Introduction to the worlds Biomes
Rainforests
1: What are the two types of rainforests? In the United States, where are our rainforests
located? (Be specific). What percentage of our original rainforests does this represent?
The two types of rainforest are temperate and tropical, the Temperate are located Pacific coast of North America. They stretch from Oregon to Alaska for 1,200 miles. Only about .3 %
Tundra
2: Where is the Tundra Biome located? What is permafrost? What percentage of the
Earth’s surface is covered by Tundra?
-Top of the world near the north pole
Permafrost is a permantetly frozen layer of ground
Taiga
3: Where is the Taiga Biome located? What is the soil like in the Taiga- why?
-TThe Taiga biome stretches across a large portion of Canada, Europe and Asia
-Because of the lack of decomposition the soil is thin and lack nutrients
Desert
4: How much rainfall is characteristic of deserts? Explain where most deserts are located
and the RAINSHADOW Effect.
-10 inches of rainfall a year on deserts
-Many deserts are found in bands along 30 degrees latitude north and 30 degrees latitude south
-Some deserts located by mountains and are caused by the "rainshadow" effect. As air moves up over a mountain range, it gets cold and loses the ability to hold moisture -- so it rains or snows. When the air moves down the other side of the mountain, it gets warmer. Warm air can hold lots of moisture, so it doesn't rain as much, and a desert is formed.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
5: What is special about this biome? Deciduous trees have special leaves that are adapted to
the biome- explain.
-This biome has all four seasons, of winter, spring, summer, and fall
-Summer is a busy time for deciduous trees. Their broad leaves capture energy from the sun and convert it to food by photosynthesis. Some of the food is used for growth and some is stored in the roots for next spring.
-During the shorter days and cooler weather of autumn, green chlorophyll in the leaves begins to decompose, revealing brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds. Actually, these colors were present in the leaves all year long, but had been hidden by the green pigment of the chlorophyll.
-To prepare for winter, deciduous trees and plants become dormant. They lose their leaves and seal the places where leaves were attached with a protective covering called a leaf scar. If they kept their leaves, the water in the leaves would freeze into ice, damaging the leaves and leaving the plant vulnerable to bacteria or fungi. Plants also make a concentrated sugar solution to stop water from freezing in their stems.
Grasslands
6: Grasslands are found on every continent except for one- which? How much rainfall do
grasslands get- why is this important? What are the 3 types of grasslands that are found in
North America? What are grasslands called in other places in the world?
-Antartica
-Grasslands receive about 10 to 30 inches of rain per year. If they received more rain, the grasslands would become a forest. If they received less, they would become a desert.
-Tall grass, Mixed Grass, Short Grass
-Pampas, Steppes, and Savannas
Rivers & Streams
7: How much water on Earth does running water represent? What is a watershed? What
are the two main processes that happen to surface water? What is the longest river in the
world? What is the longest river in the United States? What is a hydroelectric dam?
-Just .3 %
-
-Infiltration and Surface Runoff , and Water pollution
-Nile river is the longest river in the world
-Mississippi river is the lin the US
-A dam is a man-made structure built across a river. Most dams are built to control river flow, improve navigation, and regulate flooding. However, some dams are built to produce hydroelectric power.
Ponds & Lakes
8: What is the difference between a pond and lake? Name the four stages of succession of a
pond. Explain how an Oxbow Lake is formed. What is the largest lake in the world? What
is the largest lake in the United States? What is the deepest lake in the world? What is
Lake Effect Snow? Explain. What is the cause of summerkill in some lakes?
-A lake is bigger than a pond, and is too deep to support rooted plants except near the shore. Some lakes are big enough for waves to be produced. And a pond is a body of water shallow enough to support rooted plants.
- As a pond develops seeds are flown in by birds and land animals come to inhabit the pond. These are the pond pioneers.
As more creatures arrive the debris on the bottom increases. Pondweed, and other submergent vegetation, appears and soon grow all along the bottom.
