2011 ECOLOGY BC KAREN LANCOUR National Bio Rules

2011 ECOLOGY (B&C) KAREN LANCOUR National Bio Rules Committee Chairman karenlancour@charter. net

Event Rules – 2011 DISCLAIMER This presentation was prepared using draft rules. There may be some changes in the final copy of the rules. The rules which will be in your Coaches Manual and Student Manuals will be the official rules.

Event Rules – 2011 • BE SURE TO CHECK THE 2011 EVENT RULES FOR EVENT PARAMETERS AND TOPICS FOR EACH COMPETITION LEVEL

TRAINING MATERIALS • • • Training Power Point – content overview Training Handout – content information Sample Tournament – sample problems with key Event Supervisor Guide – prep tips, setup needs, and scoring tips Internet Resources & Training Materials – on the Science Olympiad website at www. soinc. org under Event Information A Biology-Earth Science CD as well as the Division B and Division C Test Packets are available from SO store at www. soinc. org

EVENT COMPONENTS • Ecology Content – 2011 – Principles of Ecology (about 50 %) – Taiga and Tundra (new) of North America (about 50%) • Process skills in data, graph and diagram analysis Process skills • Event parameters – check the event parameters in the rules for resources allowed.

Section I: General Principles of Ecology ECOLOGY – how organisms interact with one another ECOLOGY and with their environment ENVIRONMENT – living and non-living components ENVIRONMENT • ABIOTIC – non-living component or physical factors as soil, rainfall, sunlight, temperatures • BIOTIC – living component are other organisms.

ECOLOGICAL ORGANIZATION • INDIVIDUAL – individual organisms INDIVIDUAL • POPULATION – organisms of same species in POPULATION same area (biotic factors) • COMMUNITY – several populations in same COMMUNITY area (biotic factors) • ECOSYSTEM – community plus abiotic factors ECOSYSTEM • BIOSPHERE – all ecosystems on earth BIOSPHERE

ECOLOGY OF INDIVIDUALS • Homeostasis – delicate balance • Components – Physiological Ecology – Temperature and Water Balance – Light and Biological Cycles – Physiological Ecology and Conservation

ECOLOGY OF POPULATIONS • • Properties of populations Patterns of distribution and density Intraspecific competition Population dynamics Growth and regulation Altering population growth Human impact

Growth Curves

Human Population

Survival Curves • Survivorship is the percentage of remaining survivors of a population over time; usually shown graphically. Type I survivorship curve: most individuals live out their life span and die of old age (e. g. , humans). Type II survivorship curve: individuals die at a constant rate (e. g. , birds, rodents, and perennial plants). Type III survivorship curve: most individuals die early in life (e. g. , fishes, invertebrates, and plants).

ECOLOGY OF COMMUNITIES • Closed vs. Open communities – Closed – sharp boundaries – Open – Lack boundaries • Species abundance and diversity • Trophic Structure of Communities – Food chains – Food web – Trophic pyramid

INTERACTIONS AMONG SPECIES • Interactions • Interspecific competition • Predation • Exploitation • Symbiosis

Types of Species Interactions Neutral – two species do not interact Mutualism – both benefit Commensalism – one benefits, other neutral Parasitism – one benefits, one harmed but not killed • Predation – one benefits, other killed • •

Predator - Prey Relationship

Food Chain • rose plant aphids beetle chameleon hawk • • • Producer 1 st order Consumer or Herbivore 2 nd order Consumer or 1 st order Carnivore 3 rd order Consumer or 2 nd order Carnivore 4 th order Consumer or 3 rd order Carnivore Decomposers – consume dead and decaying matter

Food Web

ECOLOGY OF ECOSYSTEMS • Energy Flow – Energy Flow Pyramids – Bio-mass Pyramids • Community Succession and Stability • Nutrient Recycling – nutrient cycles

Energy vs Nutrient • Nutrients – cyclic (Biogeochemical Cycles) • Energy flow – one way

Ecologic Pyramids Ecological pyramid - a graph representing trophic level numbers within an ecosystem. The primary producer level is at the base of the pyramid with the consumer levels above. Numbers pyramid - compares the number of individuals in each trophic level. Biomass pyramid - compares the total dry weight of the organisms in each trophic level. Energy pyramid - compares the total amount of energy available in each trophic level. This energy is usually measured in kilocalories.

