Biomes of the World

1. Biomes of the World

2. What are biomes? * A biome is an area that has the same climate (weather) and the same organisms that live there. * Biomes help scientists describe the world. * There are ____ land biomes and ___ water biomes 6 2

3. What is a biome? A BIOME is the largest geographic biotic unit, a major community of plants and animals with similar life forms and environmental conditions.

4. How are biomes formed? Biomes are distributed across the Earth based primarily on climate. Therefore, in areas that are far apart, you will sometimes find similar plants and animals because the climate is similar. One factor affecting climate is latitude. Typically, the farther you move north or south of the equator, the colder the temperature gets. Another factor affecting climate is elevation. The higher you go in elevation, the colder the temperature gets. Biomes usually found at cold latitudes far from the equator are sometimes also found on high mountains at low latitudes. Typically, a climb of 100 feet in elevation is equivalent to traveling 600 miles northward.

5. Land Biomes *Tundra *Taiga *Temperate Deciduous Forest *Tropical Rain Forest *Savannah *Desert

6. Tundra • Where is the tundra? • Around the North Pole and near the Arctic Ocean • Latitude-North of the Artic Circle • Climate (weather) • Very cold and dry • Temperature: less than -5°C (Range -34° to 3°C) • Only has 25 centimeters or less of rain every year • What the land looks like • Permafrost: the dirt that is always frozen (even in the spring and summer) • Flat land with only a few small, thin trees

7. Plants and Animals of the Tundra • Tundra Plant Adaptations • Tundra plants are small (usually less than 12 inches tall) and low-growing due to lack of nutrients, because being close to the ground helps keep the plants from freezing, and because the roots cannot penetrate the permafrost. • Some plants grow in clumps to protect one another from the wind and cold. • Some plants have dish-like flowers that follow the sun, focusing more solar heat on the center of the flower, helping the plant stay warm. Cotton Grass Fungi and Algae • Plants are dark in color this helps them absorb solar heat. • Some plants are covered with hair which helps keep them warm. (look fuzzy)

8. Animals- They have adapted thick furry coats and Tundra bumble bees have developed a dense hair on their bodies which slows heat loss to the air. Herbivores: reindeer, musk-ox, lemmings, and caribou. Omnivores: Polar bear, arctic ground squirrel Carnivore: Arctic seal, snowy owl, ermine caribou duck lemming musk ox wolf sandy hill crane polar bear marmot snowy owl ermine

9. Relationships Predator/Prey: • Wolf and caribou: A wolf is the predator of the caribou. The caribou eats plants and the wolf eats the caribou to obtain the energy. • Lynx and Rabbit • Arctic Fox and Lemming

10. Relationships Symbiotic Relationships: • Mutualism: Lichen is a symbiotic relationship with single-celled algae and fungus. The algae carries out photosynthesis giving the lichen a source of food. The fungus gives the algae water and minerals it gets from the surface on which it grows. • Parasitism: Tapeworm inside caribou. Tapeworm feeds from inside the intestines of the caribou, caribou is harmed. • Commensalism : The Caribou and the Arctic Fox have a commensalistic relationship. The fox follows the caribou who removes the snow covering to get at lichens under the soil. The fox then hunts the small mammals that have been unearthed by the caribou.

11. Tundra

12. Views of the Tundra

13. Where are Taiga or coniferous forests? Alaska Canada Europe Asia In Canada, Alaska, northern Asia, and northern Europe Between 120-180 degrees lat., in the N. hemisphere and mountains

14. Taiga or Coniferous Forest • Climate • Cold and snowy • Climate- Winter's LOWEST temperature in taiga is -65°F; winter's HIGHEST temperature is 30° F. • Summer's LOWEST temperature is 30° F; summer's HIGHEST temperature is 70° F. • What the land looks like • In the winter: • Ground is frozen • In the spring: • Taiga: swampy forest • Snow melts and the ground becomes wet and swampy because the deeper ground is frozen

15. Plants of the Taiga cone needles • many trees are evergreen so that plants can photosynthesize right away when temperatures rise • many trees have needle-like leaves which shape loses less water and sheds snow more easily than broad leaves • waxy coating on needles prevent evaporation • needles are dark in color allowing more solar heat to be absorbed • many trees have branches that droop downward to help shed excess snow to keep the branches from breaking • Conifer trees (have cones) Kinds of conifer trees pine spruce fir

16. Moose Beaver Wolf Black bear Wolverine Red Squirrel Hawk Owl Lynx Animals of the Taiga Snowshoe Rabbit

17. Animal adaptations in the Taiga • Some animals have adapted to life in the taiga by hibernating when temperatures drop. • Some have adapted to the extreme cold temperatures by producing a layer of insulating feathers or fur to protect them from the cold. • In some instances, the adaptation of a seasonal change in color of feathers or fur protects the animal from its predators. This adaptation helps the animals blend into its surroundings and makes it more difficult for predators to spot them.