Emergents then appear on the edges of the pond. Over time, sometimes hundreds of years, as ponds plants grow, die and decompose, layers of debris build up. These layers of decaying matter raise the pond floor over the years.
After some time, the pond floor is close enough to the bottom that emergents can grow all the way across the floor. When this happens, the ponds becomes a marsh. Many interesting creatures can reside in the shallow muddy waters of marshes
-The oxbow lake is created over time as erosion and deposits of soil change the river's course.
-Caspian Sea
Asia-Europe
(salt water)
-The wind blows and picks up moisture from a warmer lake, the air cools as it forced up hills and cause the moisture to condense and fall as snow
Wetlands
9: What are the types of freshwater wetlands- name and define them. Explain why
wetlands are so important. What is happening to our wetlands?
-Marsh: an inland area inundated with 1–6 feet (33–200 cm) of water, containing a variety of perennials (mostly grasses), forbs (flowers), and bushes, rather than trees, as in swamps.
-swamp: are slow moving streams, rivers or isolated depressions that host trees and some shrubs.
-bog: is a peat-accumulating wetland. Some shrubs and evergreens grow in bogs, as do mosses. Most water comes from precipitation. There is usually no direct inflow or outflow of water.
-prairie pothole: A prairie pothole is a wetland area found in the northern Great Plains.
-riparian marsh: Marshes that occur along rivers are called riparian marshes.
-Wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water.
-Wetlands also release vegetative matter into rivers, which helps feed fish in the rivers.
-cleansing benefits
-Wetlands are disappearing rapidly, at about the rate of 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) annually in the U.S. alone.
Shorelines
10: What kind of lifeforms will you find in the intertidal zone? What is a barrier island?
What is an estuary? What is life like in an estuary? What is a salt marsh? What is the
Mangrove Forest? How are the trees specially adapted to living in that environment? Why
are they important?
-Sea Shells, Snails and aqutic creatures
-islands are separated from the mainland by bodies of water that vary in size, from small estuaries to huge bays and sounds.
-a partially enclosed body of water where incoming seawater is mixed with fresh water coming from the land.
-Life in an estuary is an interesting and diverse mix of land and sea creatures, and some animals. Mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, shellfish, and plants all interact in this ecosystem to create some very complex food webs.
-salt marshes are also wetlands. Salt water marshes occur in places where the land meets the sea, such as barrier islands and other coastal areas.
-Mangrove forests thrive near the mouths of large rivers where river deltas provide lots of sediment (sand and mud).
-A mangrove is a tropical maritime tree or shrub of the genus Rhizophora. Mangroves have special aerial roots and salt-filtering tap roots that enable them to thrive in brackish water
Temperate Ocean Zones
11: Name and describe the different zones of the ocean and how they are divided. Describe
the different photic zones of the ocean. What are kelp forests? Where are they found?
-The ocean bottom is the benthic zone and the water itself (or the water column) is the pelagic zone. The neritic zone is that part of the pelagic zone that extends from the high tide line to an ocean bottom
-This is the top layer, nearest the surface. It is also called the euphotic zone.
-The twilight zone is also known as the disphotic zone ,Only a small amount of light can penetrate the water at this depth.
-The midnight zone is also called the aphotic zone.
-Ninety percent of the ocean is in the midnight zone. Entirely dark
-A kelp forest is much like a forest on the land. It can be divided into layers based on the kind of animal life found there.
-real forests can be found in the Pacific waters.
Tropical Ocean Zones
12: What is coral made of? Explain. Where are most coral reefs located? Where is the
largest coral reef?
-Coral reefs are located in tropical oceans near the equator.
-Each individual polyp is responsible for each bump in the reef. Each polyp creates its own skeleton, usually made up of calcium carbonate (chalk), which it lives in. Polyps are active at night. During the daytime, they retreat into their skeleton, so divers usually only see their skeletons.
-Belize is home to the second largest coral reef in the world (outside of Australia's Great Barrier Reef)
1: What are the two types of rainforests? In the United States, where are our rainforests
located? (Be specific). What percentage of our original rainforests does this represent?
