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Environmental Science Review: Biomes, Population Dynamics, and Evolution, Cheat Sheet of Environmental science

Environmental science

A note about Biomes and Earth Science related.

Typology: Cheat Sheet

2014/2015

Available from 04/18/2022

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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE|REVIEWER
BIOMES
An ecosystem consists of a community of organisms living together and interacting with the
nonliving components.
An ecosystem consists of two main components: the biotic and abiotic components.
The biotic component is the living component of an ecosystem. Biotic component can be classified as:
Producers are organisms that are capable of producing their own food through photosynthesis
or chemosynthesis.
Consumers are organisms that cannot produce their own food instead they depend on other
organisms.
Decomposers are microorganisms and other organisms that decompose dead parts of living
organisms.
The abiotic component is the non-living component of an ecosystem.
Biome is a broader term than habitat; any biome can comprise a variety of habitat.
Biomes consists of broad regional units called ecosystems. The distribution of plants and animals
forms is determined largely by climate, topography and soil.
Terrestrial Biomes include all land areas on Earth where organisms live.
Tundra, Grassland, Savanna, Rainforest, Desert
The aquatic biome is definitely the largest biome out there. Water covers nearly 75% of the earth’s
surface in the form of oceans, lakes, rivers, etc.
Aquatic biome can be divided into two categories : Freshwater regions and salt water regions.
Terrestrial Biomes:
TUNDRA
Coldest and harshest of all biomes and also called as treeless plain.
Has permanently frozen soil with an extremely cold and windy climate.
Covers about one fifth of the land on earth
Permafrost - a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring
GRASSLAND
Widely distributed over temperate regions.
Covered with grasses that tends to be tall in moist areas, short in drier areas.
There are two main divisions of grasslands: Tropical grasslands or savannas
GRASSLANDS (SAVANNA)
Rolling grassland with shrubs and isolated trees and has both dry and rainy seasons
Can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome.
GRASSLANDS (TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS)
Differs from savanna in terms of climate. Have hot summers and cold winters.
Rainfall is moderate and receives less rainfall than savanna
TROPICAL RAINFOREST
Receives the highest amount of rainfall and has great water availability results in great diversity.
Houses more that half of all the plant and animal species in the world
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ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE|REVIEWER

BIOMES

 An ecosystem consists of a community of organisms living together and interacting with the nonliving components.  An ecosystem consists of two main components: the biotic and abiotic components. The biotic component is the living component of an ecosystem. Biotic component can be classified as:  Producers are organisms that are capable of producing their own food through photosynthesis or chemosynthesis.  Consumers are organisms that cannot produce their own food instead they depend on other organisms.  Decomposers are microorganisms and other organisms that decompose dead parts of living organisms. The abiotic component is the non-living component of an ecosystem.  Biome is a broader term than habitat; any biome can comprise a variety of habitat.  Biomes consists of broad regional units called ecosystems. The distribution of plants and animals forms is determined largely by climate, topography and soil. Terrestrial Biomes include all land areas on Earth where organisms live.  Tundra, Grassland, Savanna, Rainforest, Desert The aquatic biome is definitely the largest biome out there. Water covers nearly 75% of the earth’s surface in the form of oceans, lakes, rivers , etc. Aquatic biome can be divided into two categories : Freshwater regions and salt water regions.  Terrestrial Biomes: TUNDRA Coldest and harshest of all biomes and also called as treeless plain. Has permanently frozen soil with an extremely cold and windy climate. Covers about one fifth of the land on earth Permafrost - a thick subsurface layer of soil that remains frozen throughout the year, occurring GRASSLAND  Widely distributed over temperate regions. Covered with grasses that tends to be tall in moist areas , short in drier areas. There are two main divisions of grasslands: Tropical grasslands or savannas GRASSLANDS (SAVANNA) Rolling grassland with shrubs and isolated trees and has both dry and rainy seasons Can be found between a tropical rainforest and desert biome. GRASSLANDS (TEMPERATE GRASSLANDS) Differs from savanna in terms of climate. Have hot summers and cold winters. Rainfall is moderate and receives less rainfall than savanna TROPICAL RAINFOREST Receives the highest amount of rainfall and has great water availability results in great diversity. Houses more that half of all the plant and animal species in the world

