Biomes

Sections 22-3 & 22-4 Pages 424-434

Great Web Site to Visit

https://royercenter.cwc.psu.edu/biodiversity/defined/biosphere/biomes p1.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 – 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

• 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).

Taiga

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 tropical subtropical grasslands with scattered bushes and trees. • animals include long legged, 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 rest of the open

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, whales, dolphins, clams,

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

Estuary

• some areas exposed to air during low tide • plants include trees, grasses, and seaweed • animals include birds, fish, clams, crabs, and

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 O 2 • plants include algae, cattails, shrubs, • animals include fish,