The two types of rainforest are temperate and tropical, the Temperate are located Pacific coast of North America. They stretch from Oregon to Alaska for 1,200 miles. Only about .3 %
Tundra
2: Where is the Tundra Biome located? What is permafrost? What percentage of the
Earth’s surface is covered by Tundra?
-Top of the world near the north pole
Permafrost is a permantetly frozen layer of ground
Taiga
3: Where is the Taiga Biome located? What is the soil like in the Taiga- why?
-TThe Taiga biome stretches across a large portion of Canada, Europe and Asia
-Because of the lack of decomposition the soil is thin and lack nutrients
Desert
4: How much rainfall is characteristic of deserts? Explain where most deserts are located
and the RAINSHADOW Effect.
-10 inches of rainfall a year on deserts
-Many deserts are found in bands along 30 degrees latitude north and 30 degrees latitude south
-Some deserts located by mountains and are caused by the "rainshadow" effect. As air moves up over a mountain range, it gets cold and loses the ability to hold moisture -- so it rains or snows. When the air moves down the other side of the mountain, it gets warmer. Warm air can hold lots of moisture, so it doesn't rain as much, and a desert is formed.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
5: What is special about this biome? Deciduous trees have special leaves that are adapted to
the biome- explain.
-This biome has all four seasons, of winter, spring, summer, and fall
-Summer is a busy time for deciduous trees. Their broad leaves capture energy from the sun and convert it to food by photosynthesis. Some of the food is used for growth and some is stored in the roots for next spring.
-During the shorter days and cooler weather of autumn, green chlorophyll in the leaves begins to decompose, revealing brilliant oranges, yellows, and reds. Actually, these colors were present in the leaves all year long, but had been hidden by the green pigment of the chlorophyll.
-To prepare for winter, deciduous trees and plants become dormant. They lose their leaves and seal the places where leaves were attached with a protective covering called a leaf scar. If they kept their leaves, the water in the leaves would freeze into ice, damaging the leaves and leaving the plant vulnerable to bacteria or fungi. Plants also make a concentrated sugar solution to stop water from freezing in their stems.
Grasslands
6: Grasslands are found on every continent except for one- which? How much rainfall do
grasslands get- why is this important? What are the 3 types of grasslands that are found in
North America? What are grasslands called in other places in the world?
-Antartica
-Grasslands receive about 10 to 30 inches of rain per year. If they received more rain, the grasslands would become a forest. If they received less, they would become a desert.
-Tall grass, Mixed Grass, Short Grass
-Pampas, Steppes, and Savannas
Rivers & Streams
7: How much water on Earth does running water represent? What is a watershed? What
are the two main processes that happen to surface water? What is the longest river in the
world? What is the longest river in the United States? What is a hydroelectric dam?
-Just .3 %
-
-Infiltration and Surface Runoff , and Water pollution
-Nile river is the longest river in the world
-Mississippi river is the lin the US
-A dam is a man-made structure built across a river. Most dams are built to control river flow, improve navigation, and regulate flooding. However, some dams are built to produce hydroelectric power.
Ponds & Lakes
8: What is the difference between a pond and lake? Name the four stages of succession of a
pond. Explain how an Oxbow Lake is formed. What is the largest lake in the world? What
is the largest lake in the United States? What is the deepest lake in the world? What is
Lake Effect Snow? Explain. What is the cause of summerkill in some lakes?
-A lake is bigger than a pond, and is too deep to support rooted plants except near the shore. Some lakes are big enough for waves to be produced. And a pond is a body of water shallow enough to support rooted plants.
- As a pond develops seeds are flown in by birds and land animals come to inhabit the pond. These are the pond pioneers.
As more creatures arrive the debris on the bottom increases. Pondweed, and other submergent vegetation, appears and soon grow all along the bottom.
Emergents then appear on the edges of the pond. Over time, sometimes hundreds of years, as ponds plants grow, die and decompose, layers of debris build up. These layers of decaying matter raise the pond floor over the years.