DESERT

Considered as the driest biome and exhibits drastic temperature changes between day and night. There are two types of deserts one being hot deserts and the other being cold deserts. AQUATIC BIOME  Fresh Water lower in salinity; Salt Water high in salinity Earth’s Four Spheres  The four spheres are the geosphere (all the rock on earth) hydrosphere (all the water on earth), atmosphere (all the gases surrounding earth) and biosphere (all the living things on earth). Geosphere  Geo means “earth”. The Earth’s geosphere (sometimes called the lithosphere) is the portion of the earth that includes rocks and minerals.  The earth’s crust and a portion of the upper mantle directly below the crust from the lithosphere. The Earth has three distinguished layers: the crust, the mantle, and the core.  The lithosphere is comprised of the crust and the uppermost part of the mantle.  The asthenosphere lies below the lithosphere. Here, rocks have plasticity and have the ability to flow.  The mesosphere is also called the lower mantle. This layer is composed of semi-solid ultrahigh- pressure silicates.  The core is the innermost layer of the Earth.  The boundary between the inner and outer core is called the Lehmann discontinuity. HYDROSPHERE  Hydro means “water”.  The frozen part of the hydrosphere has its own name, the cryosphere. ATMOSPHERE  The atmosphere is a thin, gaseous veil surrounding the earth held by the force of gravity.  Atmosphere came from the Greek word “atmos” –gas and “sphaira” – globe or ball  All planets have an atmosphere, but Earth is the only planet with the correct combination of gases to support life. Nitrogen- 78. % Oxygen- 21% Other gases- 1 % Carbon dioxide and ozone, although available in minute amounts, are very essential to life on Earth. Heterosphere - characterized by variation in the composition and the mean molecular weight of constituent gases. Composed mainly of distinct layers of molecules and atoms of nitrogen and oxygen. Homosphere - the layer of the atmosphere where the bulk gases are homogeneously mixed due to turbulent mixing. The bulk composition of the air is mostly uniform so the concentrations of molecules are the same throughout the homosphere. Troposphere - the lowest part of the atmosphere. Stratosphere - It contains much of the ozone in the atmosphere. Mesosphere - he region above the stratosphere is called the mesosphere. Comes from the word “meso” which means middle. Thermosphere - A region in which temperatures again increases with height. The thermosphere comes from the word “thermo” which means heat. The exosphere comes from the word “exo” which means outside. BIOSPHERE- Bio means “life.” the biosphere is made up of all the living things on earth.

ORGANIC EVOLUTION- The process by which changes in the genetic composition of populations of organisms occur in response to environmental changes. NATURAL SELECTION- Is the differential survival and reproduction of individuals due to differences in phenotype. (2) It is a key mechanism of evolution, the change in the heritable traits characteristics of the population over generations.  Propliopithecus - Ape-like primates, Short arms, Live in Oligocene period (32 to 29 million years ago)Ancestors of modern apes and man.  Aegyptopithecus - Egyptian ape or monkey , Oligocene primate comparable in size to a modern- day howler monkey , largest of the anthropoids during Oligocene period, short limbs and was most likely a slow moving animal.  Dryopithecus - Modern primates are divided into the anthropoids: the monkeys and hominoids. About 25 million years ago at the beginning of the Miocene epoch, the Dryopithecus emerged. They are plant – eater hominoids that moved on all four legs. They are believed to be our ancestors.  Ramapithecus - Lived in late Miocene (23 to 2.6 million ) and early Pliocene period (5.3 to 3. million years ago).Fossil contains only jaws and dentition and Direct ancestor of human  Australopithecus africanus - found in Africa was with a brain capacity of 400 cc and lived form 4- 29 million years Before Present(BP)They are bipedal, with larger jaws and almost no forehead or chin. Dentition like man.Paranthropus robustus - with a brain, is an early hominin originally discovered in Southern Africa in 1938. Particularly regarding cranial features, the development of P. robustus seemed to be in the direction of a heavy chewing complex.  Homo habilis - With a brain capacity of 650 -755 cc, was the first to use chipped and shaped stones as tools and is an archaic species of Stone Age human which lived between roughly 2. and 1.5 million years ago, during the Early Pleistocene.  HOMO ERECTUS - Which appeared about 1.5 million years ago, probably a descendant of Homo habilis known today as the Java man , had a brain capacity of 900 cc was a proficient hunter although its features remained primitive. First true man. Homo erectus or the “ Upright man” had long reign.  Heidelberg Man - Found near the Heidelberg river, ancestor to Neanderthal Man and Homo heidelbergensis. First early human species to live in colder  Neanderthal man - Had a brain capacity of 1300 cc lived about 100000 years to 400000 years ago, was about 5 feet and 5 inches tall, a proficient tool user and built a shelter for himself. Low forehead, large teeth, developed speech and Homo neanderthalensis.  Cro-Magnon - Was believed to be the ancestor of the present modern type of human Homo sapiens. Cro- Magnon were the first human (genus Homo) to have a prominent chin. The brain capacity was about 1600 cc, somewhat larger than the average for modern humans.