• ecology: scientific study of rich and varied interactions btwn organisms and environment
• communities: systems embracing all the organisms loving together in the same area
• ecosystems: systems embracing all organisms in an area plus their physical environment
• environment: encompasses abiotic (physical+chemical ex water, minerals) and biotic (living
organisms) factors
• interactions btwn organisms and environment are 2 way processes:
o organisms both influence and are influenced by environment
• understanding ecology allows us to manage ecosystems, to grow food, control pests, deal
with natural disasters, etc
• ecologists become familiar with various environments and understand how organisms adapt
to them
• climate: average of atmospheric conditions (temp, precipitation, wind direction, velocity)
found over long term [weather: short-term state of conditions]
o vary in different parts of world due to solar energy
• diff in air temp largely determined by solar energy input
• rate at which solar energy arrives on Earth per unit of Earth’s surface depends on angle of
sunlight
o high latitudes (closer to poles) get less solar energy than equatorial places
o higher latitudes have greater variation in day length and angle of arriving solar energy
over year more seasonal variation in temp
• air temp decreases with elevation
o air rises, expands, pressure and temp dropmoisture released
• global air circulation patterns result from global variation in solar energy input
• intertropical convergence zone: the coming together of air masses. Air rises when it is heated
by sun, so warm air rises in tropics, which receive greatest solar energy input. Rising air is replaced
by air that flows in toward equator from N +S
o heavy rains fall as rising air cools and releases moisture
o shifts latitudinally with seasons, following zone of greatest energy input
o can predict precipitation patterns in tropical and subtropical areas
o
• air that replaces rising air in ICZ is replaced by air from aloft, that descends at 30 N and S
latitudes after having travelled away from equator in atmosphere
o air cooled+lost moisture while it rose to equator. Now, it descends, warms, takes up
moisture ex. Sahara and Australian deserts
• at poles (little solar energy), air descends; responsible for global wind patterns
• spinning of earth on its axis also influences surface winds b/c earth’s velocity is rapid at
equator, but relatively close to poles
o stationary air mass’ velocity=earth’s velocity at same latitude
o as air mass moves toward equator, meets a faster spin, and its rotational movement is
slower than earth’s beneath it
o air masses moving latitudinally are deflected to right in N hemisphere (NH) and to
left in S hemisphere (SH) those moving toward equator from N and S become northeast and south east
trade winds respectively
o air masses moving away from equator become westerly winds
o air rises to pass over mountains, cools; clouds form on windward side of mountains
and release moisture as rain/snow; on leeward side, dry air descends, warms, and again picks up
moisturerain shadow = dry area
• these global air circulation patterns drive circulation patterns of surface ocean waters:
currents
• trade winds cause water to converge at equator until encountering continental land mass;
water splits so some moves north and south; transfers large amounts of heat at high latitudes
o currents move towards poles, water veers right in NH and left in SH, and turns
eastward until encountering another continent and is deflected laterally along shores
o in NH +SH, water flows toward equator along western sides of continents
• changes in env’t require immediate responses, some gradual (plants, lizards)
• morphological+physiological features let organisms function in variable env’t
• some anticipate changes so they migrate or enter resting state (hibernation) before adverse
conditions come
• most changes in physical environment happen independently of anything organisms do;
others influenced by activities or organisms
• biome: terrestrial environment defined by grown forms of plants (forests, tundra)
o plant distribution influenced by temp and rainfall
o one set of graphs plots seasonal patterns of temp and precipitation at a site in a biome
o some graphs show activity patterns of different kinds of organisms / year
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