The Colonisation of Earth

Vanda Mendonca, PhDEcosystems Scientist

May 2014

History of Life on Earth

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Geologic_Clock_with_events_and_periods.svg

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_%28biology%29#Summary

Linnaeus1735

Haeckel1866

Chatton1925

Copeland

1938

Whittaker

1969

Woese et al.1977

Woese et al.

1990

Cavalier-Smith

1993

Cavalier-Smith1998

2 kingdoms3

kingdoms 2 empires4

kingdoms5

kingdoms 6 kingdoms 3 domains 8 kingdoms 6 kingdoms

(not treated) Protista

Prokaryota Monera MoneraEubacteria Bacteria Eubacteria

BacteriaArchaebacteria Archaea Archaebacteria

Fungi

Protoctista Protista Protista

Eucarya

ArchezoaProtozoa

Protozoa

Chromista Chromista

Vegetabilia Plantae Plantae

Plantae Plantae Plantae Plantae

Fungi Fungi Fungi

Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia Animalia

Scientific Classification Systems

Ecological Niche

• In Ecology, a niche is a term with a variety of meanings related to the behavior of a species living under specific environmental conditions

• The ecological niche describes how an organism or population responds to the distribution of resources and competitors (for example, by growing when resources are abundant, and when predators, parasites and pathogens are scarce) and how it in turn alters those same factors (for example, limiting access to resources by other organisms, acting as a food source for predators and a consumer of prey) Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_niche

Habitat• A habitat is an ecological or

environmental area that is inhabited by a particular species of animal, plant or other type of organism

• It is the natural environment in which an organism lives, or the physical environment that surrounds a species population

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitat

Biome

• Biomes are climatically and geographically defined as contiguous areas with similar climatic conditions on the Earth, such as communities of plants, animals, and soil organisms

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biome

Biomes according to Vegetation type

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e4/Vegetation.png

Ecoregion, Bioregion, and Ecozone

• An ecoregion (ecological region) is an ecologically and geographically defined area

• Bioregion is larger than an Ecoregion• Ecozone is larger than Bioregion• All three of these are larger than an

Ecosystem Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecoregion

Example: North America Bioregions

Source: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d6/A_map_of_North_America%27s_bioregions%2C_improved_from_the_previous.jpg

Ecosystem

• An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (biotic factors) in conjunction with the nonliving components of their environment (abiotic factors), interacting as a system

• These biotic and abiotic components are regarded as linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecosystem

Types of Ecosystem• Terrestrial• Forest: Tropical, Temperate, and Taiga/Boreal/Subarctic• Desert: Dunes, Oases, Sabkha, Alkaline Soils• Grassland; Savanna, and Prairie• Mountain• Aquatic: Marine (Benthic, Demersal/Epibenthic, Pelagic,

Supratidal, Intertidal/Littoral, Sublitoral, Abyssal, Coral Reefs, Mangrove Forests, Estuaries, Lagoons, Creeks, Khawrs, Marshes, Sabkha, Hydrothermal Vents), and Freshwater (Lentic, Lotic, Wetlands, Wadis)Read more: http://www.ecosystem.org/types-of-ecosystems

Biosphere

• The biosphere is the global sum of all ecosystems

Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biosphere

Representation of Earth’s Primary Production

• The Arctic is a polar region located at the northernmost part of the Earth

• The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, the Unites States (Alaska), Denmark (Greenland), Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland), and Iceland

• The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless premafrost (frozen soil)

• The area can be defined as North of the Arctic Circle (66° 33'N)Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic

Climatic Regions & Ecosystems: Arctic

Climatic Regions & Ecosystems: Subarctic/Boreal/Temperate Cold

• Generally, subarctic ecosystems fall between 50°N and 70°N latitude, depending on local climates and altitude

• The subarctic is a region in the Northern Hemisphere immediately south of the true Arctic and covering much of Alaska, Canada, Iceland, the North of Scandinavia, Siberia, Northern Mongolia, much of Scotland, and parts of Northern England Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subarctic

• In Geography, temperate or tepid latitudes of the globe lie between the tropics and the polar regions

• The North Temperate Zone extends from the Tropic of Cancer (approximately 23.5° north latitude) to the Arctic Circle (approximately 66.5° north latitude). Its northern part includes the Subarctic/Boreal and is also called Temperate Cold the southern part is Temperate Hot

• The South Temperate Cone extends from the Tropic of Capricorn (approximately 23.5° south latitude) to the Antarctic Circle (at approximately 66.5° south latitude)Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temperate_climate

Climatic Regions & Ecosystems:Temperate

• The tropics is a region of the Earth surrounding the Equator. It is limited in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at 23° 26′ 16″ (or 23.4378°) N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at 23° 26′ 16″ (or 23.4378°) S

• These latitudes correspond to the Axial Tilt of the Earth. The tropics are also referred to as the tropical zone and the torrid zone Read more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tropical

Climatic Regions & Ecosystems:Tropical

• The Antarctic is a polar region, specifically the region around the Earth’s South Pole

• The Antarctic comprises the continent of Antarctica and the ice shelves, waters, and island territories in the Southern Ocean situated south of the Antarctic Convergence

• The region covers some 20% of the Southern Hemisphere, of which 5.5% (14 million km2) is the surface area of the continent itselfRead more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic

Climatic Regions & Ecosystems:Antarctic

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