Chapter+2

=Chapter 2- Section 5 - Aquatic Ecosystems= Aquatic Ecosystems are the waters that we live on in this world, as ¾ of our world is water. Aquatic Ecosystems are split into two separate groups, freshwater and saltwater ecosystems. There are many things that affect both freshwater and saltwater ecosystems, such as: sunlight, temperature, oxygen, and salt content. Freshwater Ecosystems include streams, rivers, ponds, lakes and Saltwater Ecosystems include oceans like the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian Oceans. = = =media type="file" key="goood one.mov" width="390" height="390" align="center"= =media type="custom" key="5406617"= = = =Chapter 2- Section 2= = = The Water Cycle //Without water there wouldn’t be any life, and to make sure that there is always enough water on Earth, H////2////0 needs to be recycled.// The water cycle is a continuous process by which water moves from Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back. The processes of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation make up the water cycle. Evaporation is the process by which molecules of liquid water absorb energy and change to a gas. Liquid evaporates from oceans, lakes, and from other forms of water in the atmosphere. Living things give off water…plants release water vapor from their leaves. Condensation is when gas changes to liquid. When water vapor goes rises up into the atmosphere, the vapor cools. The cooled water vapor changes to water droplets and collects dust, forming clouds. Precipitation is when it rains, snows, sleets, or hails. When enough water vapor condenses, the drops of the water in the clouds begin to get so heavy that they begin to fall back to earth. Eventually, most of the precipitation ends up back in oceans or lakes. Precipitation that falls to the ground is absorbed into the soil and then becomes groundwater.
 * THE WATER CYCLE**
 * EVAPORATION**
 * CONDENSATION**
 * PRECIPITATION**

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**Carbon and Oxygen Cycles**

Two substances necessary are carbon and oxygen. The way carbon, oxygen and recycling is linked in Ecosystems. Consumers, producers and decomposers are all a part of the cycle. Producers bring in carbon dioxide gas during photosynthesis. Carbon from Carbon Dioxide produces food molecules. Food molecules contain carbon molecules like starch and sugar. Consumers eat producers which eat food molecules Consumers take apart food molecules to keep energy- and lets out carbon dioxide and water to be products of waste. When consumers and producers are dead, decomposers take apart what is left of them and put their carbon compounds in soil. Some decomposers take out carbon dioxide as waste materials.
 * THE CYCLE**
 * THE CARBON CYCLE**

Oxygen cycles through ecosystems. Producers use as photosynthesis. Oxygen is used from water, air and use it all of life.
 * THE OXYGEN CYCLE**

Things we do add or take away how much carbon and oxygen we have in the world. Burning fuels/oil pushes carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Taking out forest for their materials makes the amount of carbon dioxide rise. When we cut down trees there is not as much to take in the carbon dioxide. If fire burns down a forest, carbon dioxide is used in the way it is burned. media type="youtube" key="A7Vje9-G4Rw" height="385" width="640"media type="youtube" key="U3SZKJVKRxQ" width="425" height="350"**
 * HUMAN IMPACT**
 * Basically, If we don’t have trees then we don’t have as much to absorb that bad air, and give us good air.

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Energy roles are determined by how an organism obtains energy. There are three major roles in an ecosystem: **producers**, **consumers**, and **decomposers**. All energy in an ecosystem starts with the producers. Organisms that fall into the producer category are plants and sometimes bacteria. They usually get their energy by combining sunlight with water and CO 2, but not always. One type of bacteria that lives underground gets its energy from a gas called hydrogen sulfide. The consumers are the next level in an ecosystem because they eat the producers to obtain energy. There are three types of consumers: **herbivores**, or plant eaters, **carnivores**, or meat eaters, and **omnivores**, an organism that eats both. Carnivores eat other consumers to obtain energy, and some carnivores eat the dead bodies of other consumers. These carnivores are called **scavengers**. Decomposers consume the bodies and waste of just about any other organism, acting as the cleaning crew of an ecosystem. These energy roles create a **food chain**. A food chain is defined as a series of events in which one organism consumes another to obtain energy. When food chains are intertwined with one another, it is called a **food web**. All the food webs in the world interconnect to create the global food web. Because some energy is used in moving, growing, reproducing, etc, not all energy makes it to the next level of a food chain. In fact, only 10% of the energy consumed by an organism makes it to the next one. Because of this, an ecosystem can not support many upper level consumers, which is why there are so few of them compared to the producers. This is illustrated by an **energy pyramid**, because as energy moves up a food chain, there becomes less and less of it available. media type="youtube" key="iasmwZQr-nc" height="344" width="425"media type="youtube" key="sbWyrcY5i3s" height="344" width="425" Every organism has a different job in the **energy roles** of their environments. There are three different types of energy roles that make up our environment: producers, consumers and decomposers.
 * Producers ** are creatures that are able to create their own food. Most types of producers rely on the suns energy to enable them to create the food that they eat. The producers play a main part in energy roles because they are the food that every other organism eats.
 * Consumers **are life forms that get their energy by eating other organisms. They can’t feed themselves like producers do. Consumers are organized by what types of things they eat. **Herbivores** only eat plants, **carnivores** only eat animals and **omnivores** eat plants and animals. Also there are **scavengers**, which eat the bodies of dead animals.
 * Decomposers **decay dead organisms so that they don’t crowd the earth. They rot the dead organisms and then they are able to filter back into the earth. They also give back molecules so that other animals and plants can reuse them.

