Intro to BioScience (Chapter 6)

INTRODUCTION TO ECOLOGY

Physical Environment
 5 Physical factors of the environment that constantly interact with the community of living things:
1. Light
- essential to all plants in photosynthesis
- in lakes, sunlight can penetrate as deep as seventy-five feet
- growth of algae on the surface may prevent the penetration of light in water
- some organisms are known to live in places where there is complete darkness
- many bacteria live without sunlight & die when exposed to light
- light conditions vary from place to place  deep valley, forest floors, shaded side, &
hills

2. Temperature
- an important controlling factor of the environment
- animals are classified into 2 types according to their body temperature:
a. poikilothermous (Cold-blooded)
 whose body temperature varies with the temperature of the environment
 the body temperature is not constant

b. homeothermous (warm-blooded)
 whose body temperature remains more or less constant regardless of the
temperature of the environment

3. Water and Water Cycle

- living things adjust to their environment to meet the universal need for water
- aquatic organisms have their bodies adapted for a life in water
- terrestrial organisms require less water and giving them more than what they need will
likewise kill them
- Rainfall – an important factor that controls the growth of these terrestrial forms
- Hydrophytes – plants live in water (completely or partially submerged)
- Mesophytes – plants found in neither wet nor dry environments
- Xerophytes – found in an almost waterless environment (deserts & semi-deserts)
- Water Cycle
 a continuous movement of water from the atmosphere to the earth and from the
earth back to the atmosphere
 precipitation – movement of water from the atmosphere to the earth in the form
of rain
 evaporation – movement of water from the earth to the atmosphere
 water vapor enter the atmosphere through transpiration from plants and by
evaporation from bodies of water and from the soil
 See diagram

4. Soil
- a factor of the environment that is more than dirt which covers the earth
- type of soil  (1) compact; (2) loose; (3) mixture
- classification of soil:
 sour soil is acidic and sweet soil is alkaline
 neutral soil which is midway between the two (sour & sweet soil) is ideal
5. Atmosphere
- the air around us which has an important direct effect on living things
- almost all living things need oxygen for life
- oxygen content decreases with depth & high altitude