Transcript 1. The Freshwater Biome Ponds and Lakes

Biomes!
1. The Freshwater Biome
Ponds and Lakes
•Range in size from square meters to thousands
of square kilometers.
•Limited species diversity because of isolation.
4 Zones of a Lake
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
Wetlands
•Standing water that supports aquatic plants; marsh, bog, swamp
•Highest species diversity of all freshwater ecosystems
•Can also be a Saltwater Ecosystem
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
Ocean
• Largest of all
ecosystems
• Most life is
found where
photosynthesis
can occur.
• 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
Estuary
zones
Estuary zones (cont.)
• Where fresh water meets salt (brackish)
• Diverse salt concentration means diverse
life (it’s very different wherever you go!)
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
3. Desert Biome
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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
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
Semi-arid Deserts
• S. Utah, Montana, parts of Australia and
Africa
• Low rainfall in winters
• Double the rainfall of the hot deserts
Coastal Desert
• Cool to warm areas like in Chile, Peru, CA.
• Cool winters and long, warm summers
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
Cold Desert
• Cold winters with lots of snow and rain
• Antarctic, Greenland, even parts of Utah
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
Tropical Forest
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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
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.
Boreal Forest (Taiga)
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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
Alaskan Taiga
5. Grasslands
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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
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
Steppes and prairies are types
of grasslands
• Prairies have longer grasses, steppes are
much shorter
Steppe
6. Tundra
• Coldest of all the biomes
• Tunturri , Finnish for treeless plain
• Low biodiversity, simple vegetation, short
growth season
• Large population oscillations
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
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,