18. Relationships Symbiotic Relationships: • Mutualism: relationship between moss and redwood tree The tree gives the moss a place to live. The moss grows on the tree and protects it. • Parasitism: Brain-worms and caribou. The brain-worm eats the brain of the caribou, and the eventually caribou dies. • Commensalism : relationship between a raven and the pine tree it’s nesting in The tree provides a place for the raven to live, and the raven neither hurts nor helps the tree.

19. Taiga or Coniferous Forest

20. Winter in the Taiga

21. Where Are Temperate Deciduous Forests? You are here Deciduous forests are between northeastern United States and Canada. Some are in the eastern United States. Others grow in Europe and eastern Asia. This is our Biome!!

22. Temperate Deciduous Forest • Climate • Summers are warm (30° C) • Winters are cold (-30° C) • Gets 75 centimeters of rain every year (that’s over 2 feet of rain!) • There are four distinct seasons in the temperate deciduous forest: spring, summer, autumn, and winter.  • What is special about deciduous trees? • The leaves change colors and fall off the trees in autumn and grow new leaves in the spring • The leaves on the ground make the dirt better and help plants grow.

23. Plants of the Temperate * Trees * Flowers • * Oak * Hickory • * Lily of the valley • * Maple * Beech • * Star Flower

24. Plants of the Temperate • Adaptations include: • Trees grow very tall due to amount of precipitation. Also, As temperature drops in winter, the tree cuts off the supply of water to the leaves and seals off the area between the leaf stem and the tree trunk. With limited sunlight and water, leaves unable to cont. producing chlorophyll causing them to change into the beautiful red, yellow and orange leaf colors of FALL. • Trees have thick bark to protect against cold winters • Wildflowers grow on forest floor early in the spring before trees leaf-out and shade the forest floor

25. Animals of the Temperate Eagle Brown Bear Black Bear Chipmunk Raccoon Porcupine Red Fox White-tailed Deer Mouse Coyote

26. Adaptations include : • Birds migrate to warmer places where they can find food more easily; • Some mammals (bears) hibernate during the winter; • Food Storage-Squirrels, chipmunks, and some jays often store large supplies of nuts and seeds in the ground, under fallen leaves, or in tree hollows for use during the winter when food is scarce. Herbivores: White tailed deer, squirrels, ad chipmunks Omnivores: black bear, raccoon, opossum, and blue jays Carnivore: water moccasin, weasel, and hawks

27. Relationships • Predator/Prey: • Symbiotic Relationships: • Mutualism: Butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds with flowers: animals get food and plant get pollinated so new plants can be produced. • Parasitism: Mosquito on an animal. Mosquito ingests the animals blood and animal is harmed. • Commensalism : Bird living in a tree. Bird gets a home and the tree is not harmed.

28. The Temperate Deciduous Forest

29. Where are deserts? In Africa, western North America, western Asia, central Australia, and western South America.

30. Desert two There are __________ kinds of deserts. • Hot deserts and cold deserts cold desert hot desert Sahara Desert Gobi Desert

31. Hot Deserts * Climate * gets less than 25 centimeters of rain every year * hot during the day and cool at night * temperatures can exceed 100 degrees F (49 C)during the day and then drop to 30 degrees F (-2 C) at night. Cold Deserts * Climate * gets less than 25 centimeters of rain every year * cold all of the time

32. Some plants, called succulents, store water in their stems or leaves; • Some plants have no leaves or small seasonal leaves that only grow after it rains.  • Long root systems spread out wide or go deep into the ground to absorb water; • Spines to discourage animals from eating plants for water; • Waxy coating on stems and leaves help reduce water loss. • Flowers that open at night lure pollinators who are more likely to be active during the cooler night. • Slower growing requires less energy.  The plants don't have to make as much food and therefore do not lose as much water. Barrel Cactus Prickly Pear Cactus Aloe

