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(Plants (week 12)) - Coggle Diagram
Plants (week 12)
Principles of Ecology
Factors
Biotic
(living)
different species and interactions
resources (necessary for survival, reduced when used)
Abiotic
(non-living)
climate (temperature, precipitation, sunlight)
geochemistry (soil, salinity, nutrients, pH)
determine types of ecosystems that are possible (i.e. based on rain, nutrient availability)
species distributions
dispersal
natural range expansion and adaptive radiation
anthropogenic (caused by humans) e.g. species transplant
biotic
presence of other species e.g. predators, herbivores
abiotic
temperature, fire, water, oxygen, salinity, sunlight, rocks, soil
Types of species interaction
Antagonistic (+/-)
predation
(predator kills/eats prey)
herbivory
(herbivore eats parts of plant/alga)
Parasitism
(parasite gains nourishment form host, which is harmed in process e.g. wasp laying eggs)
Mutualistic (+/+)
beneficial to both organisms (N-fixing bacteria and plant root, cellulose digestion in termite gut, photosynthetic algae in coral)
Competitive (-/-)
different species compete for resources that limit survival
Amensalism (0/-)
no effect on initiator, negative effect on recipient
Commensalism (+/0)
positive effect on initiator, no effect on recipient
Energy flow
all energy comes from sunlight (photosynthesis)
deforestation reduces planetary assimilation of energy
production efficiency
energy lost with each step of food chain
Biomes
Terrestrial
(mostly determined by
rainfall
and
temp
)
high rainfall (forest)
tropical rainforest
(always hot, high rain)
tropical dry forest
(always hot, season high rain)
temperate forest
(variable temp, seasonal high rain)
northern coniferous forest
(cold, season high rain)
moderate rainfall (grassland)
savanna
(always warm, season mod. rain)
chaparral/shrubland
(vary temp, season mod rain)
temperate grassland
(vary temp, season rain)
tundra
(cold, season rain)
low rainfall (desert)
Aquatic
(mostly determined by
salinity
-fresh v marine,
light
(photic zone at top, aphotic zone below),
water
(pelagic zone)/
sediment
(benthic zone)
brackish
estuaries
saltwater
intertidal zones
ocean pelagic zone
coral reefs
marine benthic zone
freshwater
lakes
wetlands
streams and rivers
biosphere
global ecosystem
Factors which determine biome
Climate
precipitation
sunlight
wind
temperature
Global air circulation
intense solar radiation at equator creates air circulation cells (wet at 0 and 60 degrees, dry at 30 and 90 degrees)
axial tilt
seasons
wind
ocena currents
geography
rainfall
Ecology
Definition: study of how organisms interact with members of same species (population ecology), members of different species (community ecology) and with their environment
Hierarchy
1. Individual
(organism born, grows, dies)
2. Population
(group of organisms in same species in same area)
3, Community
(different populations of species living in same area, may/may not interact)
4. Ecosystem
(combination of community of species (biotic) and abiotic environment
Human Impact
Direct
habitat degradation
deforestation, soil erosion, desertification
due to agriculture, industry, construction e.g. Murray-Darlin Basin
species transplatt
introduction of invasive species
e.g. cane toad, rabbit, fox, camel, myna, mosquitofish, trout, black-striped mussel, weeds in Aus
over-harvesting
e.g. fishing
Indirect
pollution
toxic antropogenic polutants
e.g pesticides (intentional)
e.g. PCBs, dioxins, heavy metals etc. (unintentional)
gross pollutants
plastics (leach toxic compounds into ocean gyres, slow break down, animal ingestion, toxic pills-bioaccumulators)
disruption of geochemical element cycles
N, P, C
Nitrogen
nitrogen is limiting nutrient for plant growth
intensive use of N in form of ammonia in fertilisers increase reactive nitrogen
eutrophication
1 more item...
Carbon
carbon removed from reservoirs and released into atmosphere (deforestation, fossil fuel burning)
destruction of forest habitats
increased CO2 in atmosphere
changing relative abundancy
Climate Change
Consequences
melting ice caps and glaciers
sea level rise
increase heat in atmosphere
more energy
more intense weather events
shifting biomes
must adapt to change
ocean acidification
More CO2 in water, more H+ ions
big impact on survival of shell forming organisms and marine animals that regulate pH
Causes
human activities (fossil fuel, industry, agriculture)
release GHG (CO2, CH4, N2O), increasing GH effect
global rise in temperature, ocean acdification
Implications on human population growth
temperature predictions- 1/5th of humanity will be at risk by 2100 - deadly humidity levels that human body cannot handle
exponential growth over past centuries (aided by technology and medicine in industrial revolution, plagues, wars etc. only minimally influenced)
estimated to top 8 bill. by 2025 or sooner
growth rate (r) = birth rate - death rate
if b > d, r increases
if r < d, r decreases
growth is not sustainable
Thomas MaltusPaul Ehrlich
population limited by food availability
limited by food shortages, irreparable environmental damage
carrying capacity (K)
capacity of environment to sustain a population indefinitely without destroying that environment (logistic model)
collapse of civilisations
more humans=more environmental damage (pollution, habitat destruction, GHG)
2 main factors that predict sustainability/collapse of societies
ecological strain
depletion of natural resources, climate change
social strain
external (hostile neighbours/ trade partners)
internal (social inequalities)
Gini coefficient/index
measure of wealth inequality
0= perfect equality
100= max. inequality
Steps to avoid civilisation collapse
(address social and environmental issues)
reduce social inequalities
tackle climate change now
reconnect humans with nature (growing urbanisation)
manage human development to minimise/eliminate negative environmental impact
leadership