Living Things and Their Environment

1. Living Things and Their Environment Biomes

2. What is a biome? • The land on Earth is divided into 6 kinds of large ecosystem called biomes • In Greek: “bio” = life “omes” = group bio + omes = biomes life + group = life group biomes = life group

3. What is a biome? • Each biome has its own kind of: • Climate • Soil • Plants • Animals

4. 6 Major Biomes • Taiga • Desert • Tundra • Grassland • Deciduous • Tropical Rain Forest

5. TAIGA BIOME • Location: mid- to high latitudes • Climate: very cold winters, cool summers • Plants: spruce, fir, and other evergreens • Animals: rodents, snowshoe hares, bears, caribou, wolves

6. TAIGA BIOME • Taiga is the Russian word for “forest” • It is the largest biome in the world • The Taiga Biome covers 11% of the Earth • It is also known as the boreal forest

7. TAIGA BIOME • In the summer, birds migrate here. • Millions of insects can be found. • Chainsaws cut down trees. • The Taiga is a major source of lumber.

8. TAIGA BIOME Plants Caribou Moss Pine White Spruce Hemlock Douglass Fir

9. TAIGA BIOME Animals Red Deer Lynx Bobcat Snow Shoe Hare Wolverine

10. Desert Biome • Location: midlatitudes- near the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn • Climate: hot days, cool nights, precipitation less than 4 cm a year • Plants: cacti, yuccas, shrubs, trees • Animals: rodents, snakes, lizards, tortoises, insects, and some birds

11. Desert Biome • A desert is a sandy or rocky biome • It has little precipitation & plant life • Every continent has at least one desert • The Sahara is the largest desert • The Sahara would cover the entire continental United States

12. Desert Biome Sahara Desert Largest Desert: 3,500,000mi Gobi Desert 2nd Largest Desert: 500,000mi Atacama Desert Driest Desert: 600mi

13. Desert Biome Kangaroo Rat Bobcat Desert Bighorn Sheep Banded Gila Monster Coyote

14. Desert Biome Desert Ironwood Barrel Cactus Crimson Hedgehog Cactus Saguoro Cactus Ocotillo

15. Deciduous Forest • Location: Midlatitudes • Climate: Mild summers and cold winters. 30-50in of rain/year • Plants: Hardwoods such as oaks, beeches, hickories, maples • Animals: wolves, deer, bears, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and insects

16. Deciduous Forest • Deciduous means the leaves fall to the ground. • In the deciduous forest biome, leaves change color in the fall, fall to the ground, and decay. • Deciduous forests once covered most of the US east of the Mississippi River and Western Europe

17. Deciduous Forest Brown Bear Moose Bald Eagle Black Bear Wolf

18. Deciduous Forest American Beech Lady Fern White Oak White Birch Shagbark Hickory

19. Tropical Rain Forest • Location: near the equator • Climate: hot all year round • Plants: greatest diversity; vines, orchids, ferns • Animals: most species of insects, reptiles, and amphibians

20. Tropical Rain Forest • Hot, humid, rainy • Tree canopy = wide umbrella • The canopy is so thick, sunlight never reaches the ground • Limited sunlight means limited ground growth

21. Tropical Rain Forest Tropical Rain Forest Tree Canopy

22. Tropical Rain Forest The howler monkey and purple orchids can be found clinging to the treetops Most of the life in the tropical rain forest is found up high in the branches.

23. Tropical Rain Forest Tropical rain forests can be found in… India South America Africa India Australia Pacific Islands

24. Tropical Rain Forest Tropical rain forests cannot be found in… India NORTH AMERICA EUROPE

25. Tropical Rain Forest • Victims to people’s needs: • Lumber • Farmland • Minerals India

26. Tropical Rain Forest Millions of animals live in the tropical rain forests India Many have yet to be discovered…

27. Tropical Rain Forest People are starting to replant and restore the world’s tropical rainforests. Still, some species will become extinct before ever being discovered. India

28. Tropical Rain Forest The Tropical Rain Forest is home to the world’s most colorful birds India QUETZALS TOUCANS

29. Tropical Rain Forest …And some of the largest snakes… India Anaconda

30. Tropical Rain Forest Tropical Rainforests now cover less than 6% of the Earth. Yet they hold half of the world’s plants and animals.

