Ecology: The Biomes You will understand and explain the difference s between Earth’s major Biomes

Recall: What is the basis for most ecosystems? Energy derived from Sunlight is converted to food energy Organisms that do this are called Primary Producers or Autotrophs

Recall: How is energy Transferred? Food Energy transferred through predator/prey relationships Herbivores- eat plants Carnivores – eat animal tissue Omnivores- eat both types of material Scavengers- eat dead or decaying organic matter

Food Relationships produce a structure to the ecosystem Structure is best known as the Trophic Pyramid Pyramid design shows both the numbers of organisms goes down (by power of 10) as you go up pyramid It also shows how energy is lost through each transition between levels

TROPHIC PYRAMID

So What is a Biome? Biome – is the precise habitat of organisms as defined by its Abiotic Factors (primarily vegetation and precipitation amounts for land and amount of light, salinity, pressure and depth for aquatic environments)

4 Basic Land Biomes Forests - dominated by tree growth Tropical Deciduous (Temperate) Taiga (Coniferous Trees) Temperate Forest Biome Tropical Forest

4 Land Biomes Grasslands- dominated by grasses Savannah (tropical) Temperate Grassland Biome Savannah Biome

4 Land Biomes Tundra- treeless, and cold with permafrost year-round Arctic- Extreme Northern area Alpine- mountain regions Tundra Biome

4 Land Biomes Deserts – dominated by lack of rainfall Hot n Dry “traditional deserts” Coastal -found near coastlines Semi-Arid- Warm summers, cool winters Cold- Antarctica Desert Biome

2 Basic Aquatic Biomes Freshwater- low salinity, created from Run off from land Rivers and Streams Ponds and Lakes Wetlands Aquatic Biomes

2 Aquatic Biomes Marine- largest Biome on Earth Intertidal/Coastal Estuaries (rivers enter oceans) Pelagic Deep Water Aquatic Biomes