33. Black-collared lizard snakes camel Animals of the Desert Herbivores: desert tortoise Omnivores: cactus wren Carnivore: armadillo lizard, sonoran toad, pygmy owl jackrabbit desert iguana roadrunner

34. Animals of the Desert • Most of the desert animals avoid being out in the sun during the hottest part of the day. Many desert mammals, reptiles and amphibians live in burrows to escape the intense desert heat. • Some animals have developed long body parts that provide greater body surface to dissipate heat. • For example, jackrabbits have large ears that are supplied with a large number of blood vessels from which excess heat can be easily lost. • It is a known fact that light colors are better absorbers of heat than dark colors. Most desert animals are pale in color. • Animals like the Gila Monster is known to store water in the fatty tissues in their tails and other parts of the body. Also, the hump of the camel has fatty tissue. When this fatty tissue is metabolized, it produces both energy as well as water.

36. Relationships • Predator/Prey: Symbiotic Relationships: • Mutualism: A phainopepla eats mistletoe berries. The bird, while perching, passes undigested seeds in droppings to host trees ensuring survival of both the mistletoe and the phainopepla • Parasitism: Desert mistletoe extracts nutrients from a desert willow. When the mistletoe grows and requires more nutrients than the willow provides, the willow tree will eventually dies. • Commensalism : A cactus wren builds its nest in a cholla cactus to protect its young from predators such as raven. There is no harm to the cactus.

37. Desert Scenes

38. More Desert Scenes

39. Where are Tropical Rain Forests? The largest tropical rainforest is in South America. It is called the Amazon rain forest. They are also found in central Africa, Central America, Southeast Asia, Hawaii, and a small area of Australia.

40. Tropical Rain Forest • Climate • Rains almost everyday • Gets almost 10 feet of rain every year. • Very hot all year long (32 C to 20 C) How much rain is that? Rainforest Georgia

41. Layers of the Rainforest Emergent Layer Canopy Layer Understory Layer Forest Floor

42. Why So Much Biodiversity? Although they cover a small area - less than 2% of Earth's surface rainforests are home to about half the life on Earth. In fact, tropical rainforests support the greatest biodiversity on Earth. The largest rainforest in the world is the Amazon rainforest in South America. Tropical rainforests are home to a huge number of different plants and animals. All tropical rainforests are endangered. Biodiversity- The number and variety of plant and animal species found in an ecosystem.

43. Plants of the Rain Forest Orchid Banana Vanilla Coffee Fern Cacao (chocolate)

44. Plant Adaptations • To absorb as much sunlight as possible in the dark understory, leaves are very large. • Plants grow in the upper canopy on larger trees to get sunlight. These are the epiphytes such as orchids and bromeliads. • Many trees have buttress and stilt roots for extra support in the shallow, wet soil of the rainforests. • Tropical rainforests produce 40% of Earth's oxygen!

45. Birds of the Rain Forest Blue Parrot Cassowary Blue-Gold Macaw Cockatoo Yellow-eared Parrot Rhino Hornbill Scarlet Macaw Toucan

46. Bugs, Snakes, and Frogs of the Rain Forest Katydid Posion Dart Frogs Preying Mantis Python Red-Eyed Tree Frog Scorpion Walking Stick Zebra Butterfly Ulysses Butterfly

47. Animals of the Rain Forest Flying Squirrel Benegal Tiger Capybara Chimpanzee Leopard Spider Monkey Gorilla Lemur Tapir Mandrill Jaguar Olive Baboon

48. Animals Adaptations • Some animals are poisonous, and use bright colors to warn predators to leave them alone. • Many rainforest animals use camouflage to 'disappear' in the rainforest. • Another animal with no friends is the hoatzin. Often called the stinkbird, it produces a horrible smell to scare away potential predators • For example, prehensile tails are common on possums, new world monkeys, and some reptiles. • Special flaps of skin help some lizards and frogs glide between treetops.

49. Relationships • Predator/Prey: Symbiotic Relationships: • Mutualism: Woodpecker peck out insects from a tree. It helps the tree so the insects don't eat the tree completely away, say for example a termite. The bird is helped by the food. Both benefit. • Parasitism: Monkeys carry ticks on their bodies and the ticks are a parasite because they are feeding off the monkeys blood. • Commensalism : An example is bromeliads (plants living on trees in rainforests)and frogs; the frogs get shelter and water from the bromeliadbut the bromeliadis unaffected.

50. Views from the Rain Forest