BIOMES
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Biogeography - study of where
organisms live
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Continental drift - slow motion
of continents
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Dispersal of organisms
• Movement of organisms from 1
place to another
• Dispersal is usually caused by wind,
water or living things
• Species that evolve in an area are
called native species
• Species that are carried to a location
are exotic species.
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Climate and biomes
• The typical weather patterns
over a long period of time is the
climate.
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Biomes are a group of ecosystems
with similar climates (temperature
and rainfall) and organisms.
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Rain Forest Biomes
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Tropical Rain Forest - found
near the equator -
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Tropical Rain forests
have many species of
plants and animals
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Temperate
Rain Forest northwestern
U.S., Chile,
South Australia
- more
moderate
temperatures,
but still have a
lot of rain.
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Temperate Rain Forests have many
types of plants and animals
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COFFEE BEANS
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Desert Biomes
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Deserts: areas that receive less than
25cm of rain per year. Most deserts get
very hot during the day and get very cold
at night.
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In the Desert Biome,
plants (cactus) have the
ability to hold water for
later use and most animals
(scorpion) are nocturnal.
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Grassland
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Grasslands receive more rain than the
desert - enough to support grasses and
bushes, but not enough to support
trees.
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Savannas
are like the
grasslands
except that
they do
receive
enough rain
to support
small trees.
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Animals that appear in both include:
bison, antelopes, giraffes and kangaroos.
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Deciduous Forest
The weather in this
area changes with
the seasons. It
becomes very cold
in the winter and
hot in the summer.
There is enough
rainfall to support
large trees.
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Trees in
this biome
drop their
leaves in
the fall and
new ones
sprout
each
spring.
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Animals include deer, skunks,
insects and bears.
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Coniferous Forest
The weather here is colder.Winters
have much more snow. Summers
don’t get quite as warm.
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Coniferous trees make-up most of
the plant life here.
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Animals in this biome include deer, elk,
moose and wolves.
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Tundra
The land here is very cold and dry.
It has a permanent layer of frost
all year (permafrost).
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Plants include mosses, shrubs and
willow trees.
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Animals such as wolves, foxes, hares
and caribou grow thick fur during the
winter to keep warm.
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Freshwater Biomes
• Algae is the most abundant plant in
the water biomes because sunlight
has to be there in order for
photosynthesis to occur.
• Freshwater biomes are divided into 2
groups: ponds and lakes and streams
and rivers
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Ponds and Lakes
Lakes are deeper than ponds.
Sometimes ponds are shallow enough
for sunlight to reach the bottom which
lets plants grow.
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Animals include
those that live on
the shore (snails
and frogs) and
those that live in
the water
(catfish).
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Streams and Rivers
The water runs fast in these areas. Few
plants can survive in the fast current, so
consumers must rely on leaves and seeds
that fall in.
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Animals have
to be strong
enough to
fight the
current (trout)
or have to be
able to cling to
rocks.
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Marine Biomes
• Divided into 4 sections: Estuaries,
Intertidal Zone, Neritic Zone, and
Surface/Deep Zone.
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Estuaries
• This is where the water from the rivers
and streams runs into the ocean, making
a mixture of salt and fresh water.
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Since sunlight
is plentiful in
this area, so is
the plant life.
An example is
marsh grass.
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Animals in this area include crabs,
worms, oysters and fish.
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Intertidal
Includes
area
from
hightide line
to lowtide
line.
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Organisms must be
able to take the
pounding sea and
changes in
temperature.
Examples include
barnacles, clams
and crabs.
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Neritic Zone
Area from low-tide level to end of
continental shelf. Water is fairly shallow, so
photosynthesis can occur.
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Many types of fish and plant life.
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Surface Zone(Limnetic)
The top few meters of the open ocean where
light can still pass through.
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Algae is the main plant and many
animals such as tuna and whale.
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Deep Zone
This is the lower part of the deep ocean
where light does not reach.
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The animals
there live on
the remains
of other
organisms
that sink to
the ocean
floor. Squid
live in this
area.
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Primary Succession
• Primary succession is a series of
changes that occur in an area where no
ecosystem has ever been.
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Pioneer
species
are the
first
species to
populate
an area.
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Secondary Succession
• Secondary succession occurs when
there are a series of changes after a
natural disturbance (hurricane, fire,
etc..) It only can occur in a place where
an ecosystem has already existed.
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A species
that
influences
the survival
of many
other species
is a keystone
species.
Bats are considered keystone species of
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many ecosystems.
Extinction:
Disappearance of all
members of a species.
Those in danger of
becoming extinct are
endangered, and those
that could be
endangered soon are
threatened species.
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Causes of Extinction
Aside from natural disasters,
actions by humans such as:
• Habitat destruction
• Poaching
• Pollution and
• Introducing an exotic species can
cause extinction.
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Environmental Issues
• Resource Use
• Population Growth
• Pollution
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Resource Use
• Renewable Resources - natural
resources that can be replaced in
a relatively short amount of time
(sun, wind, rain …)
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Nonrenewable Resources - those
that either take a very long time to
replace or cannot be replaced at all
(coal and oil)
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Environmental Science - The
study of natural processes that occur
in the environment and how humans
can affect them.
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Factors that
affect
biodiversity
in an
ecosystem
include area,
climate and
diversity of
niches.
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