After some time, the pond floor is close enough to the bottom that emergents can grow all the way across the floor. When this happens, the ponds becomes a marsh. Many interesting creatures can reside in the shallow muddy waters of marshes
-The oxbow lake is created over time as erosion and deposits of soil change the river's course.
- -Caspian SeaAsia-Europe
-Caspian Sea
Asia-Europe
(salt water)
-The wind blows and picks up moisture from a warmer lake, the air cools as it forced up hills and cause the moisture to condense and fall as snow
Wetlands
9: What are the types of freshwater wetlands- name and define them. Explain why
wetlands are so important. What is happening to our wetlands?
-Marsh: an inland area inundated with 1–6 feet (33–200 cm) of water, containing a variety of perennials (mostly grasses), forbs (flowers), and bushes, rather than trees, as in swamps.
-swamp: are slow moving streams, rivers or isolated depressions that host trees and some shrubs.
-bog: is a peat-accumulating wetland. Some shrubs and evergreens grow in bogs, as do mosses. Most water comes from precipitation. There is usually no direct inflow or outflow of water.
-prairie pothole: A prairie pothole is a wetland area found in the northern Great Plains.
-riparian marsh: Marshes that occur along rivers are called riparian marshes.
-Wetlands accept water during storms and whenever water levels are high. When water levels are low, wetlands slowly release water.
-Wetlands also release vegetative matter into rivers, which helps feed fish in the rivers.
-cleansing benefits
-Wetlands are disappearing rapidly, at about the rate of 300,000 acres (120,000 hectares) annually in the U.S. alone.
Shorelines
10: What kind of lifeforms will you find in the intertidal zone? What is a barrier island?
What is an estuary? What is life like in an estuary? What is a salt marsh? What is the
Mangrove Forest? How are the trees specially adapted to living in that environment? Why
are they important?
-Sea Shells, Snails and aqutic creatures
-islands are separated from the mainland by bodies of water that vary in size, from small estuaries to huge bays and sounds.
-a partially enclosed body of water where incoming seawater is mixed with fresh water coming from the land.
-Life in an estuary is an interesting and diverse mix of land and sea creatures, and some animals. Mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, shellfish, and plants all interact in this ecosystem to create some very complex food webs.
-salt marshes are also wetlands. Salt water marshes occur in places where the land meets the sea, such as barrier islands and other coastal areas.
-Mangrove forests thrive near the mouths of large rivers where river deltas provide lots of sediment (sand and mud).
-A mangrove is a tropical maritime tree or shrub of the genus Rhizophora. Mangroves have special aerial roots and salt-filtering tap roots that enable them to thrive in brackish water
Temperate Ocean Zones
11: Name and describe the different zones of the ocean and how they are divided. Describe
the different photic zones of the ocean. What are kelp forests? Where are they found?
-The ocean bottom is the benthic zone and the water itself (or the water column) is the pelagic zone. The neritic zone is that part of the pelagic zone that extends from the high tide line to an ocean bottom
-This is the top layer, nearest the surface. It is also called the euphotic zone.
-The twilight zone is also known as the disphotic zone ,Only a small amount of light can penetrate the water at this depth.
-The midnight zone is also called the aphotic zone.
-Ninety percent of the ocean is in the midnight zone. Entirely dark
-A kelp forest is much like a forest on the land. It can be divided into layers based on the kind of animal life found there.
-real forests can be found in the Pacific waters.
Tropical Ocean Zones
12: What is coral made of? Explain. Where are most coral reefs located? Where is the
largest coral reef?
-Coral reefs are located in tropical oceans near the equator.
-Each individual polyp is responsible for each bump in the reef. Each polyp creates its own skeleton, usually made up of calcium carbonate (chalk), which it lives in. Polyps are active at night. During the daytime, they retreat into their skeleton, so divers usually only see their skeletons.
-Belize is home to the second largest coral reef in the world (outside of Australia's Great Barrier Reef)