Group members

1. Group members • Babjey • Deo Kumar Kharka • JamphelZangmo • JamyangDorji • TsheringSamdrup

2. Outline of the presentation • Habitat Ecology • Aquatic biomes and terrestrial habitat • Fresh water habitats and its types • Characteristics of terrestrial habitat • Biome: Tundra, forest, desert and mountain biome and their features

3. Habitat Ecology • The biosphere is composed of all the ecosystem on the earth. • Within the biosphere there are a number of large and somewhat distinct geographical regions known as biomes. • The biosphere contains two types of biome: terrestrial (land-based) and aquatic (water based) biomes • Habitat-the type of environment in which plant and animals live • It is dictated by what kinds of plants grow there, the climate and the geography

4. Biomes are defined as "the world's major communities, classified according to the predominant vegetation and characterized by adaptations of organisms to that particular environment" (Campbell).

5. A. Aquatic biomes It includes • Freshwater • wetlands • Marine- seas, oceans, benthos (bottom of the oceans), upwelling, Intertidal areas,

6. Fresh water habitat- It includes fresh water lakes, rivers, ponds and streams Types • A lentic habitats has flowing waters. Examples include: creeks, streams, runs, rivers, springs, brooks and channels. • A Lotic habitat has still waters. Examples include: ponds, basin marshes, ditches, reservoirs, seeps, lakes, and vernal /ephemeral pools.

7. Phytoplankton • Rooted flowering plants-lilies • Zooplankton- small invertebrate animals that are both herbivorous and carnivorous and many species of finfish and shellfish.

8. Wetlands • Wetlands- includes fresh water swamps, marshes, bogs, and salt water marshes • All have standing water. • It creates special soil environment with oxygen, so decay takes place slowly and only plants with specialized roots can survive. • Dominant plants are small • Eg. Mangroves, larches, etc.

9. B. Terrestrial Biome • Characteristics • Temperature, precipitation, latitude and altitude all determine distribution of terrestrial habitats • land habitats (soil and rocks), mountains (snow cape), deserts, shorelines, and wetlands. • Flora-forests, grasslands. • Fauna- animals • Greater temperature fluctuations • Climate determines different biome.

10. Geographic distribution of biomes are dependent on temperature, precipitation, altitude and latitude faculty.southwest.tn.edu/. ../ES%20%20we16.jpg

11. Tundra biome- Is noted for its frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing season • Treeless plains that occur in the harsh climate of low rainfall and low average temperature. • Extremely cold climate • Low biotic diversity • Simple vegetation structure –mosses, lichens, flowering dwarf shrubs and mat- flowering plants • Limitation of drainage • Short season of growth and reproduction • Energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material

12. Types of Tundra biome • Arctic- low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, and grasses • lichen • arctic hares squirrels ,arctic foxes, wolves, and polar bears ravens, snow birds, etc • layer of permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost • Alpine-is located on mountains throughout the world at high altitude where trees cannot grow • tussock grasses, dwarf trees, grasshoppers, butterflies could be found

13. Forest biome • Three major types of forests, classified according to latitude: • Tropical • Temperate • Boreal forests (taiga)

15. Tropical • Temperature (20-25° C) and varies little throughout the year • Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year, with annual rainfall exceeding 2000 mm. • Soil is nutrient-poor and acidic. • Canopy in tropical forests is multilayered and continuous, allowing little light penetration

16. Cont… • Flora is highly diverse: Trees are 25-35 m tall, with buttressed trunks and shallow roots, mostly evergreen, with large dark green leaves. Plants such as orchids, bromeliads, vines (lianas), ferns, mosses, and palms are present in tropical forests. • Fauna include numerous birds, bats, small mammals, and insects.

17. Temperate • Temperature varies from -30° C to 30° C. • Precipitation (75-150 cm) is distributed evenly throughout the year. • Soil is fertile, enriched with decaying litter. • Canopy is moderately dense and allows light to penetrate, resulting in well-developed and richly diversified understory vegetation and stratification of animals.

