Biomes of the World 5.1

What is a Biome? -The earth has many ecosystems -Scientists group ecosystems into larger areas called Biomes -There are two main categories of Biomes: -Terrestrial (land) -Aquatic (water)

Terrestrial Biomes The Earth has 10 major land biomes: Tropical Rain Forests Deciduous Forests Coniferous Forests Temperate Grasslands Savannas Chaparral Deserts Tundra Mountains Polar Ice

Terrestrial Biomes Each biome is characterized by a particular climate What makes the climate? Average annual temperatures Amounts of precipitation Both help to determine the types of plants that can grow there The plants, in turn, help determine what types of animals can live in each biome

Diversity in Biomes The total diversity of biomes is determined largely by the amount of precipitation and average temperature Living things need water to survive The desert and tundra biomes both get very little precipitation, therefore have less diversity Rainforests get a lot of rain and have hot, humid temperatures This makes the rain forests the most diverse ecosystems on Earth

Location Biomes located closer to the equator have higher temperatures Biomes are divided by latitude and location Polar Zone – farthest from equator Temperate Zone – Warmer than the polar zone Tropical Zone – Closest to equator As the latitude increases, the temperature decreases

Aquatic Biomes Make up more than 70% of the Earth’s surface Aquatic biomes are not grouped by climate They are grouped by water depth and salinity Salinity is the amount of salt dissolved in the water Rainfall and temperature also affect aquatic biomes 2 main groups of Aquatic biomes Freshwater Saltwater

Aquatic Types Freshwater Rivers Streams Ponds Lakes Swamps Saltwater Oceans Estuaries Coral Reefs Saltwater Marshes

Salinity All biomes contain some dissolved salt and other minerals However, oceans contain more dissolved salt than the water found in freshwater systems This salinity is measured in parts per thousand The salinity of ocean water is about 30 parts per thousand The salinity of freshwater biomes is about 0.5 parts per thousand or less

Depth The depth of water also determines what kinds of organisms can survive there In areas where sunlight can reach, more organisms can live there Aquatic plants use sunlight to create food As sunlight decreases with depth, the plant and animal life decreases In the deep ocean, the water is too dark for photosynthesis

Scientists and Biomes Scientists study biomes to learn more about how organisms survive in different habitats They investigate how organisms have adapted to temperature, rainfall, water depth, and salinity They also study how land biomes affect aquatic biomes Biomes are fragile and need protected

Vocabulary Biome Terrestrial Aquatic Salinity Saltwater Freshwater