CEE 210 ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS Lecture: Global Perspectives on Ecology Instructor: L.R. Chevalier Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

CEE 210 ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS

Lecture: Global Perspectives on Ecology

Instructor: L.R. ChevalierDepartment of Civil and Environmental EngineeringSouthern Illinois University Carbondale

Environmental Biology

for Engineers

ObjectivesDescribe the different biomes found on earthReview the findings of the study on global

ecology commissioned by the United Nations Identify facts and challenges of global

ecologyUnderstand the role of civil and

environmental engineering in global ecology


for Engineers

What is Ecology?The study ofAdaptation of life to the environmentThe cycle of materials and energy through

living communities Changing environmentsAbundance and distribution of biodiversity in

context of the environment.


for Engineers

Biomes: Our ecological communities

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

Freshwater

Water, is a major natural resource. Freshwater biomes supply us with

our drinking water and water for crop irrigation

Countless species live in it for all or part of their lives.

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

Freshwater: Ponds and Lakes

A view across Manzanita Lake toward Mt. Lassen, CaliforniaA forest pond near Donnelly, IdahoGreat Blue HeronParanagat Lake, southeastern Nevada


for Engineers

Freshwater: Streams and rivers

McArthur-Burney Falls State Park, CaliforniaTroutGreen River, UtahBrooks River, Alaska.


for Engineers

Freshwater: Wetlands

Pescadero Marsh, CaliforniaCoastal marsh at Umpqua Dunes, OregonTrees and bogs on Esther Island, Alaska.


for Engineers

Marine

The world's oceans have an even greater effect on global climate than forests do.

Water has a high capacity for heat, and because the Earth is mostly covered with water, the temperature of the atmosphere is kept fairly constant and able to support life.

In addition to this climate-buffering capacity, the oceans contain several billion photosynthetic plankton which account for most of the photosynthesis occurring on Earth.

Without these, there might not be enough oxygen to support such a large world population and complex animal life.

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

Marine: Ocean

Ocean: mussels, worms, and a spider crab at a hydrocarbon seep community in the Gulf of MexicoA sea fan and brain coral in the Florida Keys National Marine SanctuaryA school of Atlantic amberjack off North Carolina.


for Engineers

Marine: Coral Reefs

Reef life in the Gulf of Aqaba, Red SeaReef at Fanning Island atoll in the central PacificReef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary


for Engineers

Marine: Estuaries

Mangrove roots, south FloridaWetlands and tidal streams in the Ashe Island area, ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve, South CarolinaSalt marsh in Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, South Carolina


for Engineers

Desert

Deserts cover about one fifth of the Earth's surface and occur where rainfall is less than 50 cm/year.

Most deserts, such as the Sahara of North Africa and the deserts of the southwestern U.S., Mexico, and Australia, occur at low latitudes,

Cold deserts, occur in the basin and range area of Utah and Nevada and in parts of western Asia.

Most deserts have a considerable amount of specialized vegetation, as well as specialized vertebrate and invertebrate animals.

Soils often have abundant nutrients, they need only water to become productive

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

Desert


for Engineers

Average Rainfall in Different Land Biomes


for Engineers

Desert: Hot and Dry

Baja, Mexico Uluru National Park, AustraliaKofa Mountains, Arizona


for Engineers

Desert: Semi-arid

Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area, southern NevadaSagebrush near Bridger, MontanaCastle Valley, Utah, east of Arches National Park.


for Engineers

Desert Coastal Desert

Namibia’s coastal desert

http://www.nasaimages.org/luna/servlet/detail/nasaNAS~10~10~75524~181098:Namibia


for Engineers

Desert: Cold

Lichen growing on Torgerson Island, Antarctica Kangaroo rat


for Engineers

Forest

Occupy approximately one-third of Earth's land area

Account for over two-thirds of the leaf area of land plants

Contain about 70% of carbon present in living things

Threatened by deforestation, product demand, and pollution

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

Tropical Forest

Olympic Peninsula rain forest, WashingtonPatria River, Costa RicaRanomafana National Park, MadagascarHawaiian forest.


