Biomes of Earth

Unit 1S7L4.e.

EQ: What are the 6 major biomes on the Earth?

To understand a world biome, you need to know:

• What the climate of the region is like including temperature & precipitation patterns.

• Where each biome is found and what its geography is like.

• The types of plants found in the biome.

• The types of animals found in the biome.

Tundra

Tundra

Tundra• little precipitation & very windy. Permafrost – frozen soil

• mostly northern hemisphere

• few trees, has mosses, grasses, shrubs

• extremely cold (winter = low as -50 °F, summer = high as 45 °F)

• caribou, Arctic hares, insect-eating birds, wolves, foxes, bears and deer

Taiga

Taiga

Taiga Coniferous trees (cones & needles), firs, spruce, hemlock

Very cold, lots of snow. Summers are rainy and warm enough to melt the snow.

Temps range from 11 °F in winter to 75 °F in summer

Seed eating animals – squirrels, insects, birds (finches & chickadees)

Herbivores – hares, moose, beavers

Carnivores – wolves, bears, lynxes

Desert

Desert

Desert Temp 68 to 120 ° F

Less than 25 centimeters of rain per year

very little rainfall and/or concentrated rainfall in short periods between long rainless periods

Plants include: Cactus, Prickly Pears, and Brittle Bush

Animals include: insects, arachnids, reptiles, and birds, and Horned Vipers

Savanna

Savanna

Savanna tropical grasslands found in a wide band on either side of the equator

on the edges of tropical rainforests

a very long dry season (winter), and a very wet season (summer)

68° to 86° F

120 centimeters of rain each year

Herbivores - Elephant, bison, antelopes, zebras, rhinoceros, giraffes, kangaroos.

Plants include shrubs and small trees, grasses

Tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforest

Tropical rainforest 325 to 1650 centimeters (50 – 260 inches) of rain per year

rarely gets higher than 93 °F or drops below 68 °F

Almost all rain forests lie near the equator

Bengal Bamboo, Bougainvillea, Curare, Coconut Tree, Durian, Jambu

Africa Forest Elephant, Bengal Tiger, Chimpanzee, Common Palm Civet or Musang, Dawn Bat, Golden Lion Tamarin, Harpy Eagle

that more than half of all the world's plant and animal species live in tropical rain forests. Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen

Temperate forest

Temperate forest

Temperate forest

Located in the northwestern coast of the United States

Receives more than 300 centimeters of rain a year

Huge trees including cedars, redwoods, and Douglas firs

Animals include mule deer, bald eagle, fox, black bear

Moderate temperatures – average 75 °F (24 °C)

mountains

mountains

mountains Found all around the world

Altitude of about 10,000 feet or more

Series of biomes as you go up. Base = grasslands Midway = forest Top = Tundra

Summer temperature range between 10 °F to 50 °F

Plants include: grasses, dwarf trees, small-leafed shrubs

Animals include: mountain goats, sheep, elk, beetles, grasshoppers

Grasslands

Grasslands

Grasslands Winter low as -40° F, summer high 70° F

two seasons: growing season and dormant season

25 to 75 centimeters of rain each year

Buffalo Grass, Sunflower, Crazy Weed, Asters, Blazing Stars, Coneflowers

Coyotes, Eagles, Bobcats, the Gray Wolf, Wild Turkey, Fly Catcher, Canadian Geese, Crickets

Aquatic Biomes of Earth

Unit 1S7L4.e.

EQ: What are the 3 major aquatic biomes on the Earth?

Freshwater

Freshwater Streams & Rivers:

Streams - Animals are adapted to strong currents (insects & small animals have hooks or suckers

to cling to rocks). Trout live here but few plants & algae so leaves and seeds provide food.

Rivers – Cloudy with soil, Plants take root, frogs, fish.

Ponds & Lakes:

Standing or still fresh water. Lakes are larger & deeper than ponds.

Ponds – plants can grow, catfish

Lakes – plants & algae float, dragonflies, turtles, snails, frogs, fish

Estuaries

Estuaries

Found where the fresh water of a river meets the salt water of the

ocean, calm waters

Algae, marsh grasses

Crabs, worms, clams, and fish

marine

marine Intertidal Zone - Neritic Zone - Open Ocean

All marine ecosystems are based on saltwater

Intertidal Zone: shoreline, animals (barnacles, sea stars, clams, & crabs)

Neritic Zone: photosynthesis can occur. Rich in living things, large schools of

fish (sardines), algae, coral reefs

Oceanic Zone: surface zone w/algae & Deep zone w/giant squids

Benthic Zone: ocean floor, organisms include bacteria, works, sea urchins