Download Biomes - Bibb County Schools

Biomes
Tundra
Tundra
• Far North sub Arctic
• Permafrost, so nothing with deep roots
• Lichens, mosses, grasses
• Reindeer, Musk ox, polar bear
• Very cold winters(well below freezing) with low
precipitation
• Short cold summers (6-10 weeks, around freezing)
Taiga
Taiga
• Northern coniferous forest, or boreal forest
• Northern Canada, Scandanavia, Russia
• Long cold winters
• Short mild summers (2-3 months, can reach 70 oF)
• Grizzly bears, moose, bald eagle, bobcat, black bear,
lynx, grey wolf, red fox, wolverine
• Primarily fir or evergreen trees
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Temperate Deciduous Forest
• Hardwood trees which drop their leaves in winter and
conifers
• From Maine through central Florida, central Europe
• Cold winters, hot summers (cold/hot seasonality)
• Oak, hickory, shrubs, pines, maple, ash, sweetgum
• Deer, rattlesnakes, coyotes, foxes, many birds, bear,
wild hogs
Tropical Rain Forest
Tropical Rain Forest
• Equatorial regions of South America, Africa, Southeast
Asia
• Warm all year round, very rainy season and not so
rainy season
• Widest diversity of both plant and animal life.
• Monkeys, gorillas, tigers, anaconda
• Canopy can be different than the floor
Savanna: Tropical Grassland
Savanna
• Sub Saharan Africa (Think Lion King), India, Northern
Australia
• Warm all year long with distinct rainy and dry seasons
• Zebra, cheetah, giraffe, lions, leopards, wildebeest,
elephants, gazelles, black mamba, koala bear, hyena
• Grasses, acacia trees, baobab
Baobab Tree
Prairie: Temperate Grassland with tall grass
Prairie
• Central Canada down to Texas
• Cold snowy winters, Hot wet summers
• Various grasses, few trees
• Bison, prairie dogs, wolves, coyote, badger
Steppes: Temperate Grassland with short grass
Steppes
• Eastern Europe, central Asia
• Found between deserts and forest
• Hot humid summers, cold dry winters
• Rainfall between a desert and a prairie
• Grasses, few trees
• Horses, fox, antelope, lynx
• Nomads would wander in search of water
Pampas: South American Grassland
Pampas
• Similar to prairie, but more humid
• Pampas grass
• Argentina
Chapparal
Chapparal
• Mediterranean shrubland
• Southwest USA, Northwest Mexico, western South
America, Coastal Australia, Middle East, South Africa
(Fynbos)
• Mild moist winter, hot dry summer. Plants have waxy
coatings to conserve water
• Sagebrush, olive trees, small shrubs, cedar trees
• Coyotes, roadrunners, jack rabbits, mule deer,
alligator lizards, horned toads, cougars.
• Fire is prominent
The California Problem
• Chapparal shrubland is dry in the summer, making it prime
for fire.
• Environmental efforts have helped to reduce incidences of
fire, but that has led to more availability of fuel, therefore
the fires are much more severe.
• These fires melt the waxy coatings on the plants and it
soaks into the soil, sort of waterproofing the soil.
• When the rainy season comes, instead of soaking in, the
water tends to run off, leading to massive landslides.
Desert
Desert
Desert
• Defined as receiving less than 10 inches of rain a year.
• Can be hot, semiarid, coastal, and cold
• All are significantly cooler at night than in the day.
• Plants and animals must be able to conserve water
and animals must be able to efficiently cool
themselves.
• Yucca, creosote, cactus, Joshua tree, ironwood tree
• Rattlesnakes, gila monsters, coyotes, camel, bobcat,
lizards
Estuary
Estuary
• Where rivers meet oceans
• One of the most productive ecosystems on earth
• Marshes, mangroves, coral reefs, rocky shores, oyster
beds
• Plants must cope with varying salt levels, low oxygen
levels in mud, ocean currents and waves, varying light.
Seagrasses, dune grasses and aquatic plants are
common
• Birds, crabs, shrimps, clams, otters, starfish, seals, fish
Aquatic Biomes
• Marine ecosystems:
• Cover 2/3 of the surface of the earth.
• Divided into zones according to the amount of
sunlight they get.
• Photic: 0-200 m, can support photosynthesis
• Aphotic: below 200 m, no light
• Benthic zone: bottom
Freshwater Zones
• Littoral: between high and low marks on the
shoreline
• Limnetic: open water
• Benthic: bottom
Marine Zones
• Intertidal: between high and low tides
• Neritic: out to the continental shelf
• Bathyal: to the base of the continental shelf
• Abyssal: > 2000 m deep, total darkness