What is an adaptation?
 An action or characteristic that helps a
living thing survive in its environment.
 Adaptations help them to:
–
–
–
–
–
get their food
reproduce
protect themselves from predators
survive climate
deal with geographic features
Getting food
 Venus fly trap
Reproduction
 Male peacock
Protecting themselves from
predators
 Cactus
Surviving climate
 Polar bear
Dealing with geographic features
 Polar bear
Biomes of the World
What is a biome?
 Areas of the world with similar climates,
land features and plants and animals.
 Animals and plants in each biomes have
special adaptations to help them survive
in their environment.
The World’s Biomes
 Land Biomes
Rainforests
Tundra
Taiga or coniferous
Desert
Grasslands
Deciduous
 Freshwater
River
Pond/lakes
Wetlands
 Marine
Shoreline
Tropical oceans
Temperate oceans
#1
 The world’s largest biome is very cold
and found in the northern part of the
world. It contains mainly coniferous
trees, such as spruce and pine. These
trees produce cones and have leaves
shaped like needles.
Boreal Forest or taiga
#2
 You can find many trees, like maple and
oak, in this biome. These trees shed
their leaves and grow new ones each year.
It has warm summers and cold winters. It
is the biome we live in.
Deciduous forest
#3
 This biome has very extreme weather. It
is very hot during the day and very cold
at night. Because of the weather, plants
are usually short and hardy. You can find
plants like the cactus growing here.
Desert
#4
 This biome has hot summers and cold
winters. There is not enough rainfall for
many trees to grow, but you can find a lot
of grass. It is home to the largest land
animals on earth.
Grasslands
#5
 This biome lies near the equator. About
half of the world’s plant and animal
species are found here. It is usually
warm and humid all year and there is a lot
of rain.
Tropical rainforest
#6
 This treeless biome is usually very cold
and very dry. The soil is frozen all year
around, this is called permafrost. It can
support plants such as mosses and short
grasses. This biome is located in the
northern most part of the world.
Tundra
Streams and rivers
ponds and lakes
•Running
water
•Fewer plants
and algae
*standing water
freshwater
*more plants and
algae
Estuary
 Found where fresh river water and salty ocean
water meet
Intertidal zone
 Found between the
highest and lowest
tide. Organisms must
be adapted to survive
pounding waves, and
changes in water level
and temperature.
Neritic zone
 Found below the lowtide line and out over
the continental shelf.
Since sunlight can
pass through the
shallow water, this
area in rich with life.
Surface zone
 Light is able to
penetrate the first
few hundred meter
on the surface of the
open ocean. Larger
marine animals can be
found in this zone.
Deep zone
 Found below the
surface of the open
ocean, this zone is
almost completely
dark.