1. Biomes

2. Evolution
Charles Darwin observed that organisms in a population differ slightly from each other. Some differences are due to heredity. Darwin proposed that the environment had a strong influence over which individuals would survive and produce offspring. These individuals had certain traits that would make them more likely to survive and reproduce.

3. Natural selection is the term used to describe the survival and reproduction of organisms with certain traits.

4. Darwin proposed that over time natural selection causes the characteristics of a population to change. This genetic change of a population from one generation to the next is called evolution.

5. An adaptation is an inherited trait that increases an organism’s chance of survival and reproduction.

6. Coevolution when two species evolve in order to interact successfully.

7. Artificial selection when humans breed organisms for specific traits
Artificial selection when humans breed organisms for specific traits. Ex. Wolf

8. Energy flow in Ecosystems
Energy from the sun enters an ecosystem when a plant uses sunlight to make sugar molecules in a process called photosynthesis.
During photosynthesis, plants use carbon dioxide, water, and solar energy to make carbohydrates. As organisms consume food and use energy from carbohydrates, the energy travels from one organism to another. Organisms use energy to move, grow, and reproduce.

10. Producer (autotroph) an organism that makes its own food and stores energy Ex. Plants

11. Consumer (heterotroph) an organism that obtains food and energy by eating other organisms

12. Types of Consumers
Herbivores- organisms that only eat plants Ex. cattle

13. Carnivores- organisms that only eat animals Ex. Coyotes

14. Omnivores- organisms that eat both plants and animals Ex. Bears

15. Decomposer- organisms that obtain energy by breaking down wastes and the remains of dead organisms
Ex. Mushrooms and earthworms

16. Food Chain- model that shows how energy passes from one organism to another In a food chain, an arrow points from the organism being eaten to the other organism doing the eating. Primary source of energy in a food chain is the sun.

18. Food web - a series of overlapping or connected food chains that exist in an ecosystem. More accurate than a food chain because they show all the feeding relationships within an ecosystem.

20. Biomes
A biome is a large region characterized by a specific type of climate and certain types of plants and animal communities.

22. Biomes and Vegetation
Biomes are described by their vegetation because the plants that grow in a region are the most noticeable characteristics of that region.

23. The types of organisms that live in a particular region depend on the types of plants that live there. For example, mahogany trees grow in tropical rain forests because they cannot survive the cold. Organisms that depend on mahogany trees must also live in the rain rainforest.

24. The plants that live in biomes all have adaptations that enable them to survive there. For example, cactus in the desert.

25. Biomes and Climate
Climate primarily refers to the temperature and precipitation in an area over a long period of time. Most organisms are adapted to live within a certain range of temperatures. For example, a polar bear would not be able to survive in a rain forest.

26. Precipitation also limits the organisms found in a biome
Precipitation also limits the organisms found in a biome. For example, the organisms that live in the desert would not survive in the taiga because it would be too cold and moist.

27. Latitude and Altitude
Biomes and vegetation change depending on latitude and altitude. Lower latitudes closer to the equator are warmer and receive more precipitation. Most tropical rain forests are found near these latitudes. As altitude increases temperature decreases.