Mountains• Built by geological processes

and thus concentrated in belts of geological activity

• Climate changes with elevation and latitude

• Flora and fauna change with elevation

Mountains• Transhumance = seasonal migration of

people & livestock in altitude (up and down mountain with seasons)

Mountains

Isolation and endemism – increased isolation of species in mt ranges leads to endemism (= unique species to that location and found nowhere else)

The Hydrologic Cycle

• Over 71% of the earth’s surface is covered by water:– Oceans contain 97%– Polar ice caps and glaciers contain 2%– Freshwater in lakes, streams, and ground

water make up less than 1%

Replacement period – time for one water molecule to complete the hydrologic cycle (9 days to 30,000+ years)

The Hydrologic Cycle

• Turnover time is the time required for the entire volume of a reservoir to be renewed.– Atmosphere 9 days– Rivers 12-20 days– Oceans 3,100 years

Ocean - Structure• Littoral Zone (intertidal zone): Shallow

shoreline – rise/fall of tides

• Neritic Zone: Coastal area to margin of continental shelf

Intertidal Zonation

Lots of variation in abiotic conditions (temperature & moisture) in supratidal fringe zone, less so in lower intertidal; less stability with all this variation = more hostile to life

Ocean - Structure• Oceanic Zone: Beyond continental shelf

– Epipelagic 0 - 200 m– Mesopelagic 200 - 1,000 m– Bathypelagic 1,000 - 4,000 m– Abyssal 4,000 - 6,000 m– Hadal 6,000 + m

• Benthic: Habitat on bottom of ocean

• Pelagic: Habitat off the bottom of the ocean = in the water column

Ocean Zones

Know order of the oceanic zones; not specific depths

• Photosynthetic organisms limited to upper epipelagic zone (euphotic zone)– Phytoplankton– contribute ¼ of total

photosynthesis in biosphere

Ocean Biology

– Zooplankton

Ocean Biology

• Chemosynthesis occurs near undersea hot springs – deep water thermal and chemical vents

• Use chemicals (instead of light) for generating energy