N4 Biology Unit 3 Life on Earth KA 3.1 Biomes and ecosystems

World Biomes Learning Intention: Identify and describe how ecosystems are different across the world. Success Criteria: Define the term biome. Describe the global distribution of world biomes. Describe how temperature and rainfall affect the distribution of world biomes. Present detailed information about one world biome.

What is a biome? Biomes are large areas of the Earth which are dominated by specific types of vegetation and are home to certain types of ecosystem. This is caused by differences in the climate in different parts of the world. Major biomes on Earth include tropical rainforests, savannah, coral reef, desert, tundra and temperate forests.

World Biomes

Tropical Rainforest

Arctic

Desert

Temperate forest

Coral reef

Biome project Choose a biome Make a word document or powerpoint about it. Temperate forest Desert Coral reef Arctic/Tundra Tropical rainforest

Starter Activity: How many different plant species are in this field? Which is the most common species? What animals live in or visit this field? How would you find this out?

Sampling Techniques Learning Intention: Using practical techniques to sample plants and animals. Success Criteria: Describe ways to measure abundance of plants in an ecosystem. Describe ways to sample animals in an area. Appropriate Clip art to topic

Studying ecosystems Ecosystems are smaller areas within the biomes. Examples could be a woodland, a pond or a river. Studying an ecosystem involves: –Finding out what plants and animals live there. –Finding out how many of them live there. –Finding out why they live there.

Abundance Abundance is the measure of how frequently a species of plant or animal appears in particular area. Abundance can be measured using sampling techniques.

Counting plants It would be very difficult to count every single plant in a field. How could you resolve this problem? We can sample using a quadrat.

Sampling using a quadrat: –A quadrat is a square frame with a known area such as 1m 2 –It is used to estimate numbers of plants (or slow moving animals like slugs or snails). 1m

How to sample using a quadrat Estimating the number of thistles in a field: Quadrat placed at random and number of thistles in quadrat counted. Repeated several times. Average number per square metre is calculated. Area of whole field measured Estimate of total number of thistles in field calculated

Calculate the number of flowers in a field with a total area of 150m 2 _______flowers in 1m 2. _______ x ________= ____ flowers in a field of 150m 2. Example m

To make the results of abundance more reliable, many samples would be taken using quadrats and the results then averaged before calculating the abundance of the entire area. QuadratNumber of flowers Average11 So for the 150m 2 area, Abundance = 11 x 150 = 1650 flowers

Quadrat practical Area 1 Quadrat 1 Quadrat 2 Quadrat 3 Average Moisture pH Light intensity Number of species  Area 2 Quadrat 1 Quadrat 2 Quadrat 3 Average Moisture pH Light intensity Number of species

–Animals are difficult to count because they move around, and they tend to hide from humans. –Some are well camouflaged as well. –The best way to estimate their numbers is by live traps. Sampling Animals

–A container is placed in a hole in ground to trap animals that are active at the soil surface. –The trap is left overnight and checked next day. –Several traps should be set up to increase reliability of the results. Sampling Animals Using a Pitfall Trap

Pitfall Trap Traps can be placed to compare different areas and see what animals are more common in each.

Tullgren funnel Tree beating Sweep netting Pond netting Other Methods of Sampling

Using a Tullgren funnel Water Most animals will float on surface

Starter Activity How would you explain to a small child how to identify the following farm animals?

Classification Keys Learning Intention: Branching keys. Success Criteria: I can use a branching key to identify organisms I can construct a branching key Appropriate Clip art to topic

Classification Keys When using sampling methods, it is important that you are able to identify the plants or animals you have found. One method of identification is to use a key.

Keys Used to identify organisms while sampling. There are two types –Branching keys –Paired Statement keys

Branching keys A key is a series of questions. Each question leads to another until eventually the name of the organism is found.

Branching keys A leech has no shell, no legs, no fins and a segmented body. 1.Name the animal with no shell and eight legs which is really small. 2. Describe a) a freshwater shrimp b) A bullhead fish

Branching keys Describe the following animals using information in the key. 1.Woodlouse 2.Centipede 3.Harvestman

Branching keys Put these animals into the correct position in the key: Snail Woodlouse Spider Butterfly Worm Moth

Paired Statement Key In this type of key, instead of asking questions at branching points on a diagram, you are asked to choose between two statements. Each pair of statements is numbered and the instructions send you to the next relevant pair of statements.

