Biology Mid-term notes:
Biosphere: includes all life on earth (bacteria underground, trees, rain forests,
fishes in the ocean, and humans), all parts of earth where life exists.
Ecology: The scientific study of interactions among organisms, populations, and
communities and their interactions with their environment.
Human economies depend on healthy ecological systems for essential needs such
as drinkable water and fertile soil.
Ecologists depend on three main approaches which are part of the scientific
methodology:
Observation: observation is the first step in asking ecological questions.
Experimentation: Experiments are designed to test the hypotheses, by gathering
data that support or reject the hypotheses.
Modeling: Ecologists often use make models to help them understand phenomena
such as climate changes over long periods of time on our planet. Useful models
make predictions that lead to development in the initial hypothesis.
Biotic Factors:
A biotic factor is any living or once-living component within an ecosystem that
influences it, such as plants, animals, and microorganisms
Abiotic Factors:
An abiotic factor is a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment.
Biotic and abiotic factors often mix in nature. For example, pond muck isn’t just
nonliving mud—it also has decaying plants, bacteria, and fungi. This shows that
living and nonliving factors interact and can’t be completely separated.
Give two examples of how Abiotic factors are influenced by biotic factors, and vice
versa.
1. Atmosphere
● Definition: The layer of air and gases around Earth.
● Examples: Oxygen, carbon dioxide, clouds, and weather.
Interactions:
1. With the hydrosphere – air causes evaporation and rain.
2. With the geosphere – wind and rain shape the land; volcanoes send gases
into the air.
3. With the biosphere – plants and animals use and produce gases like oxygen
and carbon dioxide.
2. Hydrosphere
● Definition: All the water on Earth in any form (liquid, ice, or vapor).
● Examples: Oceans, rivers, lakes, rain, glaciers.
Interactions:
1. With the atmosphere – water evaporates into the air and falls back as rain.
2. With the geosphere – water erodes rocks and shapes the land.
3. With the biosphere – all living things need water to survive.
3. Geosphere
● Definition: The solid part of Earth, including rocks, soil, and landforms.
● Examples: Mountains, volcanoes, and the Earth’s crust.
Interactions:
1. With the atmosphere – volcanoes release gases into the air.
2. With the hydrosphere – water breaks down rocks and moves soil.
3. With the biosphere – soil provides nutrients and a place for plants and
animals to live.
4. Biosphere
● Definition: All living things on Earth.
● Examples: Plants, animals, humans, and microorganisms.
Interactions:
1. With the atmosphere – living things breathe air and plants use carbon
dioxide.
2. With the hydrosphere – living things need water to live.
3. With the geosphere – living things grow in soil and can change the land (for
example, roots breaking rocks).
How They All Affect Each Other
● All four spheres are connected. A change in one can cause changes in the
others.
Example:
When a volcano erupts (geosphere), it releases gases into the air (atmosphere),
which can change the climate and affect plants and animals (biosphere), and ash
can fall into rivers and oceans (hydrosphere).
Weather
● The condition of the air at a certain place and time.
● Can change quickly from day to day.
● Includes temperature, rain or snow, wind, clouds, and humidity.
Example: It is sunny today but rainy tomorrow.
Climate
1. The average weather in a place over a long time (many years).
2. Describes what kind of weather is normal in that area.
Examples:
● Deserts have hot, dry climates.
● Rainforests have warm, wet climates.
● Polar regions have cold climates.
Main Difference
● Weather = short-term changes.
● Climate = long-term patterns.
Example: It may rain today (weather), but the area’s climate is still dry.
Global Climate System
● The global climate system is how the atmosphere, oceans, land, and living
things all work together to control Earth’s climate.
● The Sun is the main source of energy for the climate system.
● The oceans store and move heat around the Earth.
● The atmosphere spreads this heat and affects weather and wind.
● The land absorbs sunlight and gives off heat, and its shape (mountains,
forests, deserts) affects wind and rainfall.
● The biosphere (plants, animals, and people) also affects the climate by using
and releasing gases like carbon dioxide and oxygen.
● All these parts interact to keep Earth’s temperature and weather patterns
balanced.
Greenhouse Effect
● The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps Earth warm enough to
live on.
● The Sun’s energy reaches Earth — some is absorbed, and some bounces
back into space.
● Greenhouse gases in the atmosphere (like carbon dioxide, methane, and
water vapor) trap some of the heat, stopping it from escaping into space.
● This trapped heat keeps Earth’s surface warm.
● Without the greenhouse effect, Earth would be too cold for life.
● However, too many greenhouse gases (from cars, factories, and
deforestation) make the Earth too warm, causing global warming and
climate change.
● Places near the equator get more direct sunlight, so they have warmer
climates.
● Places near the poles get less direct sunlight, so they have colder
climates.
● The angle of the Sun’s rays changes with latitude — the higher the
latitude, the weaker the sunlight.
● Day length also changes with latitude — near the poles, there are very
long days in summer and very short days in winter.
Climate Zones:
(You don’t need to know the numbers)
Differential Heating
● The Sun heats different parts of Earth unevenly.
● The equator is hotter because it gets more direct sunlight.
● The poles are colder because sunlight is weaker.
This causes differences in air pressure, which makes air move.
Global Winds
● Global winds are large winds that move air around the Earth.
