Biomes

Biomes organize the biological communities of the earth based on similarities in the dominant vegetation, climate, geographic location, and other characteristics. Aspects of the physical environment such as precipitation, temperature, and water depth, have a strong influence on the traits of species living in that natural environment, and thus biological communities experiencing similar environmental conditions often contain species that have evolved similar characteristics. There is no single classification of biomes that is agreed upon by all scientists because different scientists wish to emphasize different characteristics by their definition. Historically however, biomes have been identified and mapped based on general differences in vegetation type associated with regional variations in climate and terrain.



Readings

Biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Biome?topic=58073

Terrestrial biomes http://www.eoearth.org/article/Terrestrial_biome

Deserts http://www.eoearth.org/article/Deserts

Desert biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Desert_biome?topic=58071

Grassland biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Grassland_biome?topic=58071

Forest biome http://www.eoearth.org/article/Forest_biome?topic=58074

Rainforest http://rainforests.mongabay.com/

The Influence of the Physical Environment on the Dominant Plant Growth Forms

Here is a link to a slideshow I prepared exploring the physical environment (primarily precipitation and temperature) affect the dominant plant growth forms. This seems like a great place for us to start our exploration.

Deserts, prairies, and forests http://www.slideshare.net/secret/aVrFdv9S7038HJ

The Physical Environment and Global Patterns

Introduction

The physical environment can have a profound influence on ecology at a variety of levels. For example, the physical environment can act as a strong selective presssure to produce adaptations or can influence the rates of nutrient cycling through an ecosystem. For our simple purposes here, the two most important components of the physical environment are temperature and precipitation. I suggest that we can predict a lot about what is going on ecologically in an environment if we know something about temperature and precipitation patterns.

From watching the nightly news we all know how difficult it is for the local weatherperson to accurately predict what the weather is going to be like tomorrow. Fortunately, it is much easier to understand broad patterns of variation in temperature and precipitation.

Temperature



The dominant global temperature pattern is that it tends to get cooler as you move away from the poles. The cause of this is relatively simple. Because the earth is so far from the sun, the light rays hitting the earth are basically paralell to each other. Because of the curvature of the earth, sunlight hitting the earth near the equator falls over a smaller area than sunlight hitting near the poles. Because the same amount of light energy is hitting a smaller area near the equator, the concentration of energy/area is greater near the equator than the pole thus resulting in higher temperatures.

Elevation is another factor that influences global temperatures. Because there is less insulating atmosphere above areas of high elevation temperatures tend to decrease as you go up in elevation.

Large bodies of water can mediate temperature variations. For example, seasonal and daily variation in temperatures are much lower in areas near the ocean (maritime climates) than they are in areas far from the ocean (continental climates).

Global temperature patterns can also be affected by patterns of ocean circulation. For example, the west coast of continents are often cooled by cool water flowing from the poles to the tropics while the east coasts of continents can be warmed by warmer water from the tropics to the poles (e.g., the Gulf Stream). If you have ever been to the beach in southern California you surely noticed how cold the water was; east coast beaches at similar latitudes have much warmer water.

Precipitation

In order to understand global precipitation patterns you need to understand global patterns of atmospheric circulation. Hopefully, after studying the article on atmospheric circulation you will be able to explain-

1. why there tends to be high precipitation in tropical regions and

2. why precipitation tends to be low at 30 degrees North and South of the equator.

Patterns of precipitation can also be influenced by the presence of mountains. As air masses containing moisture hit a mountain they are forced upward. Because rising air cools and cool air







holds less moisture, precipitation occurs on the windward side of mountains. Once the air mass has passed over the mountain in falls to lower elevations and gets warmer. Because most of the moisture has been lost as precipitation on the windward side of the mountain and the warmer air holds more moisture there is very little precipitation on the leward side of the mountain resulting in a "rainshadow desert".

Let's think about Lubbock!

Let's see if we can use our newfound understanding of some of the factors influencing temperature and precipitation to make predictions about what the climate should be like in Lubbock. What information do we need about the geographic location of Lubbock to help us understand the climate? First, we need to know the latitude; Lubbock is located approximately 33 degrees north. Second we need to know something about the proximity to the ocean. As an old beach boy, I can guarantee you that we are a long, long way from the ocean in Lubbock. Third, where is Lubbock in relation to mountains? Lubbock is located to the east of the southern extension of the Rockies.

Why is all of this important?

