Interaction of abiotic and biotic factors within an ecosystem (All our pages are from the Bc textbook that

you
gave us through USB)
Chapter 1.1: Biomes
Every environment, such as a rainforest, has living (biotic) and non-living (abiotic) components. Biotic components are the living
organisms in an environment.
-Venn diagram of the abiotic factors and biotic factors

The biosphereconsists of biomesandeach

biome contains many ecosystems. An ecosystem

contains habitats in which abiotic factors and biotic
factorslive.

Temperatureandprecipitation
Temperature and precipitation (including rainfall,
snow, mist, and fog) are two of the most important
abiotic factors that influence the characteristics of
biomes.

Latitude
Latitude is another abiotic factor that can influence the characteristics and
distributionofbiomesbecauseitaffectstemperatureandprecipitation.
Latitudeisthedistancemeasuredindegreesnorthorsouthfromtheequator.
Theequatorreceives12 hoursofsunlighteachdayyearroundand
experienceslittleannualfluctuationintemperature.

Elevation
Elevation is the height of a
landmassabovesealevel.

Temperature changes occur because the atmospherebecomesthinner

athigherelevations,andathinneratmosphereretainslessheat.

atmosphere becomes thinner at higher elevations, and a thinner

atmosphereretainslessheat.

Climate

Climate istheaverage patternof weather conditionsthatoccurin a region,whichareobserved

andrecordedoveraperiodofyears.

Climatograph is a graph of climatedatafor a specificregion andisgeneratedfrom

datausuallyobtainedover30yearsfromlocalweatherobservationstations.

AdaptationsandBiomes

Adaptationsarecharacteristicsthatenableorganismstobettersurviveandreproduce.

Thereare3typesofadaptationsstructural,physiological,andbehavioral.


structuraladaptation
:aphysicalfeatureofanorganisms
bodyhavingaspecificfunctionthatcontributestothesurvivaloftheorganism.
Forexample,pinetreesareconeshapedthereforeshedsnoweasily.

physiologicaladaptation
isaphysicalorchemicalevent
thatoccurswithinthebodyofanorganismthatenablessurvival.
Forexample,wolvescanmaintainaconstantbodytemperature
regardlessofweatherconditions

behaviouraladaptation
referstowhatanorganismdoestosurvive
intheuniqueconditionsofitsenvironment.
Forexample,theburrowingowl(whichisalsoapredator)buildsits
nestinabandonedprairiedogburrowsingrasslandareas.

Chapter 2: Energy flow and nutrient cycles support life in ecosystems.

2.1 in the Bc Science 10 textbook Pg.56
-

In an ecosystem, the energy flows from the producers to primary consumers, and to

secondary and tertiary consumers.

-

This process of energy flow is well explained in the food web and food chain.

Each step in the food chain is called the t

rophic level
. As mentioned it includes 4

categories of producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers.

-

As shown in the diagram on the left, the energy is transferred from the plants to

stronger animals. When this process reaches the top of the food chain and the tertiary
consumers die, the process of
biodegradation
happens. The b
iodegradation
is when the
decomposers
change wastes and dead organisms into usable nutrients.
-

Therefore, this process of the food chain and biodegradation keeps the

energy flow going again and again.

-

The diagram on the left shows the rate of transfer from each trophic level

to the next. As you can see only small amount of energy is transferred to next
trophic level.
-

The table gives a numerical value of how much energy is being

transferred to the next trophic level(About 10% is transferred to the next level).
-

The energy flow table directly shows why there are less organisms as

trophic level increase.

Trophic level

Amount of energy being

transferred

Producers

100%

Herbivores

10%

Carnivores

1%

Top Carnivores

0.1%

2.2 Nutrient cycles in ecosystem (page 71)

-

Nutrients are a required source of energy that is required for the growth of plants and animals.

The biotic processes such as decomposition and abiotic processes such as river run-off leads to the flow and storing of
nutrients. And this continuous flowing and storing is called the nutrient cycles.

Types of Nutrient Cycle

Carbon cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Phosphorus Cycle

How are the nutrients stored?