● They are caused by uneven heating and the Earth’s rotation.
● Main global winds:
○ Trade winds: near the equator, blow east to west.
○ Westerlies: in middle latitudes, blow west to east.
○ Polar easterlies: near the poles, blow east to west.
● Global winds move heat and moisture around the Earth, affecting
climate.
Ocean currents: shaped and driven by patterns of warming and cooling, by winds,
and by the location of the continent.
Regional Climate: Regional climates are shaped by latitude, by the transport of
heat and moisture by winds and ocean currents, and by geographic features such
as mountain ranges, large bodies of water, and ocean currents.
The effect of Coastal Mountains:
● Coastal mountains can block moist winds coming from the ocean.
● The windward side (facing the ocean) receives lots of rain because the air
rises, cools, and condenses.
● The leeward side (opposite side) gets very little rain and is often dry, creating
a rain shadow.
● This effect can make nearby areas have different climates even if they are
close together.
Changes in the climate:
Climate can change over long periods (hundreds or thousands of years) or short
periods (decades).
Nonhuman causes of climate change:
● Solar radiation
● Earths Spin (tilt and orbit)
● Meteorite impact
● Distribution of the continents and ocean (plate tectonics)
● Mountain Building
● Volcanism
Human causes of climate change:
● Burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas) releases greenhouse gases like CO₂.
● Deforestation reduces the number of trees that absorb CO₂.
● Industrial activities and agriculture release other greenhouse gases.
Mass extinction: when a large number of species die out in a relatively short period
of time. This can be caused by natural events like volcanic eruptions, asteroid
impacts, or climate changes, and also by human activities such as habitat
destruction and pollution.
Mass extinctions have happened five major times in Earth’s history.
Biomes are large ecological areas characterized by their distinct climate, vegetation,
and wildlife, which have adapted to specific environmental conditions.
Climate Diagram
Polar regions: Borders the tundra, and are cold year-round. Plants are few, though
some algae grow on snow and ice.
Marine Ecosystems
● Found in oceans and seas.
● Include coral reefs, open oceans, and deep-sea habitats.
● Home to fish, whales, plankton, and seaweed.
Photic and Aphotic Zones
1. Photic zone: Sunlit upper layer where plants can grow.
2. Aphotic zone: Dark deep layer where no sunlight reaches; animals rely on
food from above.
Freshwater Ecosystem
● Water with very little salt, found in rivers, lakes, and ponds.
● Rivers and Streams: Flowing freshwater that moves from higher to lower
land.
● Lakes and Ponds: Still freshwater bodies, with lakes usually larger and
deeper than ponds.
● Wetlands: Areas where land is covered or saturated with water, like marshes
and swamps.
Estuaries
Estuaries are places where rivers meet the sea, mixing freshwater and
saltwater.
● They are very productive ecosystems, full of nutrients.
● Many species breed and grow in estuaries, such as fish, crabs, and birds.
Primary producers: Organisms, like plants and algae, that make their own food
using sunlight through photosynthesis and form the base of the food chain.
Energy from the Sun is captured by plants and algae (primary producers) through
photosynthesis, and this energy forms the base of the food chain, providing energy
for herbivores, then carnivores, and all other organisms in the ecosystem.
Life can exist without sunlight in places like volcanic vents and the pitch-black
depths of the Pacific Ocean, where organisms rely on chemosynthesis instead of
photosynthesis. In chemosynthesis, bacteria use chemicals from the Earth, like
hydrogen sulfide, to produce energy, forming the base of a unique food chain that
supports worms, crabs, and other deep-sea creatures.
Consumers: organisms that cannot make their own food and get energy by eating
other organisms.
They include:
● herbivores (eat plants)
● carnivores (eat animals)
● omnivores (eat both plants and animals)
Scavengers :animals that eat dead animals, like vultures and hyenas.
Decomposers: organisms, like bacteria and fungi, that break down dead plants and
animals into nutrients.
Detritivores: animals that eat dead organic matter and break it into smaller pieces,
like earthworms and woodlice.
Decomposers and detritivores are important because they break down dead plants
and animals, returning nutrients to the soil or water. This recycles energy and
nutrients, allowing producers to grow, which keeps food chains and food webs
functioning. Without them, ecosystems would run out of nutrients and life could
not be sustained.
Food Webs and Food Chains:
● Food chain: A sequence showing who eats whom in an ecosystem, starting
from producers and moving to consumers.
● Food web: A network of interconnected food chains, showing how energy
and nutrients flow through an ecosystem.
● Phytoplankton: Tiny plant-like organisms in water that perform
photosynthesis and are the main primary producers in oceans and lakes.
● Zooplankton: Tiny animal-like organisms in water that eat phytoplankton
and are an important food source for larger animals.
Pyramid of Energy
Trophic levels are the steps in a food chain or food web, showing how energy
moves from one organism to another.
● Producers (plants, algae) are the first level.
● Primary consumers (herbivores) are the second level.
● Secondary consumers (carnivores that eat herbivores) are the third level.
● Tertiary consumers (top predators) are higher levels.
Energy pyramid shows the amount of energy available at each trophic level.
● Energy decreases as you move up the pyramid because some energy is lost as
heat at each level.
● This is why there are usually fewer top predators than producers in an
ecosystem.