NERDS 2012 Pre-Session #1 Content Lecture: Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology

1. NERDS 2012 Pre-Session #1Content Lecture: Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Dr. Jennifer Hollander Dr. Jeffrey Baguley

2. Outline • Climate and Life Zones of the Sierra Nevada • Plants • Gymnosperms • Angiosperms • Animals • Plant-Animal Interactions • Aquatic Organisms

3. Basic physics of the atmosphere • Rule #1 – Warm air holds more water • Rule #2 – Warm air rises, cold air falls • Regional climates are determined by a combination of factors, most of which are influenced by these rules.

4. Hadley cells Subtropical high: arid

8. Ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada – affected by elevation and precipitation Whitebark pine/ white fir Lodgepole forest Jeffrey pine

9. Plants

11. Gymnosperm Characteristics • “Naked seed” – seeds mature in cones • Found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere • Conifers (largest Gymnosperm group) and Ephedra have modified leaf structures and can carry on photosynthesis in the winter (no leaves to drop)

12. Angiosperm Characteristics • Flowers! • The function of the flower is to ensure fertilization of the ovule and development of fruit • Angiosperms are often classified based on their flowers (shape, number of petals, etc.) • Fruit • Ovary which encases the seeds • May serve to attract dispersers

14. Two major types of angiosperms

16. We will talk about specific species of animals during the second pre-session • Today we are focusing on the bigger picture, and groups of animals that are involved in dispersing seeds of forest plants

18. Order Rodentia • 40% of all mammal species • Characterized by two continuously growing incisors in upper and lower jaw • Kept short by gnawing

19. SquirrelsSciuridae (Spermophilus or Ammospermophilus) • Small to medium sized rodents found worldwide • Live in almost every habitat • Mostly eat seeds, however some squirrels are known to be omnivorous at times

20. Chipmunks Sciuridae (Tamias or Eutamias) • Small, striped mammals in squirrel family • All species (except one) are found in N. America • Omnivorous, but collect and store seeds for winter us

21. Other Rodents

22. Community Ecology • In ecology, a community is a group of two or more populations of a different species • Community ecology study the interactions between species in a community • There are many different types of species interaction, including some that involve multiple species

23. Some types of species interactions • Competition – species may compete with each other for finite resources • Predation – using another species for food (not always “hunting” them) • Mutualism – an interaction between species in which both species benefit • Parasitism – one organism benefits (the parasite) at the expense of the other (the host)

24. Plant-Animal Interactions • Pollination • Seed dispersal

26. Frugivory • Frugivorous animals (primarily birds) disperse seeds by eating fruits and then defecating the seeds in a microsite conducive to germination and emergence

27. Seed Caching Larderhoard Scatterhoard

28. Seed caching resulting in dispersal Seed caching animals disperse seeds by storing them for winter, and then “forgetting” to retrieve them. The seeds must be placed in a microsite conducive to germination and emergence.

29. Watersheds • The entire land mass that drains into a given stream or river system. • The Feather River watershed includes catchments for the various tributaries of the Feather and Yuba Rivers.

30. Terrestrial/Aquatic Commonalities • Every living organism needs to eat something. • Photosynthesis fuels the food webs • Every living organism needs to reproduce. • Organisms will interact with each other in multiple ways. • Competition, predation, symbiosis, etc. • While some organisms are exclusively aquatic or terrestrial, others depend on both habitats.

32. Bacteria & Cyanobacteria • Unicellular prokaryotic organisms • Bacteria are important decomposers and recyclers of organic and inorganic wastes • Cyanobacteria may be important for photosynthesis, but blooms may also be an indication of poor ecosystem health.

33. Protists • Unicellular (and some multicellular) eukaryotes • Some are photosynthetic • Some are heterotrophic • Some mixotrophic

34. Phytoplankton and Benthic Microalgae Euglena Crysophytes Dinoflagelates Diatoms

35. Plants & Macroalgae • “Macrophytes” • There are several types of freshwater aquatic plants that are an important source of photosynthesis and also habitat in aquatic ecosystems. • Macroalgae are multicellular protists (not plants)

36. Plants and Macroalgae Red Algae Green Algae

37. Animals • Multicellular eukaryotes • Invertebrates • Vertebrates

38. Porifera Cnidaria Chordata Echinodermata Other bilaterians (including Nematoda, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida) Deuterostomia Bilateria Eumetazoa Ancestral colonial choanoflagellate Porifera • Sponges • Simplest • Evolutionarily oldest • Lack symmetry • Lack true tissues

39. Porifera Anatomy

40. Porifera Cnidaria Chordata Echinodermata Other bilaterians (including Nematoda, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida) Deuterostomia Bilateria Eumetazoa Ancestral colonial choanoflagellate Phylum Cnidaria • Corals, anemones, hydroids, jellyfish • Eumetazoa • Radial symetry • True tissues • Diploblastic

41. Cnidaria Form/Function • Polyp and Medusa • Gastrovasular cavity • Digestion • Water exchange • Gas exchange • Tentacles • Cnidocytes with nematocysts • Capture prey or detrital particles

42. Porifera Cnidaria Chordata Echinodermata Other bilaterians (including Nematoda, Arthropoda, Mollusca, and Annelida) Deuterostomia Bilateria Eumetazoa Ancestral colonial choanoflagellate Bilaterally Symmetrical Animals • Invertebrate Phyla • Platyhelminthes • Mollusca • Annelida • Nematoda • Arthropoda

43. Phylum Platyhelminthes • “Flat worms” • Acoelomates • Mostly free-living • Mostly marine • Some freshwater • Some parasitic A freshwater turbellarian

44. Phylum Mollusca • Phylum Mollusca • Includes snails and slugs, oysters and clams, and octopi and squids • Most mollusks are marine • Though some inhabit fresh water and some are terrestrial • In freshwater habitats you will find: • Gastropods (snails) • Bivalves (clams & mussels)

45. Gastropods • About three-quarters of all living species of molluscs • Belong to class Gastropoda

46. Bivalves • Molluscs of class Bivalvia • Include many species of clams, mussels, etc. • Have a shell divided into two halves • Suspension (filter) & deposit feeders

47. Annelids are segmented worms Annelids Have bodies composed of a series of fused rings Phylum Annelida

48. Oligochaetes • Oligochaetes (class Oligochaeta) • Are named for their relatively sparse setae, or bristles made of chitin • Include the earthworms and a variety of freshwater and marine species

49. Figure 33.25 Leeches • Members of class Hirudinea • Are blood-sucking parasites, such as leeches

50. Phylum Nematoda • The round worms • Ubiquitous – found everywhere • Marine, freshwater, terrestrial, some even live in polar ice. • It has been said that if you eliminated all of the structure on the earth, but left the nematodes behind, you would see a grey shadow of that structure. • 1,000,000+ species estimated globally