Download Academic Raceway Lesson Ecosystems and Biomes

Academic Raceway Lesson
Ecosystems and Biomes
Mrs. Price Grade 4/5
SPEED
LIMIT
What is an environment?
• Everything that surrounds and affects
an animal, including living and nonliving
things.
What is an ecosystem?
• An ecosystem is the environment,
its living and nonliving elements,
and how they work together.
Types of ecosystems:
•
•
•
•
Desert
Tundra/Alpine Tundra
Grassland/Savanna
Everglades
Characteristics of a Desert
Very little rainfall (less than 10
inches/yr)
Very hot and dry
Animal adapt to heat by being
nocturnal, active at night and
rest during the day.
Tundra/Alpine Tundra
• Very cold.
• Home to many types of plants and
animals that have adapted to extreme
conditions.
• Very few trees survive, but there are
many shrubs, mosses, and lichens.
• Much of the land has ground that is
permafrost, permanently frozen.
Characteristics of a
Grassland
• Grassland biomes are large, rolling
terrains of grasses, flowers and herbs.
• Grasslands are found on every
continent except Antarctica.
Characteristics of
Everglades
• Called a "river of grass" because of its
water and the thick sawgrass that grows
there.
• Home to hundreds of different
organisms.
• Over 43 different types of mosquitoes.
• Mangrove forests help rid water of
excess salt.
Vocabulary
• Adaptation occurs when plants and
animals change in order to survive.
• One way animals can adapt to the
changing environment is by hibernating.
• Plants have thick leaves in the desert to
retain water.