Biomes and ecosystems are divisions of the biosphere.
- Biomes have similar abiotic and biotic components. (1.1)
- Abiotic factors influence the characteristics and distributions of biomes (1.1)
- Adaptations are characteristics that enable organisms to better survive and reproduce (1.1)
- Biomes are often named for their dominant vegetation or for a geographical or physical characteristic. (1.2)
- Abiotic components in ecosystems include oxygen, water, nutrients, light and soil. (1.2)
- Biotic interactions in ecosystems include trophic and symbiotic relationships as well as competition and predation. (1.2)
2 Energy flow and nutrients support life in ecosystems.
- Energy flows from producers to primary consumers to secondary consumers and is modelled in food chains and food webs. (2.1)
- Food pyramids show the loss of energy from one trophic level to another. (2.1)
- The nutrients carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus move in and out of the abiotic and biotic components of terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. (2.2)
- Human activities affect nutrient cycles and cause harm to an ecosystem. (2.2)
- Contaminants such as persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals can bioaccumulate and biomagnify affecting consumers and the health of ecosystems. (2.3)
3 Ecosystems continually change over time.
- Adaptive radiation and natural selection are processes that change organisms in response to changes in the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem. (3.1)
- Ecological succession changes the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem over time. (3.1)
- Natural events such as flooding, tsunamis, drought, and insect infestations quickly change the abiotic and biotic conditions of an ecosystem. (3.1)
- Human activities including deforestation, agriculture, resource exploitation, and the introduction of foreign species change ecosystems and result in habitat loss. (3.2)
- Invasive introduced species can affect native species through competition, predation, disease, parasitism, and habitat destruction. (3.3)