Numbers Pyramid

Biomass & Energy Flow Pyramids

Biogeochemical Cycles • Hydrologic Cycle • Phosphorus Cycle • Nitrogen Cycle • Carbon Cycle

Hydrologic (Water) Cycle

Phosphorus Cycle

Nitrogen Cycle

Carbon Cycle

Biosphere • Types of Ecological Spheres – – • • • Biosphere Lithosphere Hydrosphere Atmosphere Biogeochemical Cycles Disruption of Biosphere Specie Extinction & Biosphere Destruction

Section II: ECOLOGY OF BIOMES • Weather and Climate • Types of Biomes – Aquatic biomes – Terrestrial biomes • 2011 – Biomes of North America – Tundra (new) – Taiga (Boreal Forest or Coniferous Forest)

Terrestrial Biomes – Latitude vs. Altitude

Biomes: Temperature and Climate for Terrestrial Biomes

Adaptations of Plants & Animals • Not intended to be a taxonomic event • Emphasis on adaptations of common plants and animals to each biome • Common members of food chains and food webs of each biome • Limiting factors for each biome

TAIGA OF NORTH AMERICA • 2 nd largest forest in the world • Ring Artic between Artic and Deciduous Forest – 50 to 60 degrees North Latitude • Upper elevations of Mountains

Tiaga or Boreal (Evergreen) forests of North America

Taiga – Abiotic Factors • Angle of incidence for incoming solar radiation is low and twilight lasts many hours • Seasons- short, moist and moderately warm summers & long, cold, dry winters. • Temperature: -65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit • Variable precipitation: 6 -40 in (15 -100 cm). • Soils – thin because they were scraped by glaciers and very acid because of decomposition of pine needles • Absence of earth-churning invertebrates as earthworms so soil is hard and compact • Fire a major factor in maintaining biome

Environmental Importance of the Taiga – Filters millions of liters of water – Stores large amounts of carbon – Produces oxygen – Rebuilds soils and restores nutrients – Bogs and marshes provides habitats for large numbers of species from fish to birds

Taiga - Food web

Taiga: Types of Plants Conifers are major producer Most common types – spruce, balsam fir and pine Others – hemlock, cedar, redwood, junipers Latitude and altitude influences species Berry-producing shrubs important to birds, mammals and people • Some types of fungi, lichens, and mosses • • •

Taiga: Plant Adaptations • Trees have upside down cone shape so snow slides off the branches • Branches are flexible to hold great amounts of snow and not break • Trees grow thin and close together to protect them from cold and wind • Needles waxy for protection from freezing temperatures and prevent them from drying out • Needles are present year round and deep green to absorb the maximum warmth from the sun • Thick bark which does not easily burn and protects inner layers from heat and cones protect the seeds

Taiga: Types of Animals • Insects – millions of insects in the summer • birds – up to 3 billion insect-eating birds breed each year in Taiga – over 200 species • Seed eaters like finches and sparrows as well as omnivorous birds as crows stay all year • Crossbill has specialized bill for prying open cones and nuthatch can break the cones open • Herbivores as small mammals, snowshoe rabbits, red squirrels, voles and lemming • Predators feeding on small mammals as owls, wolves, lynx, bobcats, minks, wolverines, weasels, mink, otters, martens, fishers • Deer, elk and moose • Largest predators as grizzlies, lynx, and mountain lions will also feed on weakened or young deer, elk or moose

Taiga: Animal Adaptations for long cold winters and hot summers – migrate south in winter (birds) – go into hibernation during winter – store extra fat layers on their bodies for winter – change diets from season to season – grow extra fur on the bottom of their feet to tread on snow easier (lynx and snowshoe rabbit) – change fur color and coat thickness from season to season – live under snow in winter in snow tunnels (lemmings, mice, shrews, voles)

Taiga: Environmental Concerns • • Pollution Clear cutting Illegal logging Poaching Forest fires – unnatural fires Mining Drilling for oil and natural gas disrupt the forest Global warming

