Page 8-33
What is a Biome?
 The biosphere is a thin layer of air, land and water on
our near Earth’s surface where living things exist.
 Scientists study the biosphere by breaking it down into
smaller divisions (from largest to smallest):

Biome: largest division of the biosphere, which
includes large regions with similar biotic
components & similar abiotic components
 Ecosystem: part of biome in which abiotic
components interact with biotic components
 Habitat: place in which organisms live
 A biome is a region with similar biotic and abiotic
components.
 Biotic= living things
 (e.g. Plants, animals, fungi, and bacteria)
 Abiotic = non-living things
 (e.g. sunlight, soil, moisture, and temperature)
What are Earth’s biomes like?
 A large portion of the Earth’s biosphere consists of
fresh water and oceans.
 These aquatic biomes are essential for terrestrial
life.
 Marine algae supply at least 75% of the world’s oxygen
and remove large amounts of carbon dioxide from the
atmosphere.
 Seawater that evaporates produces rainfall for terrestrial
life.
 We will be focussing on Earth’s eight
terrestrial (land-based) biomes:
 tundra, boreal forest, temperate
deciduous forest, temperate rainforest,
grassland, tropical rainforest, desert, &
permanent ice
 Biomes are complex due to the interactions
between biotic and abiotic factors.
Activity #1
 Observing Patterns in World Biomes
 Please refer to your worksheet package and pg
10-11 of your textbook
 Complete activity with partner
 When done, begin reading pg. 10-17 and begin to
complete “Biome Distribution Basics”
worksheet
 You may work with a partner as long as the noise
level remains low and you are working
TOGETHER (no copying)
What factors influence the characteristics
and distribution of biomes?
 Two of the most important abiotic
factors that influence the
characteristics of biomes and the
distribution of biomes on Earth are
temperature and precipitation.
 Precipitation includes rainfall, snow,
mist & fog.
Refer to the graph below (and on page 13 of your text) in
order to answer the Practice Problems that follow.
 The graph shows the 8 terrestrial biomes in relation to
average annual precipitation and average annual
temperature.
 Practice Problems
 Try the following biome identification problems yourself.
Identify the biome of each region using the data provided.

 1. The region has an average annual precipitation of about 175 cm
and an average annual temperature of 5°C. Boreal forest

 2. The region ranges in temperature between 0°C and 20°C and
receives about 100 cm of rain. Temperate deciduous forest
 3. The region has low average annual precipitation and an
average annual temperature that ranges between -18°C and 8°C.Tundra
 4. The region has high average annual precipitation and an
average annual temperature of 15°C. Temperate rainforest

 The overlap between the biomes on the graph above
indicates that there are other factors that influence
temperature and precipitation.
 These factors include latitude, elevation and ocean
current.
Latitude
 Latitude, the distance measured in degrees north or
south from the equator, affects temperature and
precipitation.
 The equator, which is at 0° latitude divides the earth into
the north and south equator.
 The sun shines down on the equator almost directly
providing 12 hours of sunshine every day throughout the
year.
 Therefore tropical zone, since it is located directly above
and below the equator, experiences little annual
fluctuations in temperature.
 North and south of the tropical zone, the sun’s rays hit
Earth’s surface at an angle, due to the tilt of Earth.
 The sun’s rays are less intense the further they are from
the equator giving rise to lower temperatures in what are
called the temperate zones.
 Precipitation is also affected by latitude.
 At the equator, the direct sunlight heats moist air
which rises, cools in the upper atmosphere and falls
back to Earth as rain. (The land and ocean at the
equator receives the greatest amount of rainfall on
Earth)
 In polar regions, the temperature of the air is too cold
to pick up and retain moisture so there is very little
precipitation.
 Cold air masses from the polar regions collide with
warm air masses from the tropics within the temperate
zones. Seasonal rainfall patterns result.
Elevation
 Elevation, the height of a land mass above sea level,
also has an effect on temperature and precipitation.
 The atmosphere becomes colder at higher elevations
and therefore retains less moisture.
Ocean Currents
 Ocean currents are another abiotic factor
that affects temperature and precipitation.
 The coast of our province is affected by
ocean currents making it warmer and wetter
than other temperate biomes.
What are climatographs?
 Climate is the average pattern of weather
conditions that occur in a region.
 A climatograph is a graph of climate data for a
specific region.
 It includes average monthly temperature and an average
of the total monthly precipitation for each month.
 They can be used to compare temperature and
precipitation patterns among different regions within a
biome or regions in different biomes.
How are organisms adapted to the
specific conditions of their biome?
 Biomes are often identified with characteristic plants
and animals, such as a cactus in the desert or a caribou
on the tundra.
 The plants and animals within a certain biome are
usually better adapted to the environmental
conditions unique to that biome.
 An adaptation is a characteristic that enables an
organism to survive and reproduce.
 There are three types of adaptations: structural, physiological
and behavioural.
 A structural adaptation is a physical feature of an organism’s
body that helps it survive in its environment. For example, a
wolf has large paws to help it run in the snow.
 A Physiological adaptation is a physical or chemical event
within the body of an organism that allows it to survive. For
example, a wolf maintains a constant body temperature.
 A behavioural adaptation is a action that helps an organism to
survive. For example, wolves hunt in packs to capture large
prey.
Biome Cards Mini-Book /25
 On the following 8 Biome Cards, complete the table using




pages 20-28
Be sure to include 1-2 examples of plants/animals
characteristic to each biome
Cut out the table, picture, climatograph and map and
mount on coloured construction paper
Create a cover page titled “Biomes of the World” and a back
page that has your name and block.
Due date: Monday Sept 10
 20 marks for correct information
 5 marks for display
Analyzing Climatographs
 Part 1: work with a partner to answer questions a-f
 Part 2: Create your own climatograph using the pre-
made plot and data from pg 31.
 Part 3: Compare climatograph A to your climatograph
B
 Part 4 Analyze: complete questions 1-5, you will need
to look at and compare climatographs from pg 20-28
 Part 5: Conclude and Apply: Complete on your own