1. What can we learn from the latitude of 33 degrees North? This latitude is still close enough to the equator to be warm so we expect relatively high temperatures. Because Lubbock lies near the 30 degree zone of low precipitation we would predict relatively low precipitation. At 30 degrees North we would predict that Lubbock would receive predominately winds from the west.

2. From the continental location of Lubbock we would predict fairly extreme daily and seasonal fluctuations of temperatures.

3. Because Lubbock lies in the Westerlies most of the precipitation that is arriving in Lubbock comes from the Pacific Ocean. Because these winds have passed over the Rockies we would predict that Lubbock would lie in a rainshadow, again causing low precipitation.

How did we do. If anyone has ever been in Lubbock (especially in the spring time) you would know that the wind almost always blows in from the west. Temperatures are relatively warm but there is fairly large seasonal and daily variations in temperature. Lubbock has a semi-arid climate and receives on average about 18 inches of precipitation per year. Thus, with just a little bit of knowlege about the factors that influence global patterns of temperature and precipitation we were able to fairly accurately the climate in Lubbock. Thus, I would expect that organisms native to Lubbock should be well adapted to the low precipitation, continental climate of the region (the short grass prairie was the dominant vegetation type presettlement).

See use these patterns to understand climate in your town (note climate patterns in Texas are complicated in central and eastern Texas becasue of the influence of air masses coming up from the Gulf). Compare the temperature and precipitation of your town with that if very divergent locations around the globe.


Further Reading

If you would like some more detailed information about factors affecting climate and the atmosphere you can check out the Atmosphere Chapter in Michael Pidwirny's online Physical Geography textbook http://www.physicalgeography.net/fundamentals/contents.html.

Powerpoint Presentation

Click here to see the powerpoint presentation "Factors Influencing the Physical Environment".
http://www.slideshare.net/secret/EaVq4nm5KuSsBI

Expected Learning Outcomes
At the end of this course a fully engaged student should be able to

- describe global patterns of variation in temperature and precipitation and be able to explain the causes of these patterns


- for any location in the world, use your knowledge of the factors that affect global patterns to preict the local climate

Course Syllabus

Course Syllabus

Advanced Fieldcraft: Prairies and Rainforests

EVHM 3350-H01

Spring 2015

Class Meeting Time: T-Th 11 – 12:20, E&P Rm 300

Instructor: Dr. Mark McGinley

Room 215, McClelland Hall

mark.mcginley@ttu.edu

Office Hours: T-Th- 10-11 or by appointment

I encourage you to make an appointment to meet with me if you need to see me. The easiest ways to do this are (1) to talk to me either before or after class or (2) to send me an email listing times when you are available to meet with me and then I will let you know which works best for me.

Course Outline

This course will examine how the physical environment influences the ecology, history, society, and environmental issues of a region. We will contrast two distinctly different parts of the world, our local region, the semi-arid High Plains of Texas, with the wet, tropics of South East Asia.

This course is writing intensive. Students will work to develop educational materials that will be on public display by participating in the Encyclopedia of Earth's (EoE http://www.eoearth.org/) Student Science Communication Project. See an example of published student work at http://www.eoearth.org/article/Rivers_of_Texas).

Student Absence for Observation of Religious Holy Days

A student who is absent from classes for the observation of a religious holy day shall be allowed to take an examination or complete an assignment scheduled for that day within a reasonable time after the absence if, not later than the fifteenth day after the first day of the semester, the student had notified the instructor of each scheduled class that the student would be absent for a religious holy day.

Academic Integrity

Texas Tech University faculty strive to foster a spirit of complete honesty and high standards of integrity. Any attempt by students to present as their own work any work not honestly performed is regarded by faculty and administration as a most serious offence and renders offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension from the university. “Scholastic dishonesty” includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, collusion, falsifying academic records, misrepresenting facts, and any act designed to give an unfair academic advantage to a student. A detailed list of offenses is available in the Code of Student Conduct, found in Part IX, pp. 20-21 in the current Student Handbook, available on line at:

http://www.studentaffairs.ttu.edu?publications/SA_handbook_2005-2006.pdf.

Any student who, because of a disability, may require special arrangements in order to meet the course requirements should contact the instructor as soon as possible to make any necessary arrangements. Students should present appropriate verification from Student Disability Services during the instructor’s office hours. Please note instructors are not allowed to provide classroom accommodations to a student until appropriate verification from Student Disability Services has been provided. For additional information, you may contact the Student Disability Services office at 335 West Hall or 806-742-2405.

Expected Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of this course, a fully-engaged student will be able to:

1. Discuss basic concepts in population, community, and ecosystem ecology and environmental issues. Assessed by performance in class discussions/activities and written assignments.

