Biomes A drought makes vegetation scarce

What is a biome?  Group of ecosystems with similar climates and organisms

What are the 6 major biomes?  Rain forest  Desert  Grassland  Deciduous forest  Boreal forest  Tundra

How do we categorize biomes?  Climate-temperature and precipitation  Types of organisms

Rainforest Biomes  Lots of rain  Thick vegetation-lots of plants  Leaves block much of the sunlight from reaching the forest floor  2 types of rainforest biomes- temperate and tropical

Temperate Rainforest  Northwest U.S.  Huge trees like cedars, redwoods, and Douglas firs  Moderate temperature  Over 300 centimeters of rain each year  Mule deer, pileated woodpecker, golden buprestid beetle

Tropical Rainforest  Found close to Equator  Warm and humid year round  A lot of rain- over 350cm per year in Costa Rican rainforest  Canopy-leafy roof formed by tall trees  Understory-shorter layer of trees and vines  Abundant life- over 300 kinds of trees in 100-square meters  Probably contain more species than all other land biomes combined  Orangutans, spider monkeys, tigers, sloth

Desert  Less than 25cm of water per year  Evaporation rate greater than precipitation rate  Very hot during the day and very cold at night  Saguaro cactus, Gila monsters, vipers, jack rabbits

Grassland Biomes  Tall grasses  cm of rain each year, but savannahs can receive as much as 120 cm of rain  Fires and draughts common  Prairies and savannahs  Elephants, bison, antelope, zebras, rhinos, giraffes, kangaroos

Deciduous Forest  Deciduous trees-maple, oak  Seasons-warm in summer, snow in winter  Trees lose leaves in fall  Salamanders, black bears, white-tailed deer, squirrel, fox

Boreal Forest  Evergreen trees-spruce, pine  Coniferous trees- have seeds in cones  Winters cold, lots of snow  Summers warm and rainy  Red squirrels, finches, snowshoe hares, moose, owls, lynx, wolves

Tundra  Cold and dry  Permafrost-ground continuously frozen  Many ponds, marshy  In the Arctic circle, the sun does not set in summer  Mosses, grasses, shrubs, very small trees  Insect-eating birds, caribou, foxes, wolves, Arctic hares

Mountains and Ice  Mountain ranges, land that is covered with thick ice  Mountains have a range of biomes as you ascend  Antarctica and Greenland are covered in ice  Penguins, polar bears, and leopard seals

Freshwater Ecosystems  Streams and Rivers-insects, trout, frogs, algae  Ponds and Lakes- dragonflies, catfish, sunfish, turtles, snails, algae, bacteria

Marine Ecosystems  Estuary- freshwater meets salt water, crabs, worms, clams, fish  Intertidal Zone- Between high and low tide lines, varying water and temperatures, barnacles, sea stars, clams, crabs  Neritic Zone- Shallower ocean near continents, sardines, algae, coral  Open Ocean- light only reaches a few hundred meters, tuna, swordfish, whales  Deep Zone- Almost totally dark, scavengers, giant squid, angler fish