1. Has green coloured body......go to 2 Has purple coloured body..... go to 4 2. Has 4 legs.....go to 3 Has 8 legs Has a tail Does not have a tail Has a pointy hump Does not have a pointy hump.....go to 5 5. Has ears Does not have ears......

Paired Statement Key Click on a leaf number 1 to start, then complete leaves 2-6 in that order

Click on the True Statement The leaf has prickles The leaf has no prickles

Click on the True Statement The leaf has prickles The leaf has no prickles

Click on the True Statement The leaf has prickles The leaf has no prickles

Click on the True Statement The leaf has prickles The leaf has no prickles

Click on the True Statement The leaf has prickles The leaf has no prickles

Click on the True Statement The leaf has prickles The leaf has no prickles

Click on the True Statement The leaf has a serrated edge The leaf has a smooth edge What does ‘serrated’ mean?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has a serrated edge The leaf has a smooth edge What does ‘serrated’ mean?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has a serrated edge The leaf has a smooth edge What does ‘serrated’ mean?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has a serrated edge The leaf has a smooth edge What does ‘serrated’ mean?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has a serrated edge The leaf has a smooth edge What does ‘serrated’ mean?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has lobes The leaf has no lobes What is a ’lobe’?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has lobes The leaf has no lobes What is a ‘lobe’?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has lobes The leaf has no lobes What is a ‘lobe’?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has lobes The leaf has no lobes What is a ‘lobe’?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has lobes The leaf has no lobes What is a ‘lobe’?

Click on the True Statement The leaf has lobes The leaf has no lobes What is a ‘lobe’?

Click on the True Statement The leaf is broad The leaf is narrow

Click on the True Statement The leaf is broad The leaf is narrow

It’s a Holly Leaf Click below to: Try another leaf! Try another leaf! Well Done! 3.

It’s an Elm Leaf Well Done! Click below to Try another leaf! 5.

It’s an Oak Leaf Well Done! Mark this against number 6 on your worksheet & try the remaining questions 6. Want to try the activity again?

It’s a Beech Leaf Well Done! Click below to: Try another leaf! 1.

It’s a Sycamore Leaf Well Done! Click below to: Try another leaf! 2.

It’s a Willow Leaf Well Done! Click below to: Try another leaf! 4.

InvertebrateNumber of legs WingsBody Stripe Spider8No Wasp6Yes Fly6YesNo Springtail6No Construct a branching key for the information below: Example 1

PlantDoes it have chlorophyll? Does it have cones? Does it have flowers? Does it live in water? GrassYesNoYesNo SpruceYes No YeastNo MossYesNo SeaweedYesNo Yes Construct a branching key for the information below: Example 2

BirdType of feetCrest on head Beak shape Head colour SwanWebbedAbsentStraightWhite CurlewNot WebbedAbsentCurvedBrown RookNot WebbedAbsentStraightBlack PuffinWebbedAbsentStraightBlack SkylarkNot WebbedPresentStraightBrown AvocetNot WebbedAbsentCurvedBlack Construct a branching key for the information below: Example 3

What is biodiversity? Biodiversity is the variety of different species in an area, or on the planet as a whole. It is important to maintain biodiversity to ensure that important species do not become extinct.

What can affect biodiversity? The following factors can affect levels of biodiversity: Abiotic factors- these are non-living factors like light, temperature, water, pH etc. Biotic factors- these are factors to do with other living things, like predators, food, competition and disease. Watch the following Glow video clips Abiotic FactorsAbiotic Factors Biotic FactorsBiotic Factors

Changes in Ecosystems Imagine a disease wiped out the mosquito larvae. Which ecosystem would be most affected? Why? What might happen to the number of tadpoles in the loch if mosquito larvae disappeared? Why? Here are two similar ecosystems.

Changes in Ecosystems The prawns in this ecosystem are killed by pollution. What would happen to the numbers of a)trout b)carp c)slugs