This document provides an overview of biosphere concepts including: 1. The biosphere consists of all areas on Earth where living organisms are found and it includes biotic and abiotic factors that interact within ecosystems. 2. Ecosystems can be organized into different levels including biomes, ecosystems, habitats, species populations, communities, and trophic levels. 3. Energy and matter cycle through the biosphere via processes like photosynthesis, respiration, decomposition, and nutrient cycles. 4. Populations and communities are dynamic and respond to changes in their environment through processes like succession, competition, predation, and carrying capacity.

1. BIOSPHERE
ppt. by Robin D. Seamon

2. It’s all connected! Changes in one affects the other:

3. Biosphere- zone on Earth where all organisms are
found
• biotic factors: components of an ecosystem
that are (or were part of) living organisms
other animals, plants, bacteria, dead leaves,
rotting log
• abiotic factors: non-living parts of an
ecosystem that affect it
sunlight, temperature, water, weather, rocks

4. O R G A N I Z A T I O N: P L A C E
1. Biome- area of Earth classified according to the
plants & animals that can live there
(temperature, soil, light, water)
• biomes change as climate changes
1. Ecosystem- areas where living & nonliving things
interact
3. Habitat- parts of ecosystems; place where
organism lives
• Supplies all biotic & abiotic factors organism
needs: air, water, warmth, food
• Different organisms need different habitats
4

5. L E V E L S :
LEVEL 1: Species- group of organisms that can breed
to produce fertile offspring
EXAMPLES:
Acer rubrum Procyon lotor
(Red Maple) (Raccoon) 5

6. LEVEL 2: Population- all organisms of a species
that live in same place at the same time
• Members compete for resources
EXAMPLE:
White-tailed deer living in a wooded area; eat
twigs, leaves, grasses;
-when vegetation is low, population may gets
smaller;
-when vegetation is high,
population may grow
6

7. LEVEL 3: Community- made up of all populations
that live in an area at the same time
EXAMPLE: stream community may include brook
trout, crayfish, spotted salamander, red squirrel,
barred owl, river birch
7

8. LEVEL 4: Ecosystem- made up of one or more
communities and their nonliving environment;
biotic factors, abiotic factors
• Terrestrial- on land (forests, deserts,
grasslands)
• Freshwater- river, streams, lakes, wetlands
• Marine- oceans, salt-water
8

9. 9
VIDEO Ecosystem Ecology: Links in a
Chain Crash Course: 10 min

10. N C ‘ s E C O S Y S T E M S
-coast - mountain -urban
-estuary -freshwater
-temperate deciduous forest

11. NC Coastal Ecosystem

12. NC Estuary Ecosystems
VIDEO: Estuaries: Where salt water meets the seas (2 min)

13. NC Freshwater Ecosystems
NC Mountains
NC Piedmont
Eastern NC

14. NC Temperate Deciduous Ecosystem
Temperate: hot/cold seasons
Deciduous: leaves shed in the
Autumn

15. NC Grassland/Savanna Ecosystem

16. NC Urban Ecosystem

17. ENERGY &
BIODIVERSITY

18. E N E R G Y C Y C L E S
Energy cycles through the spheres.

19. E N E R G Y T R A N S F E R
The Sun's Energy moves throughout Earth's
systems…
Thermal radiation: the means of energy transfer
between the Sun and the Earth as heat & light
Chemical energy: autotrophs use solar energy to
begin the process of chemical energy transfer
throughout the biosphere via photosynthesis
19

20. 20
autotroph organism that produces its own
food/sugar to live
EXAMPLES: cyanobacteria & plants in the presence
of sunlight; bacteria at hot vents on ocean floor
1. photosynthesis- process by which organisms
(plants & cyanobacteria) use sunlight to
synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water
2. chemosynthesis- use energy derived from
reactions involving inorganic chemicals, typically
in the absence of sunlight

21. 21

22. 22
heterotroph organism that must consume food
for the energy it needs to live
EXAMPLES: animals, fungi, zooplankton

23. C Y C L I N G O F
E N E R G Y
• Food chain- flow of
energy from one
organism to another
as they are eaten
• Food web- diagram
showing the possible
flow of energy in an
ecosystem; multiple
possibilities of flow
23

24. http://mcdowellscienceexam.weebly.com/ecology.html
24
VIDEO: A guide to the energy of the Earth (4:45 min)

25. Primary producer-
plant or bacteria
Primary consumer-
herbivore
Secondary consumer-
carnivore
Tertiary consumer-
Quaternary consumer
T R O P H I C L E V E L S :
25