In short term, Carbons are

usually found in vegetation
on land, in plants in oceans,
in land based and marine
animals, and in decaying
organic matter in soil. In long
term, they are found in
intermediate and deep ocean
waters as dissolved carbon
dioxide.

The largest store of nitrogen

is the atmosphere, where it
exists as an N2 gas. Some
other major stores include
oceans and organic matter in
soil. Moreover, the terrestrial
ecosystems, living organisms,
lakes, and marshes, also store
nitrogen, but not as much as
atmosphere and ocean.

Phosphorus is always found

in the form of compound
such as PO4, HPO4, and
H2PO4.The phosphorus is
mostly find in rocks. Unlike
from Carbon and Nitrogen
cycle,the phosphorus is not
stored in the atmosphere as a
gas.

How are they cycled?

Some process like

photosynthesis, respiration,
decomposition, ocean
processes, and events such as
volcanic eruptions are some
ways that carbon is cycled.

The process of nitrogen

getting returned to the
atmosphere is called
denitrification. This process
denitrifies the nitrogen and
then the cycle begins again
from the start.

The phosphorus is usually

cycled the the weathering.
The process of raining and
the wind, breaks down rock
into smaller fragments which
makes the phosphorus to
break down and be cycled.

2.3 Effects of Bioaccumulation on Ecosystems. (page 92) Section 2.3 of the worksheet is also very helpful
What is
Bioaccumulation
? The process of pollutants being transferred along the food chain until they reach the highest trophic
level.
In the process of
bioaccumulation
the pollutants not only accumulate, but they actually become more concentrated at each
trophic level. This process of being concentrated is called the
biomagnification.
-

Throughout the time, the human activity had

resulted in creating new disturbances. The new

disturbances that have been introduced, easily accumulate
through the process of bioaccumulation.

One example in real life was the great effect of PCB to the Orca during the 1930s to the 1970s.

Types of toxic chemicals

Description

Heavy Metals

Metallic elements with high density that are toxic to organisms at low
concentrations. The heavy metals cannot be destroyed or degraded.
Lead(PB), Cadmium(Cd), and Mercury (HG)

Lead

Naturally present in all soils. Currently the level of lead had increased
significantly due to human activities. Consumer electronics waste makes
up 40 percent of the lead found in landfills. Lead is extremely toxic it not
considered safe at any level.

Cadmium

Found in Earths crust and is released into environment through rock

weathering volcanoes, and forest fires. Large amount of Cadmium is
released through manufacture of plastics and batteries. To humans
cadmium poisoning is smoking.

Mercury

Every year, about 6000 tonnes of mercury are released through

volcanoes, geothermal springs, and rock weathering. In the last century,
the annual amount has doubled through the burning of fossil fuels.
Organisms are also exposed to mercury through the food chain.

The picture on the left explains the process of

bioaccumulation and biomagnification. The bioaccumulation

happens in the food chain, as a trophic level change, there
are more and more harmful pollutants being applied to the
higher trophic level organisms.
-

As we the people are still in

the time period where the

manufacturing business is largely
improving, the amount of toxic
chemical will continue to increase.
-

The increase in the toxic

chemical has the potential to bring both us human and the animals to extinct.
As the toxic chemicals magnifies as they go up in trophic level, the organisms
from the higher trophic level will die and soon the organisms in the lower
trophic level as well.

Chapter 3
Ecosystemscontinuallychangeovertime

3.1
HowchangesoccurnaturallyinEcosystems?(page108)
Livingorganismschangeastheabioticandbioticcomponentsintheirenvironment
change.

(page109)
NaturalSelection:Theprocessthatmakeschangepossibleinlivingthings

Innaturalselection,membersofaspecieshavingcertaincharacteristicsthatgivethemanadvantageoverothermembersofthat
specieswillbeinbetterconditiontomate.Forexample,Galapagosfinches.

Adaptiveradiation:Scientistsusethetermadaptiveradiationtodescribethechangefromacommonancestor.Forexample,cichlid
fishofLakeVictoriainAfrica.

