Ecology Ch.1 S.4

Plant’s characteristics are important for survival
A plant’s overall shape and form help it to survive in its environment.
*e.x. - thick green stems and spines are to reduce water loss, perform photosynthesis, protect plant from herbivores.

Regions of Earth are classified into biomes.
Biomes are large regions of the world with similar plants, animals and other living things that are adapted to the climate and other conditions.

There are six major land biomes on Earth.


Taiga & Tundra Northernmost regions
They are characterized by long cold winters and short cool summers.
Temperature of the Arctic tundra: -50˚C to 18˚C
Temperature of the taiga: -40˚C to 20˚C

Tundra In the very cold places of the world, survival isn't
easy. The soil is frozen, its top surface thawing
only during summer, and no trees can grow.

Less than 25cm of precipitation each year.

The area is wet because cold temperatures keep the water from evaporating.

Permafrost is the term given to frozen soil. During the winter months, permafrost reaches the surface of the tundra. Very few animals are active in these harsh conditions.


Tundra
Plants: mosses, grasses and woody shrubs
Organisms and ecosystems: lichens, rodents, caribou, musk oxen,
Grizzly bears, white fox and snowy owls.

Taiga Temperatures are similar to those of the tundra
More precipitation (30-60cm a year.)
Evergreen trees (Coniferous) with needlelike leaves that produce food all year long.
Taiga ecosystems support deer, elk, snowshoe hares, and beavers. Predators include lynx, owls, bears, and wolves.

Desert & Grassland
Found toward the middle latitudes.
Not enough precipitation to support trees.

Desert
Some are cold and some are hot but they all have dry soil with less than 25cm of precipitation each year.

Grassland
* There is enough rain to support grasses, but not enough rain to support forest.
* Periodic wildfires & droughts
* Summer is warm and winters are cold.

Temperate Forest & Tropical Forest
Across the middle latitudes: short winter (75-150cm of precipitation each year) Near the equator: No winter. Tropical forests grow (200-450cm rain each year)

Temperate Forest A broadleaf (Deciduous)

Temperate Forest Pacific Northwest - supports coniferous

Tropical rainforest
* Located near the equator.
* Warm weather all year around.
* Trees tend to have leaves year round.
* The wettest land biome.
* The soil is poor in nutrients. High temp. cause materials to break down quickly, but there are so many plants the nutrients get used up just as quickly.



Water covers three quarter of Earth’s surface.
Freshwater biomes
Saltwater biomes

The food chains of deepwater ecosystems depend on tiny photosynthetic microorganisms called phytoplankton.


Freshwater Biomes
* Includes the still water of lakes, the running water of rivers, and estuaries where fresh and salt waters mix.
* An Estuary is the lower end of a river that feeds into the ocean.


Marine Biomes
* Saltwater biomes:
1. Coastal ocean (beach)
Organisms: crabs & clams
2. Open ocean
Receives less sunlight than costal
ocean and colder.
No plants but many types of fish
and other marine animals live.
3. Deep ocean
Much colder, the animals either
feed on each other or on material
that falls down from upper levels of the ocean

S.S. Ch.2 Lesson 2

Farming Villages
Earliest farming settlements were small with only a few families
These communities lived from one harvest to the next because hunger was a constant threat
Droughts, storms, or extreme cold or heat killed crops and livestock
They prepared for hard times by growing a surplus of food

In some places, water was plentiful, soil was good, and climate was mild
Because of suitable conditions, farming communities were highly successful
Farms raised many kinds of crops including grains, root vegetables, and plants to use as medicine.

Successful farms led to other advancements
Plants used as a new source for making clothing and making shelters
New animals such as oxen, camels, dogs, and guinea pigs

Farming villages spread across southwestern Asia
-Abu Hureyra
-Jericho
-Jarmo
-Catal Huyuk

Catal Huyuk
-Advanced community
-Decorated their homes with paintings and carvings of women, bulls, and other images
-Rebuilt settlements many times because of baked clay bricks of houses crumbled over
-Built homes using wood, straw, and other materials

Farming Communities
-Herded cattle, water buffalo, and other animals
-Grains and other crops

By 5,500 B.C., Bandkeramik established farming communities
They get their name from their pottery that they carved with lines
By 5,000 B.C., villages such as Mehrgarh, west of the Indus River, people grew cotton to weave into cloth
They used cotton to fashion into clothing and sell for trade
In northern China, Yangshao farming culture developed by 4,800 B.C.
They built mostly on terraces overlooking river valleys and fields
Terraces located on the sides of hills and mountains provided flat land for farming and protection from floods