26. ~ Energy is used by
the organism below
it on the pyramid.
~ 10% of Energy is
passed to the next
organism
Decomposers return molecules
to soil and atmosphere 26

27. 27VIDEO: Dead Stuff: Secret Ingredient (5 min)

28. M A T T E R C Y C L E S
Matter cycles through the spheres.
Matter becomes recycled through the processes
of metabolism and death
• Water Cycle
• Carbon Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle
• Phosphorus Cycle

29. WATER CYCLE

30. C Y C L E S
Carbon cycle- cycling of the element C throughout
the biosphere, lithosphere, atmosphere, and
hydrosphere using the following processes:
• Photosynthesis- autotrophs use sunlight to
convert water and carbon dioxide into glucose
• Cellular respiration- all cells use this process of
converting glucose into usable energy ATP
• Decomposition- breaking down of organic
matter back into smaller elements/molecules
• Combustion- burning of organic matter, creating
a chemical reaction producing heat 30

31. photosynthesis, cellular respiration, decomposition, combustion
31VIDEO: The Carbon Cycle (3 min)

32. C Y C L E S
Nitrogen Cycle- cycling of the element N
throughout the biosphere, lithosphere,
atmosphere, and hydrosphere using the following
processes:
• Nitrogen fixation- process by which bacteria
convert atmospheric N into a usable form for
plants to uptake; lightning strikes can also do it
• Denitrification- process by which bacteria
convert N into atmospheric N2
32

33. Nitrogen fixation, Nitrification, Assimilation
Ammonification, Denitrification
33

34. C Y C L E S
Phosphorus Cycle- cycling of the element P
throughout the biosphere, lithosphere,
atmosphere, and hydrosphere through
assimilation of it by plants from the soil,
throughout the energy web, and decomposition
into the lithosphere again
34

35. plant assimilation
energy web transfer
decomposition
35
VIDEO Crash Course:
Nitrogen & Phosphorus (9
min)

36. Biotic accumulation/
Biotic magnification-
increasing
concentration of a
substance, such as a
toxic chemical, in the
tissues of tolerant
organisms at
successively higher
levels in a food
chain.
36

37. MERCURY IN FISH
• Coal burning and mining of iron, can
contaminate water sources
• mercury levels increase through predation
with each order of the energy pyramid
• We eat fish!!!
VIDEO: How does
Mercury get into
fish? (3:22)

38. POPULATIONS

39. R E S P O N D I N G T O C H A N G E
Environments change, therefore
populations change:
US Endangered Species Act (1973) defines:
endangered- a species in danger of extinction
throughout all or significant portions of its range
threatened- a species likely to become endangered
within the forseeable future
extinction- termination of a species; there are no
more
39

40. R E S P O N D I N G T O C H A N G E
There are constant fluctuations in environment
(light, temperature, moisture, pH, salinity,)
How do organisms avoid death or extinction of
species?
1. Adaptation- genetic change in species or
population that occurs over many generations
OR
2. Acclimation- occurs within the lifetime of the
individual; not heritable
40VIDEO: Crash Course: Ecological Succession Change is Good (10 min)

41. P O P U L A T I O N S
carrying capacity- the number of organisms an
area can support without environmental
degradation
Restricted growth
• low food supply
• lack of space
Unrestricted growth- how a population grows
when there is unlimited resources

42. Competition- occurs when organisms in an
ecosystem try to get the same resources
Intraspecific- between
members of same
species
Male cardinals
compete for females
and territory
42

43. Interspecific- between
members of different
species
rabbit and deer
compete for the same
resources
43

44. Predation- relationship in which one animal
hunts, kills, and eats another
Coyote: predator
Duck: prey
44

45. Population density- number of organisms in an
area divided by the amount of area
1. Death/birth rate
- used to help calculate population size
2. Migration is the movement of individuals of a
species from one place to another
• Immigration- influx of individuals into an area
• Emigration- exit of individuals from one region
to another

46. Exponential Curve-
(J-curve) occurs when there is
no limit to population size
Logistic Curve-
(S-curve) occurs when there is a
limiting factor to population
growth
unrestricted
growth
restricted
growth

47. Human population
• Modern humans have lived on Earth for
about 200,000 years.
• The earliest human populations were
nomadic hunter/gather populations of no
more than 15,000 people
• About 9,000 years ago: agriculture settled
populations; longer lives & more kids
• 1800 CE population was about 1 billion
• Today: about 7 billion people
How have humans affected the biosphere?
VIDEO: Crash Course Ecology #10 (10 min)
VIDEO: Overpopulation (6:39 min)

