Interest Grabber

Section 4-1

Local Conditions
How would you describe your climate, or the average, year-after-year
conditions of temperature and precipitation where you live? Does your area
receive a great deal of precipitationrain and snowor is your area very
dry?

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Section:

Interest Grabber continued

Section 4-1

1. When does the area in which you live experience the lowest temperatures? Does the
temperature ever get below freezing? If so, how often does this occur?
2. When does the area in which you live have the highest temperatures? About how high is
the highest temperature?
3. How often does it rain where you live? Is one season rainier than the others?
4. Does it ever snow where you live? If so, what is the heaviest snowfall you can remember?
5. What are two factors that may affect climate?

Go to
Section:

Section Outline
Section 4-1

41

The Role of Climate

A.
B.
C.
D.

Go to
Section:

What Is Climate?
The Greenhouse Effect
The Effect of Latitude on Climate
Heat Transport in the Biosphere

The Greenhouse Effect

Section 4-1

Sunlight

Some heat
escapes
into space
Greenhouse
gases trap
some heat
Atmosphere

Earths surface

Go to
Section:

Figures 4-1 and 4-2 Heating of the Earths Surface

and Some Factors That Affect Climate
Section 4-1

Greenhouse Effect

Different Latitudes
90N North Pole

Sunlight

Sunlight
Some heat
escapes
into space

Greenhouse
gases trap
some heat

Arctic circle

Sunlight

66.5N

Tropic of Cancer
Equator

Most direct sunlight

Tropic of Capricorn 23.5S

Sunlight

Atmosphere

Arctic circle

Sunlight

Earths surface

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Section:

23.5N

66.5S

90S South Pole

Interest Grabber
Section 4-2

Fitting In
Organisms not only live together in ecological communities, but they also
constantly interact with one another. These interactions, which include
predation and competition, help shape the ecosystem in which they live.
1. Based on your own experiences, define predation. Give one example
of predation.
2. Based on your own experiences, define competition. Give one example
of competition.

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Section:

Section Outline
Section 4-2

42

What Shapes an Ecosystem?

A. Biotic and Abiotic Factors
B. The Niche
C. Community Interactions
1. Competition
2. Predation
3. Symbiosis
D. Ecological Succession
1. Primary Succession
2. Secondary Succession
3. Succession in a Marine Ecosystem

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Section:

Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Section 4-2

Abiotic Factors
Biotic Factors

ECOSYSTEM

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Section:

Abiotic and Biotic Factors

Section 4-2

Abiotic Factors
Biotic Factors

ECOSYSTEM

Go to
Section:

Figure 4-5 Three Species of Warblers and

Their Niches

Section 4-2

Cape May Warbler

Feeds at the tips of branches
near the top of the tree
Bay-Breasted Warbler
Feeds in the middle
part of the tree
Spruce tree

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Section:

Yellow-Rumped Warbler
Feeds in the lower part of the tree and
at the bases of the middle branches

Interest Grabber
Section 4-3

Whos There?
If you have ever been to a zoo or a botanical garden, you may have
noticed that the signs that identify the animals or plants also identify the
part of the world where these organisms are found. Different kinds of
animals and plants are found in different parts of the world.

Go to
Section:

Interest Grabber continued

Section 4-3

1. Describe the climate where you live.

2. What types of plant and animal life are found in your area? Describe a few of the major
characteristics of these organisms.
3. Suppose that you had to move to an area with a climate that was very different from the
climate you now live in. How would the plant and animal life in this new area be different
from the plant and animal life where you live now?

Go to
Section:

Section Outline
Section 4-3

43

Biomes
A. Biomes and Climate
B. The Major Biomes
C. Other Land Areas
1. Mountain Ranges
2. Polar Ice Caps

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Section:

Compare/Contrast Table
Section 4-3

Ten Major Biomes

Biome

Precipitation

Temperature

Soil

Diversity

Trees

Grasses

Tropical Rain Forest

high

hot

poor

high

dense

sparse

Tropical Dry Forest

variable

mild

rich

moderate

medium

medium

Tropical Savanna
variable
Desert
low
Temperate Grassland moderate

mild
variable
summer hot

clay
poor
rich

moderate
moderate
moderate

sparse
sparse
absent

dense
sparse
dense

Temperate woodland
and Shrubland

summer low,
winter moderate

summer hot

poor

low

medium

medium

Temperate Forest

moderate

summer moderate, rich

winter cold

high

dense

sparse

Northwestern
Coniferous Forest

high

summer mild,
winter cold

rocky, acidic

low

dense

sparse

Boreal Forest

moderate

summer mild,
winter cool

poor, acidic

moderate

dense

sparse

Tundra

low

summer mild,
winter cold

poor

low

absent

medium

Go to
Section:

Figure 4-11 The Worlds Major Land Biomes

Section 4-3

Go to
Section:

Tropical rain forest

Temperate grassland

Temperate forest

Tundra

Tropical dry forest

Desert

Tropical savanna

Temperate woodland
and shrubland

Northwestern
coniferous forest

Mountains and
ice caps

Boreal forest
(Taiga)

Interest Grabber
Section 4-4

Ride the Waves

The marine ecosystem that is exposed to regular and extreme changes in
its surroundings is the intertidal zone. During high tide, the intertidal zone
is covered by sea water. During low tide, this area is exposed to air, sunlight,
and heat.