To learn more and play a game about food webs, click the link below: [] [|Click here to play a really cool game!][|Another Awesome Game] [|Another Game- a little harder]

Desert Biomes ** Desert Biomes are one of the driest biomes of all. There is less than 25 centimeters of rain every year and the temperature is scorching hot. Deserts also get very cold and night and some deserts go to even below freezing temperatures. Many animals live in this biome but they have adapted to life in a dry place. Most are nocturnal and come out from under the ground at night when it is cooler. Some animals live without water for more than three weeks.
 * Biomes

This biome is also almost as dry as a desert but gets more rainfall. The grasslands get 25 to 75 centimeters of rainfall per year. But Savannas get 120 centimeters of rainfall per year. These savannas are full of tall grass and many organisms live here. This area often produces droughts and the animals have to be adapted to go many days without water. This lush biome is home to many herbivores and carnivores like: Elephants, Lions, Zebras, Rhinoceroses, Giraffes and more.
 * Grassland Biomes **

This forest biome is full of trees and grass. The trees in this biome the trees are seasonal and lose their leaves in the winter. They grow their leaves back in the spring and thrive. Many animals live in this biome and it is very lush with greenery.
 * Deciduous Forest Biomes **

=**Biogeography - Section 4**= Have you ever wondered how animals got to deserted islands? Or maybe how the location of our Continents is where it is today? The explanation has been in front of you the whole time, it is called Continental Drift. Continental Drift is a process in which plates that are under our Earth’s crust move and the continents that are above them move also. One day, approximately 225 years ago, all of the continents we know today were connected and formed a large land mass that was called //Pangaea//. Over time the plates under //Pangaea// slowly moved causing //Pangaea// to separate and form the world we know today. This explains why animals like kangaroos and koalas are abundant in isolated places like Australia. Continental Drift is what shapes our world, literally.
 * Continental Drift **

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 * __Limits to Dispersal__**
 * With the many ways that organisms disperse themselves, you would think that there would be the same organism species all around the world. That is not the case though. There are certain barriers that can prevent organisms from dispersing themselves.**


 * Physical Barriers- Land forms such as water, deserts, and mountains make it difficult for organisms to move. For example, when Australia was separated from the rest of the continents, the ocean between it and the rest of the continents became a physical barrier, preventing organisms from dispersing themselves into that region.**


 * Competition- When any organism migrates into a new area, it will need to compete for resources with the other organisms in that region. An organism must find its own place in that are to be able to survive. The species already there may fight off the migrating species. The remaining species are, therefore, limits to dispersal. In other instances, the new species may fight off the existing species.**


 * Climate- Climate is a weather pattern in a certain area that lasts a long period of time. Climate differences can also be a limit to dispersal. For example, the climate in an alpine mountain is very different from the climate of a grassland area. The climate in an alpine mountain area might be cooler and wetter than the climate of grassland. Every specific area has organisms in it that are adapted to its climate. Organisms that are not adapted to the specific area could eventually die out. Therefore, climate is a limit to the dispersal of organisms.**

Well it’s getting pretty chilly So you should put a jacket on And it’s going to get even colder By the middle of the song We have Boreal Forest Plants and their mostly trees They have cones with needles that can all produce seeds The snow falls heavy it’s so much u can’t see! But they have warm hot winters that melt the snow in 1, 2, 3 They have boreal animals that adapt to the cold There are moose and beavers, chickadees, even wolves
 * __Boreal Forest Biomes (pg. 64)__

__Tundra Biomes (pg. 65)__ Most of the tundra plants are moss and shrub Their surrounded by fox, wolves, hares and bugs The mammals there grow thick fur coats They use it to keep warm in the tundra zone

__Mountains and Ice (pg.66)__ Mountain ranges are all covered with thick hard ice It’s a journey trying to climb one every move has to be precise When you reach the top of the mountain you might find grasslands When you reach the top you might think of the tundra land I’m told it gets cold; it stays like this year round But the polar bears and leopard seals don’t complain a sound Its call Chapter 2 Section 4 the place for Biomes now Respond to the wiki if you have any questions like who what when where how!**