49. BIODIVERSITY

50. T Y P E S O F B I O D I V E R S I T Y
species diversity- number of different species in
an area
ecosystem diversity- variety of habitats,
communities, ,and ecological processes within and
between ecosystems
genetic diversity- all the different genes contained
within all members of a population

51. Keystone species- a species that is critical to the
functioning of an environment
EXAMPLE: Otter
• eat sea urchins; sea
urchins eat kelp
• the loss of the sea otter
population led to loss of
kelp beds along the US
Pacific coast
• recovery of sea otters
led to recovery of kelp
populations

52. Why is biodiversity important?
• healthy ecosystems have healthy species
• keystone species are critical
• genetic diversity increases the chances that
some members o a species will survive an
environmental change
• small, isolated populations less likely to
survive big changes
• we use organisms for food, clothing, medicine
• undiscovered & unstudied species ae a source
of potential products

53. BIODIVERSITY HOTSPOTS
hotspots- most threatened areas of high species
diversity
• have high numbers of native species, but are
threatened by human activities
• most hotspots have lost 70% of their original
plants (tropical rainforests, coastal estuaries,
islands)
• In Madagascar, only 18% of the original forests
remain

55. Sustainability - avoidance of the depletion of
natural resources in order to maintain an
ecological balance.
LABsheet: Why is it important?

56. BIODIVERSITY & HUMAN IMPACTS
Air pollution
acid rain- rainfall made acidic
due to industrial burning
of coal/fossil fuels
global warming- gradual increase
in global temperature
causing melting of ice caps
& rising sea levels, & more
ozone hole- depletion of the
atmospheric layer that
protects from UV rays: from industrial
burning
Labsheet:
HOW does this
affect
biodiversity?
How does this
alter the
population
balance?
Sustainable
practice?
VIDEO: Climate Change… Tetras (3 min)

57. BIODIVERSITY & HUMAN IMPACTS
Water pollution
eutrophication- runoff from farms
adds fertilizer to waters; HABs
pesticide run-off-
poisons aquatic ecosystems
urbanization- clearing of land: loss of
habitat; deforestation increase;
more pollutants; plastics
deforestation- causes muddy
run-off; warms waters, stops
photosynthesis
groundwater contamination
thermal- Power Plants & deforestation warm
waters; lowers DO content
Labsheet:
HOW does this
affect
biodiversity?
How does this
alter the
population
balance?
Sustainable
practice?
VIDEO: Disappearing Frogs (4 min)
VIDEO: What really happens to the
plastic you throw away (4 min)

58. BIODIVERSITY & HUMAN IMPACTS
Habitat Degradation
Urbanization
-Noise Pollution
-Light Pollution
-Habitat defragmentation
-Introduced/native species
-Farming practices: soil leaching,
contour farming, monoculture
Labsheet:
HOW does this
affect
biodiversity?
How does this
alter the
population
balance?
Sustainable
practice?
VIDEO: From the top of the food chain down; Rewilding our
world (5 min)
VIDEO Invasive Species (5 min
VIDEO: Urbanization & the future of cities (4 min)
VIDEO: Habitat Loss (2 min)

59. Conservation: protecting and maintaining; not
wasting
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle
Captive Breeding Programs- breeding animals in
captivity with the hope of reintroducing them to
their natural habitats
EXAMPLE: California Condor
• By 1987 habitat loss, poaching, & lead
poisoning killed almost every condor; 121
were released into the wild; 2008

60. Preserving Genetic Material
germ banks- store seeds (or other genetic
material) for future use in research or species
recovery efforts
EXAMPLE:
seed bank in Norway
2008

61. Preserving habitats & ecosystems
to save a species, save its habitat
• conservationists are starting to prioritize
protecting large areas of land rather than
specific species
• by doing this we may
be able to save most
of the species in the
ecosystem not just
one species we’ve
focused on

62. Laws
• US Laws are strongest in the world;
regulations
• Endangered Species Act 1973- protects
organisms in danger of extinction
• anyone who harms, buys, sells any part of the
species are subject to fine
• prevents the government from carrying out
projects that may harm listed species
• a species recovery plan is listed with each
endangered species

63. Biodiversity Treaty
UN Conference on Environment & Development
(Earth Summit)
• established the goal of preserving biodiversity
& fair use of genetic resources in all countries

64. INTERNATIONAL EFFORT
• 41,415 species on the IUCN (International
Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List,
and 16,306 of them are endangered species
threatened with extinction as of 2018
• 200 governmental agencies & 700 private
conservation groups
• CITES- Convention of International Trades in
Endangered Species: helped stop slaughter of
African elephants (poaching for tusks)