Biome Identificationand Biodiversity

What Biome am I?

• Located near the equator• Over 200 cm rain each year• Warm temperatures, lots of

sunlight• Lots of vegetation of plants

and animals • Biotic factors include large

trees that form canopies, parrots, many insects, leopards, etc

• Poor soil quality

• Temperature, rain, soil quality and amount of sunlight are biotic or abiotic factors?

• Vegetation, and animal diversity is biotic or abiotic factor?

Tropical Rainforest

• Typically found near the equator• Receives more than 200 cm of rain

annually• Temperatures typically fall between

20oC and 25oC for the entire year• As many as 50% of all the world’s

animal species may be found here

What Biome am I?

• Located between poles and equator• Very few trees with lots of grasses• Most fertile soil of all biomes• Temperatures between -40 - 38 degrees C• Precipitation between 50 - 90 cm• Animals include antelope, bison (US Buffalo),

prairie dogs, groundhogs

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

• Summer temperatures can reach up to 38oC, and winter temperatures can fall to –40oC

What Biome am I?

• Located at the poles• Less than 25 cm rain per year• Temps range from -34 - 10 degrees C• Has a layer of permafrost• Animals include migrating birds in summers,

polar bears, reindeer

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 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

What Biome am I?

• Located near the equator• Less than 25 cm rain per

year• Poor soil quality• Temperatures between -

15 to 38 degrees C• Plants such as cactuses• Animals such as snakes,

lizards, rats and scorpions

• What are the biotic and abiotic factors that make up this biome?

Desert

• Typically found between 25o and 40o latitude

• Receives less than 25 cm of rain each year

• Temperatures typically range between 20oC and 25oC but some extreme deserts can reach temperatures higher than 38oC and lower than –15oC

What Biome am I?

• Located between equator and poles• Forests have many deciduous trees that lose

leaves in fall• Fertile soil• Temperatures range from -40 to 20 degrees C• Rainfall between 30 to 90 cm• Animals include foxes, bears deer, squirrels

Temperate Deciduous Forest

• Moderate climate• Most trees will lose their leaves in the

winter• Temperatures range between –40oC

and 20oC• Averages from 30 to 90 cm of

precipitation• Well developed understory

What Biome am I?

• Located at the poles• Precipitation between 41-61 cm• Temps range from 14-59 degrees F• Acidic soil• Trees are mostly conifers• Animals are moose, bears, rabbits

Temperate Boreal Forest

• Also known as Taiga• Typically found between 45o and 60o

North latitude• Cold climate with summer rains• Very few reptiles• Limited understory• Snow is primary form of precipitation (40

to 61 cm annually)

What Biome am I?

• Located near the equator• Lots of grasses with a few trees mixed in• Between 80-90 degrees F• About 100 cm average rainfall• Animals include giraffes, zebra, lions,

crocodiles and elephants

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

What Biome am I?

• Located between poles and equator• Cool winter, hot dry summers• Poor nutrient rocky soils• Precipitation between 35 - 70 cm• Temperatures between 51-78 degrees F• Vegetation includes lots of shrubs• Animals include coyotes, mountain lions,

jackal, jack rabbits

Chaparral

• Found between 32o and 40o latitude on the west coast of continents

• Receives between 35 and 70 cm of rain, usually in the winter

• Extremely resistant to drought and weather events

Review

• Why do tropical rain forests, and temperate forests have so much life?

• Why do deserts and the tundra have so little life?

Biosphere

• All life on earth• Includes all of the ecosystems and biomes that

we have talked about

Biodiversity

• The degree of variation in life forms of a given species, ecosystem, or biome. – Includes genetic variation within a species or

populations of ecosystems

Examples of Biodiversity

• Tropical rain forest may have 300 species in 10000 square meters (hectre) of land

• A temperate forest in the US may only have 30 species

• Biodiversity increases towards the equator.

Why is Biodiversity important?

• All life is interdependent– Animals need plants to survive– Flowering plants need animals for pollination– Plants need decomposers that break down

decaying matter into nutrients

– If one species is lost from an ecosystem it has a cascade effect on the rest of the ecosystem

Bees

• Honeybees are especially important for maintaining biodiversity

• Honeybee populations are declining which impacts our food sources– Important for pollination of plants around the

world

Why is Biodiversity important?

• Stability– A single pest may be

able to destroy an entire corn field

– A single pest is not likely to destroy all plant life in a rainforest

– Scattered plant or animal life is less likely to be destroyed due to the genetic variation

Loss of Biodiversity

• Loss of a single species can domino effect the entire ecosystem, which can destroy it

• Species such as frogs are becoming endangered and could become extinct

Domino effect

• Removing sea otters from kelp forest on west coast have shown to disrupt the entire ecosystem

Polar Bears

Because of global warming Polar Bears are endangered of becoming extinct