Changes in Technology
Early farming tools were simple but later developed better tools
Early farmers used sticks to dig up roots and to make holes to plants seeds
After some time, the hoe (a wooden or stone blade to break up and turn over soil) was developed

The Plow
The plow could cut, lift, and
turn over soil
The plow improved from a stick to a wooden or stone blade that cut through the ground faster
Plows allowed fewer people to plant large crops
It also helped to dig hard and rocky soil
Irrigation
Irrigation provided ways to water the crops
They dug ditches from rivers to their fields
They no longer had to rely on rain for watering crops
Southwestern Asia discovered irrigation at about 6,000 B.C

Economic and Social Change
Early farmers bartered to get goods they wanted. Leaders controlled surpluses and trade well as resolved conflicts between groups
-Surplus other than food: Valuable resources, such as stone tools for tool making, art objects or pottery

Bartering
The practice of bartering began 30,000 years ago
Community with extra food <-> community with extra pottery
Catal Huyuk began trading obsidian, a volcanic glass
Jarmo used obsidian, seashells, and other materials brought by traders
As trading developed, the need for leadership developed

Responsibilities of a leader
A leader was chosen by importance
-Control trade
-Resolve conflicts
As populations grew, the leader’s power grew

Pastoral Society
Raised goats, sheep, horses, and cattle that provided milk, hides, and bones for tools
Pastoral people continued to travel
Pastoral groups traded surplus with farming villages

Ecology Ch.1 S.3

S.S. Ch.2 Lesson 1

Ecology Ch.1 S.2

S.S. Ch.1 Lesson 3

About 15,000 years ago, the world grew warmer. Water levels rose. Communities of hunters and gatherers began to develop more complex ways of life as they migrated to different regions.

S.S. Ch.1 Lesson 2

How were the Homo sapiens more technological?
Developed more complex tools for specific purposes
They made tools from antler, bone, wood, and stone for cutting and scraping
Bone needles for sewing
They designed stone points attached to wood spears

How were the Homo sapiens smarter?
The development of language began to accelerate about 50,000 years ago greatly improving their communication
Better communication led to better planning, organizing, sharing ideas, sharing knowledge, and to creativity
How were they creative? They began to create jewelry, cave painting, and sculptures to form religious beliefs.

Way of Living
Like earlier hominids, humans survived by living in groups, made of related family members with a total of about 30 people.
Learning to adapt gave them a better chance of survival
They lived in a wide variety of shelters such as caves, rock ledges, dried mud, tree branches, or other resources available to them.
Responsibilities of Men and Women
For food, women gathered wild grasses, nuts, and seeds.
Dug plant roots and picked fruit from bushes and trees
They share and feed all members of the group

On the Move
Groups of hunters and gatherers were always on the move, which means that they had no permanent home
They lived in different places in different seasons. As the weather changed and food could no longer be found, they moved to the next place.
They also followed animal migrations but this required them to move more often
They learned consequences, the result of an action quickly. For example, if eating a certain food made them sick, they avoided eating it again

Moving Across the Continents
How did they migrate?
The most widely accepted theory is the change of climate
During the Ice Ages, the water level dropped about 300 feet(91.44 meters) revealing land bridges between different continents
They began to migrate into Europe, Asia, Australia, and eventually to the Americas

Ecology Ch.1 S.1

S.S. Ch.1 Lesson 1

African Beginnings
Hominids, or humans and species with humanlike characteristics, have been found in Eastern Africa

One of the earliest hominids are the australopithecines that lived 4.5 million and 1 millions years ago
African Beginnings
Lucy- 4 feet tall, walked on two legs, and used hands to hold things
Variations of Australopithecines show that they lived in different places (forests and grasslands)

Paleolithic Era
-Homo Habilis
Lived 2.5 million years ago in Africa
Walked upright, larger brain in a rounder skull, and smaller face and jaws
Made tools (homo habilis means handy person)
This marked the beginning of the Paleolithic Era which began about 2.5 million years ago and ended 10,000 years ago
Lived only in Africa
Ate mostly plants and meat
Got meat by hunting or from leftover animals
Lived in grassy areas near water sources and trees

-Homo Erectus
Lived 1.9 millions years ago in Africa
Homo erectus means “upright person”
Larger and stronger than earlier hominids
Made better tools like stone axes and spears
First hominid to master use of fire
Used fire from lighting or volcanoes but also started fires
They used fires to cook and keep animals away, and stayed in colder places
Developed some speech, worked better, traveled farther in groups, hunted, shared food and solved problems together

Beyond Africa
About 2 million years ago, the Earth’s climate turned colder and drier
Animals and hominids migrated to settle outside of Africa
Bones and stone tools of homo erectus have been found in Asia and Europe
Homo erectus were better at survival