(page111)
HowEcosystemschangeovertime?
Thetypesofspeciesthatliveinanecosystemchangeasabioticfactorschange.

EcologicalSuccession:Torefertochangesthattakeplaceovertimeinthetypesoforganismsthatliveinanarea.

TwotypesofEcologicalSuccession
Primarysuccession

Secondarysuccession

Primarysuccessiononlyoccursinanareawithnosoils,such
asrock.Theweatheringcausedbylichensandbyprocesses
suchaswind,rain,andfreezingbegintheformationofsoil.
Furthermore,asdeadlichensdecay,theyalsoaddnutrientsto
thesoil.However,ittakeshundredsofyearsinsomeareas.

Secondarysuccessionoccursasaresultofadisturbanceto
anareathatalreadyhassoilbecausetheareashadvarious
typesofabioticandbioticfactorsintheirareas,theycontained
alotofnutrients.Secondarysuccessionalsooccursfaster
thanprimarysuccessionbecausesoilwereexist.

Pioneerspecies:Speciesthatareadaptedtogrowinthisharshandoftennutrientpoorconditions.Pioneer
speciesareinprimarysuccession.
Maturecommunities(Climaxcommunity):Theprocessofprimarysuccessionleadstothedevelopmentofa
maturecommunity.Aclimaxcommunitymayappearunchanged,buttherearealwayschangesoccurringbecauseofsmall
disturbances.

HowNaturalEventsAffectEcosystems?(page114)
Largedisturbancessuchasflooding,drought,tsunamis,andinsectinfectionsaffectmaturecommunities.

Flooding:Waterexceedstheabilityofthewaterbodytocontainit.
Tsunamis:Tsunamiisthetermusedtodescribeahuge,rapidlymovingoceanwave.
Drought:Droughtusuallyoccurswhenthereisabelowaverageamountofprecipitationinanareaoveraperiodofmany
monthsoryears.
Insectinfestations:Ifmanyinsectsattack,orifthetreeisstressedfromovercrowding,drought,orgrazingbyanimals,
resinflowisreduced.

3.2
Overthepast100years,becauseofincreasedhumanexpansionintonaturalecosystems,manywetlandsthattook
thousandsofyearstoformhavebeentransformedintoparkinglots,subdivisions,garbagedumps,agriculturalland,andshopping
malls.(Exampleabouthumansinfluence).Furthermore,therearebadexamplesofdestroyinglandssuchas, inthelowerFraser
ValleyandpartsofVancouverIsland,itisestimatedthat50to70percentoftheoriginalwetlandhabitathasdisappeared.

Sustainability:Abilityofanecosystemtosustainecologicalprocesses.(page125)

Question#1
Findtherightexamplethatcontainssustainabilityconcept.
1. Afterwaterfloodingitlandwasgone.

2. Afterthefire,grassandtreesstarttogrowup.
Answeris1becauselandisgoingsustainingecologicalprocessesofgoingback.

HabitatLoss(page126)
LandUse
ResourceUse
Deforestation
Agriculture
ResourceExploitation
LanduseandResourceusearemainreasonsforHabitatLoss,whichusuallyresultsfromhumanactivities.

3.3
HowIntroducedSpeciesAffectEcosystems?

TheImpactofIntroducedInvasivespecies(page139)

Competition

Predation

Diseaseandparasites

Habitatalteration

Invadersdisturbthisbalance
bysharingresources.
Forexample,invasivecarpet
burweedhasspread
dramaticallysinceitwas
discoveredtherein1997and
theburweedcompeteswith
fourrarenativeplantsfor
habitats.

Introducedpredatorscan
havemoreimpactonaprey
populationthannative
predators

Aninvasionofparasitesor
diseasecausingvirusesand
bacteriacanweakenthe
immuneresponsesofan
ecosystemsnativeplants
andanimals,including
humans.

Introducedinvasivespecies
canmakeanaturalhabitat
unsuitablefornativespecies
bychangingitsstructureor
composition.