Biomes!

1. Biomes!

2. 1. The Freshwater Biome Ponds and Lakes Range in size from square meters to thousands of square kilometers. Limited species diversity because of isolation.

3. 4 Zones of a Lake

4. Streams and Rivers • Bodies of water moving in one direction • Temperature is cooler at the head or source • More species found in middle, more murky water found at the mouth

5. Wetlands • Standing water that supports aquatic plants; marsh, bog, swamp • Highest species diversity of all freshwater ecosystems • Can also be a Saltwater Ecosystem

7. 2. MARINE BIOME • Cover ¾ of the world! You’d better know something about them, even in Utah! • Supply much of the world’s oxygen • Take in huge amounts of CO2 • Evaporation of seawater provides rain for continents

8. Ocean • Largest of all ecosystems • Most life is found where photosynthesis can occur.

9. Contain zones like ponds and lakes: • Deep zone-bottom • Intertidal-from highest to lowest tide lines • Surface-light penetrates • Neritic-extends over continental shelf • Estuaries-where fresh meets salt

10. Estuary zones

11. Estuary zones (cont.) • Where fresh water meets salt (brackish) • Diverse salt concentration means diverse life (it’s very different wherever you go!)

12. Coral Reef Zones • Found in warm shallow waters • Barriers for continents • Dominant organism is coral-same family as jellyfish! • 25% of marine life lives near the reef • Keep land from eroding • 500 million people live off the reef resources

14. 3. Desert Biome • Cover 1/5 of the Earth’s land surface • Where rain is less than 50 cm/year • Usually smaller animals • Vegetation is sparse, but only water is needed in soil

15. Hot and Dry Desert • Sonoran, Mojave, Sahara • Warm all year, hot in summer • Big temperature extremes from night to day • Small plants, cacti • Many nocturnal animals

16. Semi-arid Deserts • S. Utah, Montana, parts of Australia and Africa • Low rainfall in winters • Double the rainfall of the hot deserts

18. Coastal Desert • Cool to warm areas like in Chile, Peru, CA. • Cool winters and long, warm summers

19. Adaptations to the desert • Plant roots close to the surface • Plants can take in lots of water with fleshy leaves or parts (cacti, succulents, etc) • Some plants have ridges/grooves that channel water • Some toads/animals seal themselves in burrows for months. • Insects lay dormant eggs

20. Cold Desert • Cold winters with lots of snow and rain • Antarctic, Greenland, even parts of Utah

21. 4. Forest Biome • 1/3 of the land area of Earth and 2/3 of the plant area of Earth • Contain about 70% of living carbon

22. Tropical Forest • Greatest diversity of species in forests. • Near equator-only 2 seasons (rainy and dry) • Daytime is 12 hours (pretty much always) • Temperature is stead at 20-25 C • Average 200 cm rainfall • Soil is nutrient poor • Canopy is multilayered, little sun gets through • One square km could have up to 100 tree species • birds, bats, small mammals, and insects

24. Temperate Forest • N. America, NE Asia, Europe • Well defined seasons with 4-6 months of no freezing. • Temp varies from -30 to 30 C • Fertile soil • Light can penetrate canopy, allows more understory diversity • 3-4 trees per square km • squirrels, rabbits, skunks, birds, deer, mountain lion, bobcat, timber wolf, fox, and black bear.

26. Boreal Forest (Taiga) • Largest land biome • Mostly in Siberia • Short, wet summers and long cold winters • Growing season is only 130 days. • Mostly precipitation is snow • Nutrient poor and thin soil • Low light penetration through canopy • Conifers/evergreens, woodpeckers, moose, bears, foxes, deer, shrews, hawks

27. Alaskan Taiga

30. 5. Grasslands Savannas • Grassland with scattered individual trees • Cover ½ of Africa • Warm/hot climates, must have dry season for fires, burns grass, then grows in wet • Thin humus with only a few species of dominant grass • Giraffes, zebras, buffaloes, kangaroos, mice, gophers, snakes, worms, termites, lions, elephants, hyenas, squirrels

32. Temperate grassland • Grass is the dominant vegetation, hardly any trees or shrubs • Rainfall is less than in savanna • Hot summer, cold winter, moderate rainfall • Seasonal drought and fires are also important • Deep and rich soil • Gazelles, zebras, rhinos, horses, wolves, prairie dogs, rabbits, mice, skunks, quails

34. Steppes and prairies are types of grasslands • Prairies have longer grasses, steppes are much shorter

35. Steppe

36. 6. Tundra • Coldest of all the biomes • Tunturri , Finnish for treeless plain • Low biodiversity, simple vegetation, short growth season • Large population oscillations

37. Arctic Tundra • Encircles the north pole south to the taiga (boreal) • Cold, desert-like conditions • Growing season is 50-60 days • Permafrost (permanently frozen subsoil) • 1700 kinds of plants: shrubs, mosses, liverworts, grasses, flowers, crustose, lichen • Lemmings, caribou, hares, foxes, polar bears, falcons, salmon

39. Alpine Tundra • Located around the world at high altitude where trees cannot grow. • Growing season is 180 days. • Night temp. is usually below freezing. • Plants are similar to arctic tundra. • Goats, marmots, elk, grouse,