Go to
Section:

Interest Grabber continued

Section 4-4

1. What types of organisms would you expect to find living in the

intertidal zone?
2. What characteristics do you think these organisms have that enable them to live in this zone?
3. What effect do waves have on the intertidal zone?

Go to
Section:

Section Outline
Section 4-4

44

Aquatic Ecosystems
A. Freshwater Ecosystems
1. Flowing-Water Ecosystems
2. Standing-Water Ecosystems
3. Freshwater Wetlands
B. Estuaries
C. Marine Ecosystems
1. Intertidal Zone
2. Coastal Ocean
3. Coral Reefs
4. Open Ocean
5. Benthic Zone

Go to
Section:

Freshwater Pond Ecosystem

Section 4-4
Spoonbill

The shore is lined with grasses

that provide shelter and nesting
places for birds and other
organisms.

Frogs lay eggs in the shallow

water near shore.The eggs
hatch in the water as tadpoles
and move to the land as adults.

Frog

Duck
Water
lilies

Mosquito Duckweed
larvae

Dragonfly

Snail
The roots of water lilies
Pickerel
cling to the pond bottom,
Diving
while their leaves, on long
Fish
share
the
pond
beetle
flexible stems, float on the
with turtles and other
surface.
animals. Many of
them feed on insects
at the waters edge.
Trout
The bottom of the pond is
inhabited by decomposers and
Hydra
other organisms that feed on
particles drifting down from the
Snail Crayfish
surface.

Go to
Section:

Phytoplankton

Plankton and the organisms that

feed on them live near the surface
where there is enough sunlight for
photosynthesis. Microscopic algae
are among the most important
producers.

Benthic
crustaceans

Figure 4-17 Zones of a Marine Ecosystem

Section 4-4

land
Coastal
ocean
Open
ocean

200m
1000m

Photic zone

4000m

Aphotic zone

6000m

Ocean
trench 10,000m
Continental
shelf

Go to
Section:

Continental slope and

continental rise

Abyssal
plain

Videos

Click a hyperlink to choose a video.

Earths Many Biomes, Part 1
Earths Many Biomes, Part 2

Video 1

Earths Many Biomes, Part 1

Click the image to play the video segment.

Video 2

Earths Many Biomes, Part 2

Click the image to play the video segment.

Go Online

Career links on forestry technicians

Interactive test
For links on climate and the greenhouse effect, go to www.SciLinks.org
and enter the Web Code as follows: cbn-2041.
For links on biomes, go to www.SciLinks.org and enter the Web Code
as follows: cbn-2043.
For links on aquatic ecosystems, go to www.SciLinks.org and enter the
Web Code as follows: cbn-2044.

Interest Grabber Answers

1. When does the area in which you live experience the lowest temperatures? Does the
temperature ever get below freezing? If so, how often does this occur?
2. When does the area in which you live have the highest temperatures? About how high is
the highest temperature?
3. How often does it rain where you live? Is one season rainier than the others?
4. Does it ever snow where you live? If so, what is the heaviest snowfall you can remember?
Question 14:Answers will vary depending on local conditions. If students have lived in a
different part of the country, you may wish to have them contrast the climate in that area
with the local climate.
5. What are two factors that may affect climate?
Possible answers: latitude, wind, ocean currents, shape
and elevation of land masses

Interest Grabber Answers

1. Based on your own experiences, define predation. Give one example of

predation.
Predation is an interaction in which one organism captures and feeds on
another organism. Some examples of predation: a hawk captures and
feeds on a rabbit; a cat captures and feeds on a mouse.
2. Based on your own experiences, define competition. Give one example of
competition.
Competition occurs when organisms of the same or different species
attempt to use an ecological resource in the same place at the same time.
Some examples of competition: crop plants and weeds compete for food,
water, and sunlight; wolves and foxes compete for the same food (rabbits).

Interest Grabber Answers

1. Describe the climate where you live.

2. What types of plant and animal life are found in your area? Describe a few of
the major characteristics of these organisms.
Questions 12: Answers will vary depending on the part of the country in which
students live.
3. Suppose that you had to move to an area with a climate that was very different
from the climate you now live in. How would the plant and animal life in this
new area be different from the plant and animal life where you live now?
Sample answer: If the new climate were much colder, animals would probably
have thicker fur. Plants would have shorter growing seasons and would
produce seeds that could withstand the cold.

Interest Grabber Answers

1. What types of organisms would you expect to find living in the

intertidal zone?
Students may say that plants and animals would be small.
2. What characteristics do you think these organisms have that enable them to live in
this zone?
Possible answer: Plants would have thick outer layers to resist drying during low tide.
Animals would be able to burrow into the sand or have coverings that could hold in
water.
3. What effect do waves have on the intertidal zone?
Waves pound living things, causing them to bounce around, unless they have some
means of staying attached to the sand or rocks on
the bottom.

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