18. Cont…. • Flora is characterized by broad leaves that are lost annually • examples; oak, hickory, beech, hemlock, maple, basswood, cottonwood, elm, willow, and spring-flowering herbs. • Fauna is represented by squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer, mountain lion, bobcat, timber wolf, fox, and black bear.

19. Boreal forest (taiga) • Temperatures are very low. • Precipitation is primarily in the form of snow, 40-100 cm annually. • Soil is thin, nutrient-poor, and acidic. • Canopy permits low light penetration, and as a result, understory is limited.

20. Cont… • Flora consist mostly of cold-tolerant evergreen conifers with needle-like leaves, such as pine, fir, and spruce. • Fauna include woodpeckers, hawks, moose, bear, weasel, lynx, fox, wolf, deer, hares, chipmunks, shrews, and bats.

21. Desert biome • There are four major types of deserts: • Hot and dry • Semiarid • Coastal • Cold

22. Hot and dry • annual temperatures range from 20-25° C. • Rainfall is usually very low and/or concentrated in short bursts between long rainless periods • Soils are course-textured, shallow, rocky or gravely with good drainage and have no subsurface water • Plants are mainly ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. Leaves are "replete" (fully supported with nutrients) with water-conserving characteristics. They tend to be small, thick and covered with a thick cuticle (outer layer)

23. Semiarid • The summers are moderately long and dry, and like hot deserts, the winters normally bring low concentrations of rainfall. • Summer temperatures usually average between 21-27° C. It normally does not go above 38° C and evening temperatures are cool, at around 10° C. • Cool nights help both plants and animals by reducing moisture loss from transpiration, sweating and breathing. • Furthermore, condensation of dew caused by night cooling may equal or exceed the rainfall received by some deserts. As in the hot desert, rainfall is often very low and/or concentrated. • The average rainfall ranges from 2-4 cm annually.

24. The soil can range from sandy and fine-textured to loose rock fragments, gravel or sand. • The spiny nature of many plants in semiarid deserts provides protection in a hazardous environment. • The large numbers of spines shade the surface enough to significantly reduce transpiration. • Many plants have silvery or glossy leaves, allowing them to reflect more radiant energy. These plants often have an unfavorable odor or taste. • Semiarid plants include: Creosote bush, bur sage (Franseriadumosa or F. deltoidea), white thorn, cat claw, mesquite, brittle bushes (Enceliafarinosa), lyciums, and jujube.

25. During the day, insects move around twigs to stay on the shady side; jack rabbits follow the moving shadow of a cactus or shrub. • Naturally, many animals find protection in underground burrows where they are insulated from both heat and aridity. These animals include mammals such as the kangaroo rats, rabbits, and skunks; insects like grasshoppers and ants; reptiles are represented by lizards and snakes; and birds such as burrowing owls and the California thrasher.

26. Coastal desert • The cool winters of coastal deserts are followed by moderately long, warm summers. The average summer temperature ranges from 13-24° C; winter temperatures are 5° C or below. • The maximum annual temperature is about 35° C and the minimum is about -4° C. • The average rainfall measures 8-13 cm in many areas. • The maximum annual precipitation over a long period of years has been 37 cm with a minimum of 5 cm.

27. The soil is fine-textured with a moderate salt content. • It is fairly porous with good drainage. • Some plants have extensive root systems close to the surface where they can take advantage of any rain showers. • All of the plants with thick and fleshy leaves or stems can take in large quantities of water when it is available and store it for future use.

28. Some animals have specialized adaptations for dealing with the desert heat and lack of water. • Some toads seal themselves in burrows with gelatinous secretions and remain inactive for eight or nine months until a heavy rain occurs. • Amphibians that pass through larval stages have accelerated life cycles, which improves their chances of reaching maturity before the waters evaporate. • Some insects lay eggs that remain dormant until the environmental conditions are suitable for hatching. The fairy shrimps also lay dormant eggs. • Other animals include: insects, mammals (coyote and badger), amphibians (toads), birds (great horned owl, golden eagle and the bald eagle), and reptiles (lizards and snakes).