for Engineers

World Map of Tropical Forest


for Engineers

Forest: Temperate Deciduous

Wisconsin woodsForest along California's north coastForested hills of the Adirondacks, New York.


for Engineers

World Map of Temperate Deciduous Forest


for Engineers

Forest: Boreal forest (taiga)

Taiga in Jasper National Park, AlbertaCanada; forest west of Stockholm, Sweden.


for Engineers

World Map of Taiga


for Engineers

Grasslands

Grasslands are characterized as lands dominated by grasses rather than large shrubs or trees

Savannas ◦ Cover almost half the surface of Africa (about five

million square miles, generally central Africa) and large areas of Australia, South America, and India.

Temperate grasslands◦ veldts of South Africa, the ◦ puszta of Hungary, the ◦ pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the ◦ steppes of the former Soviet Union, ◦ plains and prairies of central North America. Temperate

grasslands have hot summers and cold winters.

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

World Map of Grasslands


for Engineers

Grassland: Savannah

Savanna in the Samburu Game Preserve, Kenya


for Engineers

Grassland: Temperate

Colorado prairie


for Engineers

Tundra

Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturi, meaning treeless plain

Characteristics◦ Extremely cold climate ◦ Low biotic diversity ◦ Simple vegetation structure ◦ Limitation of drainage ◦ Short season of growth and reproduction ◦ Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic

material ◦ Large population oscillations

Freshwater

Marine

Desert

Forest

Grassland

Tundra


for Engineers

World Map of Tundra


for Engineers

Tundra: Arctic tundra

Churchill, Manitoba, CanadaArctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.


for Engineers

Tundra: Alpine tundra

Alpine tundra in Mt. Rainier National Park, Washington Dall Sheep in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.


for Engineers

Global Perspective: Millennium Ecosystem AssessmentCommissioned by the United NationsAssessed the consequences of ecosystem

change Study conducted from 2001 to 2005 Involved the work of more than 1,360

experts worldwide. Report provides a global view of ecosystems

◦ State-of-the-art scientific research◦ Trends◦ Human demands◦ Sustainability

http://www.maweb.org/en/Index.aspx


for Engineers

ReferencesThe World’s Biomes

◦ University of California Museum of Paleontology◦ On-Line Exhibit◦ http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/inde

x.php◦ Accessed April 2010

Millennium Ecosystem Assessment ◦ http://www.maweb.org/en/Index.aspx

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/index.php


http://www.maweb.org/en/Index.aspx


for Engineers

Images

The World’s Biomass◦ University of California Museum of Paleontology◦ On-Line Exhibit◦ http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/inde

x.php◦ Accessed April 2010

Namibia Desert◦ NASA Earth Observatory Collection

Maps of Land Biomes◦ Missouri Botanical Gardens◦ http://www.mbgnet.net/index.html◦ Accessed April 2010



http://www.mbgnet.net/index.html


for Engineers

Sources of photographs and images in sidebar

Human brain

◦ http://www.healthnak.com/mind/

X-rays images

◦ http://martingallerycharleston.com/index.html

Cold Virus (altered in Photoshop)

◦ http://medphoto.wellcome.ac.uk/

About the Instructor

Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Fellow, American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)

Diplomat, Water Resources Engineering, American Academy of Water Resources Engineering (AAWRE)

Board Certified Environmental Engineer, American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE)

Licensed Professional Engineer, State of Illinois

http://www.healthnak.com/mind/

http://martingallerycharleston.com/index.html

http://medphoto.wellcome.ac.uk/

Documents

CEE 210 ENVIRONMENTAL BIOLOGY FOR ENGINEERS Lecture: Global Perspectives on Ecology Instructor: L.R. Chevalier Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering