Activity 2.3- Biosphere and Interconnections

Concept Map 1

Concept 2

Concept Map 3

Concept Map 1:

The key ideas discussed within chapter four consists of energy transformation, energy flow, and a brief mention of the units of energy. When viewing the graph, it is important to follow the guidelines and recognize the colors in which the topics and explanations are given. For example, the energy transformation topic (dark blue), discuss' the Laws of Thermodynamics (dark green), and those laws are defined to the side (light green). Then, we have the topic of energy flow, which, too, includes the Laws of Thermodynamics, therefore there is another line drawn towards it. In terms of an ecosystems source of energy, this is tied to solar radiation in its own topic. However, solar radiation is also how autotrophs gain their energy. So, in other words, each category consists of subcategories, and so on and so forth. The flow of energy, when speaking of organisms, will consist of the autotrophs and heterotrophs in an environment. It is important to note that autotrophs are primary producers, while heterotrophs are primary consumers. The map proceeds to aid for the discussion about the food chain/web. Altogether, the chapter focuses on the flow and exchange of energy in terms of how it occurs between organisms and the environment, including the sun and the importance of its solar energy.

Concept Map 2:

For chapter 7, the map gets a little more complex. It starts by addressing the values of biodiversity: utilitarian and intrinsic. We then have the topic of the organization of life, which are separated into kingdoms. I felt it was important to categorize these kingdoms into the prokaryotes and eukaryotes. For the prokaryotic kingdoms, we have monera and animalia. The eukaryotes are fungi, plantae, and protistas. Each kingdom is given a brief description as well. I decided to include a more in-depth description for both the fungi and plantae categories because of its mention on the text. For fungi, I included a list of the three main divisions; ascomycetes, basidiomycetes, and zygomycetes, in addition to what they are. For plantae, I included two plant categories while listing the specific examples of them underneath (light yellow).

Concept Map 3:

Chapter 8, and short and sweet map discussing biomes. I started with the pure definition and description of a biome, and on the left, I explain what exactly distributed biomes into their own categories. We have terrestrial, freshwater, and marine biomes. Within the freshwater biome category, there are two branches discussing the difference between the lentic and lotic ecosystems and what puts them under that topic. As a sidenote, I added the branch of ecoregions and ecozones, practically biomes on a bigger scale before they were classified as such.

Text reference

Freedman, B. (2018). Environmental science: A Canadian perspective. Halifax, Canada: Dalhousie University Libraries.