The Aquatic and Terrestrial Environments PDF

THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT ABI 2205 – GENERAL ECOLOGY Department of Biological Sciences The Aquatic Environment over 97% of the water on the Earth is in the ocean the average depth of the ocean is about 4000 m (The Mariana Trench is 11,022 m deep) earth’s water is 1.4 billion cubic km...

THE AQUATIC ENVIRONMENT ABI 2205 – GENERAL ECOLOGY Department of Biological Sciences The Aquatic Environment over 97% of the water on the Earth is in the ocean the average depth of the ocean is about 4000 m (The Mariana Trench is 11,022 m deep) earth’s water is 1.4 billion cubic km 97% ocean; 2% polar ice caps & glaciers; 0.3% groundwater srh.noaa.gov Water Properties consists of 2 atoms of Hydrogen and one atom of Oxygen highly cohesive high specific heat high latent heat of fusion and vaporization https://www.waterontheweb.org/under/lakeecology/10_biological_lakezones.html Water as a solvent responsible for the presence of most of the minerals in aquatic environment waters of most rivers and lakes contain 0.01– 0.02 % dissolved minerals concentration of element reaches maximum solubility? 86% of sea salt – sodium and chlorine salinity = 35% in sea; 0.065 – 0.30% in freshwater Solubility of Gases in Water oxygen diffuses to surface water solubility of gas is a function of temperature, salinity and pressure carbon dioxide reacts with water to form carbonic acid carbon dioxide–carbonic acid–bicarbonate system tends to be in equilibrium seawater is slightly alkaline 7.5 to 8.4 Water Movement in Aquatic Environment currents in rivers; waves in open ocean and shores wind generates waves the velocity affects the character of stream: shape & steepness of channel width, depth, intensity of rainfall bottom sediments Water Movement in Aquatic Environment Tides due to gravitational pulls of sun and moon spring tide greatest tidal range occurs during full moon and new moon neap tide lowest tidal range occurs during quarters Spring tide Neap Tide THE TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT ABI 2205 – GENERAL ECOLOGY Department of Biological Sciences Soil complex mixture of living and nonliving material upon which most terrestrial life depends  Soil Profile Consists of O, A, B, C horizons Soil Profile O horizon – most superficial; fallen organic matter A horizon – mixture of mineral materials, Fe, silicates and soluble organic material from O horizon A0 – litter A1 – humus A2 – leached light colored zone Soil Profile B horizon – depositional horizon; mineral soil in which organic compounds converted to inorganic compounds; distinct color and banding pattern C horizon – deepest layer; weathered parent material; bedrock Soil Profile Soil Texture based on the sizes of mineral particles Gravel > 2mm Sand < 2mm Silt < 0.05 mm Clay < 0.002 mm Soil Triangle Soil Fertility depends from the way minerals are retained Cation Exchange Capacity measure of the number of unit of soil on which H can be exchanged amount of exchangeable nutrient Cation Exchange Capacity Al3+ - H+ - Ca2+ - Mg2+ - K+ - NH4+ - Na+ Entisol immature soils that lack vertical development of horizons; associated with recently deposited sediments  Mollisol surface horizons dark brown to black with soft consistency; rich in bases; soils of semi-humid regions; prone to the process of calcification Alfisol shallow penetration of humus; translocation of clay; well-developed horizons Andisol developed from volcanic parent material; not highly weathered; upper layers dark colored; low bulk density Aridisol develop in very dry environments; low in organic matter; high in base content; prone to the process of salinization Inceptisol young soils that are more developed than entisols; often shallow; moderate development of horizons Histosol high content of organic matter; formed in areas with poor drainage; bog and muck soils Oxisol highly weathered soils with nearly featureless profile; red, yellow, or gray; rich in iron oxides, and often humus; in tropics and subtropics Vertisol dark clay soils that show significant expansion and contraction due to wetting and drying Spodozol light gray, whitish surface horizon on top of black or reddish B horizon; high in extractable iron and aluminum; formed through the process of podzolization Ultisol intensely leached; strong clay translocation; low base content; humid warm climate; formed by process of laterization Gellisol presence of permafrost or soil temperature of 0°C or less within 2 meters of the surface; formed through the process of gleization  Major Soil Types Aridisols Desert soils Inceptisols Weakly developed soils Alfisols Moderately weathered forest soils Entisols Recent soils Oxisols Tropical soils Mollisols Grassland soils Ultisols Highly weathered forest soils Spodosols Conifer forest soils Vertisols Clay soils Histosols Organic soils Major Soil Type in Philippines (Moog, 2006) Soil Type Land Area Covered Ultisol 41.5 % Inceptisol 13.7 % Alfisol 9.9% Vertisol 3.6% Entisol 2.5% Oxisol 0.3% Unsurveyed 28.6% Light ultimate source of energy affect the timing of daily and seasonal rhythms in plants and animals limiting resource for photosynthesis Properties: quality (wavelength or color) intensity (actual energy in g/cal) duration (length of day) Fire produce ultimate high temperature that organisms face consumed leaf litter and undergrowth some plant species on frequent, low intensity fires Wind created by temperature gradients amplifies the environmental temperature on organisms by increasing heat loss aids in pollination, seed dispersal tradeoff between height growth efficiency and ability to resist storms stability safety factor pH roots are damaged below pH 3 or high than pH 9 few organisms survive at pH 4.5 acid rain formation calcicole (lime loving) alfalfa, cedar calcifuge (lime-hating) rhodendrons, azalea neutrophiles  Factor Aquatic Terrestrial Light Limiting factor, depth Generally available related Temperature Relatively stable Highly variable Water High salinity; Low salinity; greatest distribution available thru and availability glaciers, ice caps and groundwater Dissolved ions High in marine Present in soil environment Pressure Increases with depth Decreases with altitude end