Bio Lab Outline
Ecology: Part of the biology that is concerned with the interactions of organisms with
each other and with the physical and chemical features of the environment.
Environmental Factors which are important in determining what organisms occur are
temperature, available moisture, and soil compositions.
San Luis Obispo gets 22 inches of rain on average.
The amount of water in environments depends on slope of land, the exposure to the sun
and wind, the depth and kind of soil, and drainage patterns.
Communities usually have one or more dominant species.
-Riparian Community
Community adjacent to a body of water such as a creek or river.
Enough soil water for plant growth all year long.
During rainy season, soil becomes saturated which makes the soil lessen the amount of
oxygen in the soil for root respiration.
Dominant Species are large trees including: Arroyo Willow, Black Cottonwood,
California Bay, Sycamore
Sycamore’s and Cottonwoods have thin, wide, flat leaves. This results in a great deal of
water loss through evaporation.
Native sycamore’s are subject to a fungal disease. This disease is worst during the spring,
and best during the summer. Prevents growth and flowering.
Most of the trees are deciduous.
Giant Horsetail
-Coastal Live Oak Woodland
On some slopes where there is enough water and soil, coast live oak is the dominant
species.
The live oak has leathery leaves are more adapted for reducing water loss.
The oak is accompanied by California Bay and Toyon
Shrubs are also present, including California sagebrush, poison oak, and sticky monkey
flower.
-Chaparral
Word Chaparral is derived from a Spanish word meaning the place of scrub oaks.
Typically occurs in climates with mild winters and get 15-25 inches of rain.
Typically shallow soil with deep cracks
Sometimes chaparral communities are separated into two groups, Hard Chaparral and
Coastal Scrub
Dominating shrubs have flat, leathery leaves which are heavily cutinized.
Underneath the plants, there is virtually no plant life due to: shading, competition
between roof systems, grazing of seedlings by small mammals, and allelopathy.
Dominant hard chaparral shrubs: Chamise, Mountain Mahogany, Leather Oak, Toyon
Leaves of dominant plants in coastal scrub are soft, usually not leathery.
Dominants of the coastal scrub: California sagebrush, Coyote bush, California
buckwheat, Deerweed, Sticky monkey flower, Black sage, Poison oak.
-Grassland Community
Grass plants typically have numerous, much branched, threadlike roots.
They have shallow roots which allows for a large surface area through which water is
absorbed.
