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Biomes and Aquatic Ecosystems Biomes • Species that live in the same Biomes – look and act similar – have similar niches, Examples: • • • • • • • • Large omnivores like bears Large predators Medium-sized predators Hoofed herbivores Seed eaters Small herbivores Small rodents that eat plants Small insect eaters Biome Types • Forest – Deciduous trees – loose their leaves all at once – Coniferous tress - evergreen • Grassland • Desert • Tundra What is a Biome? • Similar climate – Temperature and precipitation – Latitude and Altitude • Similar vegetation (plants) • Plants determine what animals live there What is climate? • Weather – day to day condition of the Earth’s atmosphere at a particular time and place • Climate – average, year-after-year conditions of temperature and precipitation in a particular region Tropical Rain Forest • Mineral-poor soil • High rainfall evenly distributed throughout the year • High species richness, high productivity Rainforest over half of the world's plant and animal species live here. All fit into only seven percent of the world's land. Found in: Central Africa, Southeast Asia, Philippines, New Guinea, Central and South America. Tropical Rain Forest Rainforest • Layers: • Top – Emergent layer – tallest trees above rest of forest • Next – canopy – top of normal trees • Lower canopy – epiphytes – plants that grow on tree trunks – not soil - because light is so far from ground. • Understory – lowest level, much darker Rainforest Layers Boreal Forest (Taiga) • Short growing season • Acidic, mineral-poor soil • Coniferous trees adapted to cold winters Taiga • The word taiga means, "marshy pine forest" in Russian. • one of the most fragile biomes. • Found in Northern Hemisphere. • Growing season very short • Nearly constant daylight in summer • Many lakes and swamps Boreal Forest Temperate Rain Forest • High precipitation • Large conifers dominate Temperate Rain Forest Temperate Deciduous Forest • Precipitation relatively high • Soils rich in organic matter • Broad-leaf trees that lose their leaves seasonally dominate Temperate Deciduous Forest Boreal Forest (Taiga) • Short growing season • Acidic, mineral-poor soil • Coniferous trees adapted to cold winters Temperate Grassland • Deep, mineral-rich soil • Moderate but uncertain precipitation Temperate Grassland Tropical Grassland (Savanna) • Tropical areas with low or seasonal rainfall • Widely scattered trees interspersed with grassy areas Savanna • Found near equator between tropical rain forest and desert biomes • Grass, scattered trees, shrubs, many with thorns • Many grazing animals • Have a wet and dry season • Plants and animals most active during wet season. Savanna Chaparral • Climate of wet, mild winters and dry summers • Thickets of small-leaf evergreen shrubs and trees Chaparral smallest biome. grows between forest and grassland, or between desert and grassland biomes. Many plants and trees have leathery leaves, gnarled bark, and intimidating thorns. Often called “scrub” Chaparral Desert • Both – temperate (cold deserts) – subtropical or tropical regions (warm deserts) • Low levels of precipitation • Organisms with specialized waterconserving adaptations Desert Desert • Deserts take up 8.6 million square miles on Earth • Get less than 25 cm of rain each year • Has little or no vegetation • Driest places on earth • Often located on the dry side of mountain ranges Tundra • Northernmost biome • Frozen layer of subsoil (permafrost) • Low-growing vegetation adapted to extreme cold and a short growing season Tundra • Arctic tundra can be found in Antarctica and the North Pole, North of the Arctic Circle. • Grass, lichen and herbs • Many insects during warm season Arctic Tundra Freshwater Ecosystems • What is a watershed? • Flowing water ecosystems – Rivers, streams • Standing water ecosystems – Lakes, ponds • Littoral zone – area closest to the shore • Limnetic zone – open water that is well lit • Profundal zone – deepest area with little light and oxygen – Eutrophication – increase in the amount of nutrients in an aquatic ecosystem Lake Zones Freshwater Ecosystems (Continued) • Standing water – Wetlands – covered by water at least part of the year • Marsh – no trees • Swamp – has trees • Bog – acidic water – Important functions: • • • • • • trap and filter pollutants, reduce flooding, buffer the shoreline, spawning grounds for animals, habitat, recreational. Estuaries • Wetlands formed when rivers meet the sea – Brackish water – mix of salt and fresh water – Basis of food web not photosynthesis, but detritus (tiny pieces of organic matter) – ‘Nursery’ for fish, birds, invertebrates • Threats – Pollution – Solid waste landfills Types of Estuaries • Salt marsh – Temperate, as in NJ – Salt tolerant sea grass • Mangrove swamps – Tropical, as in Everglades in Florida – Salt tolerant trees Estuary Marine Ecosystems • Coastal Ocean – from low tide to continental shelf • Open ocean • Coral reefs Coastal Ocean • Intertidal zone – High tide and Low tide twice a day caused by the moon’s gravity – Regular and extreme changes in temperature and wetness – Zonation – horizontal banding of organisms that live in intertidal zone Intertidal Zone Organisms Open Ocean • Zones – Photic – light penetrates no more than 200 meters • Phytoplankton – algae that use light to make their own food (photosynthesis) • Zooplankton and animals that eat them – Aphotic – no light • Decomposers and filter feeders • Benthic – organisms that live on the bottom Open Ocean Open Ocean Animals Coral Reef • Limestone ridges built by tiny coral animals related to jellyfish • Need warm salt water • Fragile ecosystems – Can’t survive water too warm, too cold or too polluted – Coral bleaching – when corals die they turn white Coral Reef Arctic and Antarctic Ecosystems • Marine ecosystems • Arctic Ocean – Rich in nutrients – Large populations of plankton, fish, birds, whales, seals, polar bears • Antarctic – Continent – Like the Arctic, plankton are the basis of the food web (fish, whales, birds including penguins)