29. Cold desert • They have short, moist, and moderately warm summers with fairly long, cold winters. The mean winter temperature is between -2 to 4° C and the mean summer temperature is between 21-26° C. • The winters receive quite a bit of snow. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 15-26 cm. Annual precipitation has reached a maximum of 46 cm and a minimum of 9 cm.

30. The soil is heavy, silty, and salty. It contains alluvial fans where soil is relatively porous and drainage is good so that most of the salt has been leached out. • Plant heights vary between 15 cm and 122 cm. The main plants are deciduous, most having spiny leaves. • Widely distributed animals are jack rabbits, kangaroo rats, kangaroo mice, pocket mice, grasshopper mice, and antelope ground squirrels. • Several lizards do some burrowing and moving of soil. Deer are found only in the winter.

31. Mountain biome • Mountain biome consist of • grasslands at the base of a mountain, • coniferous forest at the center of the mountain, and • the tundra found at the top of the mountain. • Mountain biome is not called as biome because a variety of other biomes exist within it (sometime) • But because some animals are only found on a specific mountain range it is important to recognize the mountains as a biome.

33. Provide homes to many organisms (micro and macro organisms) • People depend on mountain ecosystems for most of their food, hydroelectricity, timber, and minerals, etc. • Our planet's fresh water originates in the mountains. • All mountain ecosystems have one major characteristic in common • rapid changes in altitude, • climate, • soil and • vegetation over very short distances

34. Rainfall varies greatly across the world's mountain biomes, ranging from very wet to very dry. • However in all the biomes come swift weather changes. For example, thunder storm can roll in when the sky was perfectly clear, and within few hours the temperatures can drop from extremely hot temperatures to freezing temperature. • Mountain peoples has live in mountain without much destruction and deforestation. • Plant and animal species have been preserved by these people. (More and more these peoples are being kicked out of their homes due to population and commercial growth, logging, and mining.)

35. Found in the world's highest mountain range, the Himalayan Yew is extremely rare because of heavy deforestation and harvesting for Taxol extraction (cure cancer), without replanting. About 10 kilograms of yew leaves, bark, and needles will only produce one gram of the drug! • Beside many endangered species, there are millions of biotic organism which are threaten by climate changes and development. • World’s people are reliant upon mountains for fresh water, and in this time of increasing water scarcity, it is becoming increasingly important to protect the mountain biome.

36. References Biome(n.d). Retrived on 23rd Sept, 2012 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biome Climate_Change(n.d). Retrived on 22nd Sept, 2012 from step.nn.k12.va.us/science/envsci/ppt/Climate_Change Mountain Biome. (n.d). Retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 fromhttp: //lib.colostate.edu/wildlife /mountain_biome.html Mountains: The High Elevation Biome. (n.d). Retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 from http://library.thinkquest. org/11353/mountain.htm Nature/habitat(n.d.). Retrived on 20th Sept, 2012 from http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/habitats  Retrieved on 23rd Sept, 2012 from http://inchinapinch.com/hab_pgs/fr_water/frwat_pg.htm http://www.mrsoshouse.com/water/wintro.htm

37. The tundra biome. (n.d). retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/ex hibits/biomes/tundra.php Terrestrial Habitats. (n.d). Retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 from http://www.cas.muohio.edu.stevenjr/mbi202/terrestrialhabitats202.html The desert biome. (n.d). Retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.ed u/exhibits/biomes/deserts.php The forest biome. (n.d). retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 from http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exh ibits/biomes/forests.php Tundra biome. (n.d). retrieved on 23rd Sep, 2012 from http://bioexpedition.com/tundra-biome/