2. Compare and contrast the physical environment, history, characteristics of organisms, and environmental issues in prairie and rainforest ecosystems. Assessed by performance on in-class discussions/activities and written assignments.

3. Communicate effectively about history, culture, sustainability, organisms, ecological communities & ecosystems, and environmental issues to a general audience. Assessed by performance on written papers.

4. Critique and evaluate the writing of others. Assessed on performance in writing workshops.

5. Identify, articulate, and reflect critically on ethical issues in personal, professional, and/or civic life from their own perspective as well as that of others.  Assessed through performance in in-class discussions and reflection portfolio.

Grading

15 %  Participation in class discussion, writing workshops, class activities

50 % Writing Assignments

            -     Short Essays

-          Students will participate in the Encyclopedia of Earth’s Student Science Communication Project in order to write an article suitable to be submitted for publication in the Encyclopedia of Earth

35 %  Reflection Portfolio

It is extremely important that all assignments be turned in on time!!!

Course Blog

I have created a blog for this course. This blog will be an important means of communication between us so I encourage you to check the blog early and often. The blog is located at http://evhm33502015.blogspot.com/. Hopefully, most of your questions about the details of the class will be answered somewhere on the blog. In addition, I will list specific “expected learning outcomes” for each lesson to help you focus your study efforts. Please regularly check the blog to learn about upcoming readings, activities, and assignments.

Required Reading

There is no required textbook for this course. I will assign readings throughout the semester on the course blog http://evhm33502015.blogspot.com/.

Books About Writing

Writing well is important for effective communication. Thus, improving your writing skills is an important component of this course. Here are a couple of references that would be useful for you to have on your shelf (and use) throughout your college career. (these books are not required).

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. and E.B. White.

Eats, Shoots & Leaves. The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation. By Lynne Truss.

Assignment #1- Global Challenges

In one page, double spaced, briefly discuss your views of the most important global challenges facing us in the next 50 years.

Due: Tuesday January 20th.

Global Poverty

Here is a link to a site with interesting (and I think depressing) info about poverty around the world.


http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats



Here is a link to an article that an ex student  posted on Facebook.


The world's 85 richest people have as much money as the world's poorest 3.5 billion.
http://www.relevantmagazine.com/slices/worlds-85-richest-people-have-much-money-worlds-poorest-35-billion

Global Challenges

Here are links to a couple of different websites discussing some of the major "global challenges" facing us.


http://www.millennium-project.org/millennium/challeng.html


http://sites.nationalacademies.org/International/international_052200

Encyclopedia of Earth Student Science Communication Project

The Encyclopedia of Earth (EoE- http://www.eoearth.org/) is an online source of information about the environment. The EoE differs from most other online sources because all articles are written by experts in the field and all articles are peer-reviewed before they are published. The EoE recently published its 7000th article and currently receives about 400,000 visitors each month.

The Student Science Communication Project (SSCP) at the EoE (http://www.eoearth.org/article/Student_Science_Communication_Project) allows undergraduate and graduate students to collaborate with scientists to write articles that can be submitted for review and if accepted, ultimately published in the EoE. Students at Texas Tech were among the first to participate in the SSCP and thus far Tech students have authored over 30 published articles!

Some of your writing assignments this semester will be aimed at producing information that can be submitted to the EoE. When your articles are published you will have something notable to add to your resume, or at least have something for your parents to hang on the fridge.

The Mark McGinley Story

Here is the perfect cure for insomnia!


The Formative Years

I was born in Corpus Christi, TX and after a couple of moves we ended up in Rosenberg, (near Houston) where I attended grade school. I was interested in biology from an early age; I watched Marlin Perkins and Jacque Cousteau (your parents should know who they are) and I spent a lot of time outdoors on family camping and fishing trips. Even though I grew up near Houston during the Apollo years, I always thought that it would be much cooler to be a biologist than an astronaut.

When I was in the sixth grade my family moved to Australia for four years. This was an amazing life change for a kid who thought that the annual trip to my grandparents’ house in Oklahoma was a big deal. I had the incomparable experience of living in another country and experiencing a whole new way of life. Probably the biggest difference between Australia and the U.S. was the schools. I went to an all-boys English-style, private school where we had to wear uniforms (suits and ties) and straw boater hats to class everyday (this probably explains my preferred style of dress today).