Taiga: Role in Earth’s Climate • It stores large quantities of carbon stored as plant material on forest floor (up to 10 feet in some areas) • 1 cm of plant material can hold 2. 5 tons of carbon per acre • Taiga acts like a large refrigerator preventing fallen trees, needles and other debris from decomposing • Heating up the taiga is causing the following problems: Litter decomposes putting carbon into the atmosphere Increases in forest fires Infestation by bark beetles which is killing the trees Dead trees - tinder to fuel the forest fires and adding more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere

TUNDRA OF NORTH AMERICA • About one fifth of the land surface of the earth is tundra. • Located next to icy zones in the arctic encircling North Pole down to Taiga. (Arctic Tundra) • Located at the top of mountains above the tree line ( Alpine Tundra)

TUNDRA OF NORTH AMERICA § Simple vegetation structure § Limitation of drainage § Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material § Large population oscillations

TUNDRA – Abiotic Factors • Angle of incidence for incoming solar radiation is low and twilight lasts many hours • Temperature - extremely cold - from -30 o. C to -40 o. C in winter; average winter temperature of - 34 degrees C ( -30 degrees F). Highest summer temperature is only about 10 o C • Annual precipitation (mostly as snow) is 6 to 10 inches (15 to 25 cm) which is desert-like • Winds - often reach speeds of 30 to 60 miles (48 to 97 km/hr) • Sunlight - During the winter there are only a few hours or less of sunlight in the summer, there is sunlight almost 24 hours a day. • Ground surface - spongy, uneven as a result of freezing and thawing • Permafrost - Plains of tundra are covered with snow, ice and frozen soil most of the year • Growing Season - Short season of growth and reproduction - from 50 to 60 days

Tundra Food Web

Tundra Energy Pyramid

TUNDRA of North America

Plants of the Tundra

Plants of the Tundra • About 1, 700 kinds of plants • Tiny flowering plants (4 inches or less in height) • grasses • lichens – crustose and foliose • sedges • willows

TUNDRA – Plant Adaptations • Many of the plants are perennials so they can store food from season to season • Must adapt to strong winds and disturbances in soil • Plants are short and group together • Form little cushions or mats close to the ground where ground is warmer than the air • Carry out photosynthesis at low temperatures and low light intensities • Adapt to short growing seasons by reproducing by asexually rather than sexually

Animals of the Tundra

Animals of the TUNDRA • Primary consumers (Herbivores) – lemmings, insects, musk oxen, reindeer • Secondary consumers ( Carnivores) – snow owls, arctic foxes, polar bears • Migratory birds: ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons, sandpipers, terns, snow birds, and various species of gulls • Insects: mosquitoes, flies, moths, grasshoppers, blackflies and arctic bumble bees • Fish: cod, flatfish, salmon, and trout • Reptiles and amphibians are few or absent

TUNDRA: Animal Adaptations • Must adapt to extremely cold winters • Breed and raise their young very quickly during the short summers • Many as birds migrate south in the winter • Many of those that stay - hibernate during the winter • Constant immigration and emigration – Population constantly oscillates

Environmental Importance of the TUNDRA § Filters millions of liters of water § Stores large amounts of carbon § The permafrost layers doesn’t normally thaw out, so the organic matter stored in them is effectively trapped forever § Global warming lowers the thaw depth, and the peat and organic matter begins decaying inputting of CO 2 to the atmosphere

TUNDRA: Environmental Concerns • Large scale extraction industries ( oil, gas, and minerals as uranium) • Pollution – chemical waste, mining, hydroelectric development • Expansion of agriculture/livestock, vehicular traffic, and tourism increase degradation • Global warming – 1/3 of soil bound carbon is found in this area. • Melting of permafrost releases large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere increasing • “Greenhouse Affect” as organic matter decays and released carbon dioxide. • Erosion is emerging due to permafrost thaw and overgrazing • Poaching – hunting and fishing out of season, on protected land, or to endangered species

TUNDRA: Role in Earth’s Climate • global warming is happening at twice the rate of more temperate regions of the earth • affect the release or retention of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide and methane • methane is 20 times more efficient at trapping warmth than carbon dioxide • soil nutrients, plant type, and plant biomass will be affected by changes in soil moisture and can modify the amount and types of greenhouse gases • the climate balance could tip not just in the Arctic, but throughout the world