1. Are You Smarter Than An 8th Grader?
For separate ecosystems to be classified as the same type of biome, they must —
A) have deciduous forests
B) be located along the equator
C) have similar organisms and climates
D) be at least one hundred square meters in area

2. Biomes

3. Ecologists group Earth's diverse environments into biomes.
Biome is a large area that exhibits similar climate, plants, and animals.

4. Climate has 2 main components
Temperature
Precipitation

5. Temperature and Precipitation help determine the type of vegetation in an ecosystem.
As temperature and precipitation decrease, the climate of an area becomes drier and vegetation becomes sparser.

6. Latitude and altitude affect climate and vegetation in similar ways.

7. Ecotone – a transition area between 2 adjacent ecosystems or communities that overlap.
contain elements of both bordering communities as well as organisms which are characteristic and restricted to the ecotone.

8. Can any organism (plant or animal)
live in any biome?
Adaptation is a process in which a species becomes better suited to survive in an environment.

9. Plant Adaptations

10. Desert Adaptations
Small leaves or spines on desert plants conserve water.
Thick waxy skin holds in water.
Shallow root system soak up rain water quickly before it evaporates.
Xerophyte – plants structurally adapted for life and growth with limited water supply.
Succulent – plants like cacti with fleshy tissues for storing moisture

11. Grassland Adaptations
Deep roots help plants survive prairie fires.
Narrow leaves lose less water than broad leaves.
Flexible stems bend in the wind.

12. Tundra Adaptations Small plants grow close to the ground for warmth.
Dark colored flowers absorb heat from the sun.
Fuzzy stems provide protection from wind.

13. Rainforest Adaptations
The Capirona tree employs a unique adaptation to parasites. Each year, its bark sloughs off carrying with it an assorted variety of fungi, molds, insects, and other invasive plants.
Pointed drip tips channel rain to the soil and help keep the leaf blades dry.
Aerial plants gather nourishment from the air using 'air roots'

14. Temperate Forest Adaptations
Thick bark protects trees and dropping leaves in winter conserves water and nutrients during cold winters.

15. Animal Adaptation – any behavioral or physical
characteristic of an animal that helps
it survive in its environment.

16. Structural (physical) adaptation -- are body structures that allow an animal to find and consume food, defend itself,
and to reproduce.
Body coverings & parts (claws, beaks, feet, armor plates, skulls, teeth)

17. Chemical defenses (like venom, ink, sprays)

18. kangaroo rats Body size
-Large size deters predators, makes metabolism more efficient
-Small body size allows concealment, exploitation of small areas
Water conservation
-cutaneous (skin) loss
-excretory (urine/feces) loss
-respiratory (breathing -- fewer breaths per minute means less water lost per breath and lower metabolism)
kangaroo rats
*have the ability to convert the dry seeds they eat into water.
*have specialized kidneys which allow them to dispose of waste materials with very little output of water.

19. Temperature management
-Cold vs Warm blooded OR
-Homeothermy vs Poikilothermy
-Cold blooded (Ectothermic) animals have low energy overhead but are inactive in cool and cold conditions
-Warm blooded (Endothermic) animals have high energy overhead but can be very active even at low temperatures

20. Body Temperature Regulation: Endotherm vs. Ectotherm

21. Protective coloration and protective resemblance allow an animal to blend into its environment = camouflage 
Their camouflage makes it hard for enemies to single out individuals.

22. The Viceroy butterfly uses mimicry to look like the Monarch butterfly.
Mimicry allows one animal to look, sound, or act like another animal to fool predators into thinking it is poisonous or dangerous.
The Viceroy butterfly uses mimicry to look like the Monarch butterfly.

23. Behavior adaptations include activities that help an animal survive –
allows animal to respond to life needs
Behavior adaptations can be learned or instinctive.

24. Migration - - an animal or group of animals moving from one region to another and then back again.
Animals migrate for different reasons (internal and external cues). 
better climate
better food
safe place to live
safe place to raise young
go back to the place they were born

25. Hibernation -- deep sleep in which animal’s body temp drops, body activities are slowed to conserve energy.

26. Biome Locations

27. Tropical Rainforest Typically found near the equator
Receives < 200 cm of rain annually
Temperatures typically on the warmer side – averages about 75o F for the year
As many as 50% of all the world’s animal species may be found here
About 1/4 of all the medicines we use come from rainforest plants

28. Tropical Rainforest Layers of a Rainforest
Emergent Layer – tallest trees (60-70m tall), grow and emerge in the direct sunlight.
Canopy – trees >30m tall, form dense layer that absorbs 95% of sunlight
Understory – trees and shrubs adapted to grow in shady areas. < 3.5 m tall

29. Tropical Rainforest Threats: Exotic pet trading Habitat Destruction
-Timber production (mostly for export and fuel)
-Slash-and-burn practices– for agriculture and cattle ranches
Logging operations and development of roads pose a big threat to tiger habitat
Deforestation for palm oil production in Malaysian Borneo.

30. Tropical Savanna Grasslands with a few scattered trees
Experience a wet and dry season
Hot temperatures
Annual rainfall is between 50 and 127 cm
More species of grazing mammals than any other biome

31. Savannas
Location:
Africa, western India, Northern Australia & a few parts of South America
Found in tropical to subtropical areas near equator between tropical rainforests & desert biomes.

32. Desert Typically found between 25o and 40o latitude
Receives > 25 cm of rain each year
Temperatures can be hot or cold - typically range between 20oC and 25oC but some extreme deserts can reach temperatures higher than 38oC and lower than –15oC

33. Desert Hot Desert = Arizona’s Sonoran Desert
Cold Desert = Gobi Desert in China, Great Basin in western US.
Often located near large mountain ranges
Rain shadow – An area having relatively little precipitation due to the effect of a barrier, such as a mountain range, that causes the prevailing winds to lose their moisture before reaching it.

34. Rain Shadow

35. Chaparral
Found between 32o and 40o latitude on the west coast of continents
Fairly dry - Receives between 35 and 70 cm of rain, usually in the winter
Extremely resistant to drought and weather events

36. Grassland
Because of the dry climate, trees are found only near water sources such as streams
Usually receives between 50 and 90 cm of rainfall each year
warm or cold - Summer temperatures can reach up to 38oC and winter temperatures can fall to –40oC
Considered to be the “bread baskets of the world”

37. Temperate Grasslands Other names:
Prairies in North America, steppes of Russia and Ukraine, pampas of South America

38. Temperate Grasslands Threats:
Farming and overgrazing have changed grasslands
Grain crops can’t hold the soil in place like native grasses, so the soil is eroding
Both farming and overgrazing may cause this biome to move/change more towards a desert-like biome.

39. Temperate Deciduous Forest
Moderate climate - Temperatures range between –30oC and 30oC
Most trees will lose their leaves in the winter
Moderate Precipitation - Averages from 75 to 150 cm of precipitation
Well developed understory

40. Temperate Deciduous Forest
Deciduous – trees with broad leaves that fall during the winter season.
Layers of the Forest:
Canopy: tall trees (maples, oak, birch)
Understory : small trees & shrubs
Floor: ferns, herbs, mosses

41. Temperate Boreal Forest/Taiga
AKA Taiga
Typically found between 45o and 60o North latitude
Cold climate in winter
(40 – 100 cm snow annually), with summer warm, rainy, and humid
Very few reptiles
Limited understory - A lot of coniferous trees
Snow is primary form of precipitation (40 – 100 cm annually)

42. Tundra Means treeless or marshy plain
Characterized by permafrost – permanently frozen soil starting as high as a few centimeters below the surface – which severely limits plant growth
Winter temperatures (low) average –34oC while summer temperatures usually average below 10oC
Low precipitation (15–25 cm per year) but ground is usually wet because of low evaporation

43. Tundra
Permafrost = permanently frozen soil (that lies underneath the topsoil)
Sinking land can damage buildings and infrastructure such as roads, airports, and water and sewer pipes. It also affects ecosystems
U.S. Global Change Research Program (2009).

44. Tundra
Threats:
Fragile biome has a simple food chain, so it can be easily disrupted
Oil/natural gas explorations
airborne pollutants, such as DDT and PCB's