31. Tropical Rain Forest • 25% of medicine comes from rainforest • Curare- anesthetic and muscle relaxer • Quinine- treats malaria • Rosy Perwinkle- treats leukemia

32. Tropical Rain Forest Over 550,000 people… …will die from cancer this year! What if there was a cure?

33. Tropical Rain Forest There is thought to be… …over 1400 kinds of plants that could one day lead… …to a cure for cancer!

34. Tropical Rain Forest …the research is ongoing…

35. Tundra Biome • Location: high northern latitudes • Climate: frigid winters, cool summers • Plants: Grasses, wildflowers, mosses • Animals: Oxen, arctic foxes, snowshoe hares, hawks, polar bears

36. Tundra Biome • Ground is frozen all year round • Winters are long and icy cold • Can’t find many plants taller than 12in. • Sun melts ice in the top layer of soil • Permafrost, permanently frozen soil, keeps water from flowing downward.

37. Tundra Biome • World’s youngest biome • Tundra biome formed 10,000 yrs ago • Covers 20% of the Earth’s surface • Tundra comes from the Finnish word for barren land • Winds can blow 40-60 mph

38. Tundra Biome • Like Desert: little precipitation • Bc of permafrost: marshes and lakes • Millions of Mosquitoes • Mosquitoes can survive because they can replace lost water with chemical glycerol • Glycerol = antifreeze

39. Tundra Biome • The Tundra is a Carbon Dioxide Sink • Carbon Dioxide Sinks take in more CO2 than it gives off • Global Warming is melting several feet of the Tundra every year • The Tundra is a fragile environment. • Any disturbance can cause major damage

40. Tundra Biome

41. Tundra Biome Harlequin Duck Buffalo

42. Grassland Biome • Location: Midlatitudes, interiors of continents • Climate: Cool winter, hot summer, 25-75 cm of precipitation/year • Soil: Rich topsoil • Plants: Mostly grasses and shrubs

43. Grassland Biomes • American Grassland Animals • Prairie dogs • Foxes • Snakes • African Grassland Animals • Elephants • Lions • Zebras • Giraffe

44. Grassland Biome • Grass is the main plant life • Rainfall irregular and not usually plentiful • Grassland example: • Praires- bread basket of the world • Grasslands have changed • Now covered in crops such as: • Wheat • Corn • Oats

45. Grassland Biome • Grassland Example: • Savannas • Stay warm all year round • Soil is not as fertile • Get more rain (34-60in.) • Most famous: • Africa • More hoofed animals in savannas than anywhere else on Earth

46. Grassland Biome • Much of the land is being used more and more to graze domestic cattle • Soon, they will replace the native animals

47. Marine Biome • Largest biome in the world • Covers 70% of the Earth • Includes 5 main oceans: • Indian • Atlantic • Pacific • Southern • Artic

48. Marine Biome • Usually very salty • Average 1 cup of salt per gallon of water • 3 Vertical Zones • Top Layer: Euphotic Zone • Light penetrates • 2nd Layer: Disphotic Zone • Only some light penetrates (dusk) • 3rd Layer: Aphotic Zone • No light penetrates (deep sea)

49. Marine Biome • Deep sea: • Very cold and completely dark • 80% of habitats on earth found here • Deepest point: Mariana Trench • Deeper than Mt. Everest is tall • 36,200 feet deep

50. Marine Biome • Weather: • Marine Biome effects our climate • Sunny or cloudy • Constant motion of ocean results in: • Currents and waves • Water Temperature • Range from nearly freezing to as warm as bathtub • Average temperature: 39 degrees • Sun only warms up surface water