GGR227H5 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Protist, Biome, Heterocyst
Document Summary
Last class: ecosystems consists of abiotic and biotic components, abiotic, matter, energy, almost all energy derived from sun, 2nd law of thermodynamics. What percentage of solar radiation that reaches earth is used to drive ecological productivity: <1% The distribution of terrestrial biomes is controlled by which of the following factors: mean annual air temperature, precipitation, vegetation does not dictate the biome because the vegetation depends on the temperature and precipitation, vegetation characterizes the biome. Improvisation: program, compartmentalization, energy, regeneration, adaptability, seclusion. Life in the ecosphere: piceras: program: living things must have a program to make copies of themselves from generation to generation. In most living systems the program of life is encoded in dna: rna is some microorganisms. Improvisation: life adapts and evolves in step with external changes in the environment. Seclusion: organisms are able to maintain numerous metabolic reaction even in a single instance in time.
