1. Biomes Foldable

2. Biomes
Large geographic areas that have similar climates and ecosystems.
Include both land and aquatic systems.
Land: Tundra, Taiga, Deciduous forest, Tropical Rain Forest, Desert, Grassland.
Aquatic: Freshwater, Marine, Estuary

3. Tundra – a cold, treeless region
Abiotic factors:
precipitation – less than 25 cm per year
Avg. temperature= -12°C
Permafrost – permanently frozen soil. Only the top few inches thaw in the summer making it hard for large trees to grow.
Sunlight – experiences complete night for 3 months of the year during winter.

4. Tundra – continued Biotic Factors
Plants: adapted to living in extreme cold with little water
Ex: moss, lichens, grasses, small shrubs
Animals: adapted to the cold – may migrate or change color by season
Ex: migratory birds like duck, geese, shorebirds, and songbirds. Also hawks, snow owls, willow grouse, mice, voles, lemmings, arctic hares, caribou, reindeer, musk ox, mosquitoes, black flies, and other biting insects.

5. Taiga – cold, forest region dominated by cone-bearing evergreen trees.
Abiotic factors:
Precipitation – 35cm to 100 cm a year
Avg. temperatures: -50°C to 30°C
Permafrost – only in extreme northern regions
Sunlight – winter lasts for 5-6 months with the sun barely rising over the horizon during this time

6. Taiga - continued Biotic Factors:
Plant life – adapted to the cold and short growing season
Ex: Conifers (evergreen trees), moss, lichen
Animal life – adapted to cold
Ex: moose, lynx, shrews, bears, foxes

7. Deciduous Forest – temperate forest with four distinct seasons
Abiotic Factors:
Avg. precipitation: 75cm to 150 cm per year
Avg. temperature: 5.5°C to 15.6°C
Sunlight: varying amounts of sunlight causing 4 distinct seasons

8. Deciduous Forest: continued
Biotic Factors:
Plant life – adapted to seasonal changes in sunlight, water, and temperature
Ex: giant trees like oaks, maples, and birch
Animal life – also adapted for each season – may hibernate through winter
Ex: white-tail deer, bears, squirrels, chipmunk, elk, mountain lion, bobcat, raccoon, and skunk

9. Tropic Rain Forest – large forests near the equator with warm, wet weather and lush plant growth.
Abiotic factors:
Avg. precipitation: cm a year
Avg. temperature: about 25°C year round
Sunlight – amount of sunlight does NOT change throughout the year, so its summer all the time.

10. Tropical Rain Forest Biotic factors
Plant life – adapted to warm temps. and large amounts of rain. Adaptations include large broad leaves, deep roots, or growing without soil
Ex: giant trees, vines, moss, orchids
Animal life – adapted to live in trees, or in the dark mud below, and for warm temperatures
Ex: large birds like parrots and macaws, monkeys, primates, insects, reptiles, amphibians.

11. Desert – large dry regions with mostly thin sandy, or gravelly soil.
Abiotic factors:
Avg. precipitation: less than 25 cm a year
Avg. temperatures: 0°C to 45°C
Soil – sandy, or gravelly, sand dunes are common
Sunlight – reaches the ground due to lack of vegetation. Causes vary cold nights.

12. Desert - Continued Biotic factors:
Plant life: adapted to extreme dryness and temperature changes. Leaves are spiny to prevent water loss.
Ex: cactus, Joshua tree, creosote bush
Animal life: adapted to survive with very little water. Usually nocturnal
Ex: scorpions, kangaroo rat, snakes, rabbits, birds, coyote

13. Grassland: temperate and tropical regions with grass
Abiotic factors:
Avg. precipitation: 25 to 75 cm per year
Avg. temperature: -20°C to 30°C
Sunlight – changes with the seasons

14. Grasslands: continued
Biotic factors:
Plant life: must be adapted to survive a dry season
Ex: grasses, wheat, rye, oats, barley, and corn
Animal life: adapted to seasonal changes in water and sunlight
Ex: zebras, elephants, giraffes, lions, hawks, mice, insects, snakes

15. Freshwater: from small ponds and streams to large rivers and lakes
Abiotic factors:
The faster the water flows the more oxygen the water contains
Slower moving water like in ponds, contains more nutrients
Sunlight reaches no more than 200 meters down, so life is not found beyond that point

16. Freshwater: continued
Biotic Factors:
Plant life: abundant in slow moving water
Ex: algae, aquatic plants like elodea, reeds, rushes, cattails, water lilies, etc.
Animal life: adapted to speed and temperature of water
Ex: fish, snails, mussels, water snakes, insects, amphibians, ducks, beaver, otters, river dolphins

17. Marine: saltwater (95% of Earth’s water)
Abiotic factors:
Below 200 meters organisms survive without light using a process called chemosynthesis.
Above 200 meters uses photosynthesis
Water temperatures vary depending on latitude, and depth
Salinity changes with depth

18. Marine: continued Biotic Factors:
Plant and animals life must be adapted to salinity, temperature, and amount of sunlight available
Plants: phytoplankton, algae, sea weed
Animals: coral, sponges, sea stars, crab, lobsters, fish, shark, whales, dolphins, eels

19. Estuary: areas where rivers meet an ocean and the fresh and salty water mix.
Abiotic factors:
Salinity changes depending on amount of fresh water flowing from rivers, and incoming salt water from tides

20. Estuary: continued Biotic factors:
Plants and animals must be adapted to continuously changing salt levels
Plant life: algae, salt tolerant grasses, mangroves
Animal life: shrimp, crab, clams, oysters, snails, worms, fish, manatee