Download Biomes - Ursuline High School

Biomes
Sections 22-3 & 22-4
Pages 424-434
Great Web Site to Visit
https://royercenter.cwc.psu.edu/biodiversity/defined/biosphere/biomesp1.html
The Biosphere is divided into regions called
Biomes. Each Biome is occupied by
characteristic communities or ecosystems of
plants and animals that share adaptations which
promote survival within the biome.
Terrestrial Biomes
• characterized and named according to the climax
vegetation
• climax vegetation determines which animals will
live there
• eight types–
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Tropical Forest
Savannah/Grasslands
Desert
Temperate Deciduous Forest
Northern Coniferous Forest
Taiga
Tundra
Polar Region
Tundra
• is extremely cold and dry
• short growing season
and permafrost
(permanently frozen soil)
• during the summer, the
thawing topsoil supports
a grassland type
community with grasses,
sedges, mossesand
other vegetation tolerant
of soggy soils
• Animals include caribou,
musk oxen, owls, foxes,
hares, and wolves
Taiga
• winters are cold,
and precipitation is
in the form of
snow.
• Soil is low in
nutrients and
highly acidic
• are characterized
by coniferous
forests (pines, firs,
and other trees
with needles).
Temperate Deciduous Forests-
• have warm summers and cold winters (red), moderate
precipitation (green), and rich soil with decaying organic
matter and worms and fungi.
• contain deciduous trees that shed their leaves during the
winter (beech, birch, maple, oaks, and willows), an adaptation
to poor growing conditions (short days and cold
temperatures).
• animals include deer, fox, woodchucks, and squirrels
Temperate
Grasslands
• receive less
water and are
subject to lower
temperatures
than are
savannas.
• the North
American prairie
is an example.
Savannas• subject to high
temperatures (red),
and low rainfall
(green).
• are tropicalsubtropical grasslands
with scattered bushes
and trees.
• animals include longlegged, hoofed
herbivores (like bison,
antelopes, cattle, and
zebras).
Deserts-
• are hot and dry.
• soil is sandy and nutrient poor
• growth of annual plants is
limited to short periods
following rains.
• other plants have adapted to
the hostile conditions with
leathery leaves, deciduous
leaves, or leaves reduced to
spines (cacti).
• many animals have thick
skins, conserve water by
producing no urine or very
concentrated urine, and
restrict their activity to nights.
Tropical Rain Forests
• are characterized by high
temperature (red) and heavy
rainfall (green).
• vegetation consists mostly of tall
trees that branch only at their tops,
forming a spreading canopy that
allows little light to reach the forest
floor.
• epiphytes (plants that live on other
plants) and vines commonly grow
on the trees, but due to lack of
light, little grows on the forest floor.
• typical animals include monkeys,
lizards, snakes, and birds.
Marine Biomes = Saltwater
Ocean Zones
– Photic Zone =
sunlight area
– Aphotic Zone = cold,
dark area
– Intertidal Zone =
area between high &
low tides (area in &
out of water twice a
day)
– Neritic Zone
=shallow, sunlight
area of ocean
– Oceanic Zone = the
Intertidal Zones
(where oceans meet land)
• area exposed to air twice
a day during low tide
• organisms must protect
themselves from
dehydration and crashing
waves
• plants include Fucus,
Laminaria, kelp,
• animals include crabs,
mussels, sea stars, sea
anemones, chitons, and
snails
Marine Biome
Continental Shelf
(the shallow oceans that border
continents)
Alaska
Bering
Sea
Shelf
Neritic Zones
(area over the continental shelf)
• area where
photosynthesis takes
place
• most productive area of
the ocean
• plants include plankton,
and seaweeds like
Sargassum
• animals include coral,
mollusks, crustaceans,
sea turtles, and fishes
Marine Biome
Coral Reef
(masses of corals that reach the ocean
surface)
Marine Biome
Pelagic Ocean
(the deep ocean)
Marine Biome
Pelagic Ocean
•
•
•
•
low nutrient levels
low productivity
part light, part dark
wide range of pressure
and temperature
• contains fewer species
• producers include
photosynthetic protists
and bacteria at surface,
and chemosynthetic
bacteria at volcanic vents
• consumers include fish,
Marine Biome
include Estuaries (where oceans meet
rivers)
bays, mud flats, and salt marshes
• lots of light
• lots of nutrients
• large variation in
temperature and
salinity
• some areas exposed to
air during low tide
• plants include trees,
grasses, and seaweed
• animals include birds,
Estuary
Freshwater Biomes
include ponds, lakes,
• have low salt concentration (most
freshwater biomes have less than 1% salt)
• plants include lilies, algae, rushes, cattails
• animals include birds, fish, otter, beaver
• two types:
– Eutrophic = rich organic matter and
nutrients, and murky
– Oligotrophic = very little organic matter
Freshwater Biomes
Streams and Rivers
• have low salt
concentration
• water flows down a
slope
– the greater the slope, the
faster the current and the
lower the nutrients
• higher concentrations of
O2
• plants include algae,
cattails, shrubs,