect Global Warming
GW is the enhanced greenhouse effect brought on by human activities such as the burning fossil fuels.
Latitude and Solar Energy
Near the equator, solar energy is the most intense because is almost
directly overhead at noon all year.
The poles have less direct sunlight, and therefore heat, from the sun
This unequal distribution of heat creates three distinct climate zones:
TropicalTemperate
Polar
Niche
Every species has its own range of tolerance, or the ability to survive and reproduce under a certain set of environmental conditions.
A Niche is the range of physical and biological conditions in which a species lives and the way the species obtains what it needs to survive
Competitive Exclusion PrincipalStates: No two species can occupy exactly the same niche in
exactly the same habitat at the same time.
If two species attempt to occupy the same niche, one species will be better and competing for these limited resources and eventually
exclude the other species.
By causing species to divide resources, competition helps
determine the number and kind of species in a
community and the niche each species
occupies.
PredationPredator-Prey relationship: When one animal (predator) captures and feeds on another animal (prey). Predators can affect the size of prey populations in a community and determine the places prey can live and feed
Herbivore-Plant relationships : Herbivory is when an organism feeds on producers. Herbivores affect both the size and distribution of plant populations in a community and determine the places that certain plants can grow.
Keystone species: A species in the environment that is not usually abundant in the community but exerts a strong control over the structure of the community. Example: Sea Otters.
A century ago otters nearly disappeared and so did the kelp forests. Why?
Symbiosis
Any relationship which two species live closely together (and at least 1 benefits)
The three types are:Mutualism
CommensalismParasitism