Biomes and Biodiversity (Chapter 5)

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Biomes and Biodiversity (Chapter 5)

• Terrestrial biomes
• Aquatic habitats
• Biodiversity

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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

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Biological Hierarchy

• Biosphere
• Biome
• Community
• Population
• Organism

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• Biomes are related to large-scale climate
  features, especially temperature and moisture

Text Fig. 5.2
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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

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Earths Temperature Zones

• Text Appendix 4

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Climate Patterns

• Timing is important
• Means dont always mean a lot

Text Fig. 5.4
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World Biomes
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Deserts

• Very low effective moisture
• Wide range of temperatures

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

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

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

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Woodlands

• Moderate moisture, often with a dry season

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

• Essentially season-less warm and wet year-round
• Masses of green, extremely high productivity

(Photos of lowland rainforest in Costa Rica)
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Tropical Seasonal Forests

• Warm and wet, with a dry season
• Less productive than tropical moist forests

(Photos of forest in north Queensland, Australia)
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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)
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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)
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Aquatic Biomes?

• Inland fresh waters (lakes, rivers, and streams)
• Wetlands
• Estuaries
• Seas and oceans

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Inland Fresh Waters

• Why doesnt the biome concept work for inland
  fresh waters?

(Photos of lake and stream)
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Wetlands

• Upland areas that are saturated with water, at
  least periodically
• Many different types and classifications
• Why doesnt the biome concept work for wetlands?

(Photos of three wetlands)
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Estuaries

• Transitional areas between rivers and seas or
  oceans
• Water usually brackish

(Photos of mangrove swamp and salt marsh)
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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)
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Biodiversity

• Bio life diversi various
• What is it?
• Importance and benefits
• Threats
• Protection and preservation

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Types of Biodiversity

• Genetic
• Species
• Ecological or functional
• Plus many others ?

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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)
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Species Diversity

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

(Family portrait of different species of
mushrooms)
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Species Diversity

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

(Photos of lichen-covered rock and headstone)
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How many species are there?

• Some of these totals are gross underestimates ?
  which ones would you guess?
• Which are likely to be fairly accurate?

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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.

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Ecological Diversity

• The number of different functions being performed
  in an area or community

Text Fig. 3.22
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Ecological Diversity

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

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Biodiversity Hotspots

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

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Benefits of Biodiversity

• Many organisms are of direct benefit to humans
• However, biodiversity also has enormous indirect
  benefits

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Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services
Article from the journal Nature
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GLOBAL CHANGES
Population Dynamics
Ecosystem Functioning
Biological Diversity
HUMAN ACTIVITY
Landscape Dynamics
SUSTAINABLE SYSTEMS
Biodiversity acts as a buffer against
environmental change
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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)
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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

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Threats to Biodiversity

• Extinction

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Threats to Biodiversity

• Habitat destruction and fragmentation

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

• Hunting, fishing, specimen collecting

Text Fig. 5.29
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Threats to Biodiversity

• Introduced species

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

• Hunting and fishing laws

(Photos of signs for commercial mushroom buyer,
mushroom-picking permits required, and
no-picking forest products)
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Protection of Biodiversity
(Far Side cartoon wildlife preserves)
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Endangered Species Act

• Passed in 1973
• Listing of organisms in danger of extinction
  (endangered species) or in danger of becoming
  endangered (threatened species)

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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

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Endangered Species Act

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