The move also provided me with the opportunity to travel the world. During trips through Europe and Asia we saw many places of historical and cultural interest. Among my favorites were the Coliseum in Rome, the Tower of London, and Mt. Fuji in Japan. More importantly, my travels exposed me to many new biological experiences including seeing hippos, gazelles, elephants, and a cheetah in South Africa, snorkeling and  beach combing in Hawaii, Tahiti, Fiji, and the Great Barrier Reef, chasing emus through the Australian outback, watching a male lyrebird do his mating dance, watching fairy penguins come ashore for the night off of the coast of southern Australia, and many sightings of other Australian wildlife including kangaroos and koalas (how many people do you know that have ever seen a koala running along the ground?).

During the summer before my sophomore year in high school we moved to Thousand Oaks, CA (old-timers will remember TO as the former summer home of the Dallas Cowboys before they were ruined by Jerry Jones) where I graduated from high school. During my senior year I spent a week studying ecology and philosophy in Yosemite National Park and this trip confirmed by desire to be a biologist.



Education



I enrolled at the University of California, Santa Barbara to study biology. UCSB is an incredible place to go to school (I could see the ocean from my bedroom window three out of the four years that I was there) and it also happened to have one of the best ecology programs in the world. Joe Connell (one of the most influential ecologist of our era) taught the ecology section of my intro biology course and also taught my first ecology course, so it is probably his fault that I am here today because after finishing his course I knew that I wanted to be an ecologist. Later, after taking courses from Steve Rothstein and Bob Warner, I became interested in behavioral and evolutionary ecology and I decided to go to grad school to study behavioral ecology. I went to Kansas State University in Manhattan, KS which was a pretty big change from UCSB. I enjoyed K-State (I learned to bleed purple for Wildcat basketball) and I was lucky to be able to spend summers working for my advisor Chris Smith at the Mountain Research Station in Colorado studying pollination in lodgepole pine. My Masters Thesis extended optimal foraging models to examine woodrats foraging for non-food items (sticks that they use to build their houses). I also did a theoretical study examining how food stress should affect sex ratios. I earned a Ph. D. at the University in Salt Lake City. For my Ph. D. thesis with Jon Seger, I developed models and conducted experiments to understand the causes of seed size variation in plants. During my little free time, I played volleyball with the U of U Volleyball Club team and I was probably the only person in the whole city who did not ski (I still don’t see the point of intentionally getting cold). I spent two years working as a post-doctoral researcher with Dave Tilman at the University of Minnesota. Our research focused on succession in old fields at Cedar Creek Natural History Area just north of Minneapolis.


Life at Texas Tech

I started as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at Texas Tech University in 1991. I am currently an Associate Professor with a joint position in the Honors College and the Department of Biological Sciences. In the Honors College I work closely with the Environment and the Humanities degree. (http://www.depts.ttu.edu/honors/evhm/).  Last year I was appointed as an Assistant Dean in the Honors College.


Teaching


I teach a wide variety of classes at Tech. Two of my favorite courses are Tropical Marine Biology (taught in Jamaica and Belize) and the Rio Grande Class (we take a week-long canoe trip through Big Bend over Spring Break). For the past 6 summers I have worked as a scuba instructor and marine biologist with Odyssey Expeditions leading sailing and scuba trips through the Caribbean (British Virgin Islands, Martinique, St. Lucia, and St. Vincent & the Grenadines).



Scholarship

For several years I conducted ecological research in the sand shinnery oak community in West Texas. My current interests are in science curriculum development, environmental education, and informal science education. I am currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Encyclopedia of the Earth (http://www.eoearth.org/) an online source of information about the environment.



Fulbright in Malaysia



I spent the 2010-2011 academic year as a Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the University of Malaya in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. In addition to teaching a class at the UM, I was able to travel throughout the Malaysia and other parts of SE Asia (Thailand and Cambodia). In enjoyed exploring the rainforests and islands of Malaysia.  Some of the coolest things I saw were a sea turtle laying eggs, Orangutans, and a Borneo Pygmy Elephant. To learn more about my adventures in Malaysia you can check out my blog. http://markinmalaysia.blogspot.com/



Traveling

I enjoy traveling and I have been able to explore my passion for scuba diving on dive trips in Texas (San Solomon Springs in Balmorhea and the Flower Garden Banks) throughout the Caribbean as well as Yap, Palau, Solomon Islands, Fiji, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Galapagos Islands. My favorite marine critters include hammerhead sharks, pygmy sea horses, and “the pea”. Over the holidays I visited the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia.

Here I am giving the "guns up" with a girl from the Kayan tribe in NW Thailand.  The Kayans are sometimes known as the "long-necks" because the women wear brass rings on their necks to make it appear that their necks are longer.