1. Ecology - Biomes Chapter 50

2. What you need to know  The role of abiotic factors in the formation of biomes  Features of freshwater and marine biomes  Major terrestrial biomes and their characteristics

3. Ecology The study of the interactions between organisms and their environment  Biotic factors: living variables  Plants, animals, fungi, protists, prokaryotes  Feces, detritus  Abiotic factors: nonliving variables  *Temperature, *water, salinity, sunlight, and soil

4. Biomes  The major types of ecosystems that occupy very broad geographic regions.  Types include:  Aquatic Biomes (largest part of the biosphere)  Freshwater  Marine  Terrestrial Biomes  Defining variables = temperature and precipitation(climate)

5. Aquatic Biomes  Broken into four layers: 1.Photic zone: enough light for PS 2.Aphotic zone: very little light 3.Thermoclines: mid level region with fast temperature change (deeper  colder) 4.Benthic zone: bottom of the biome (sand, organic sediments, detritus)

6. Freshwater Biomes 1.Lakes & Wetlands  Littoral zone (shore), limnetic zone (deep water)  Oligotrophic lakes (deep lakes, nutrient poor, O 2 rich), eutrophic (shallow lakes, nutrient rich, O 2 poor) 2.Rivers & Streams  Defined by current, and divided among head waters and mouth  Estuaries are where freshwater rivers and streams merge into the ocean

7. Marine Biomes  Intertidal zone: land meets the water (tidal regions)  Neritic zone: shallow water  Pelagic Biome: open blue water (most of the ocean)  Coral Reef: cnidarians make calcium carbonate shells (coral); among the most productive ecosystems

8. Climate  Annual rainfall  Avg annual temperature  Sunlight  Wind Types:  Microclimates: under a log, on your skin, etc.  Macroclimate: global and local weather patterns Climate is largely determined by latitude (distance from the equator), but can be modified by mountain ranges, trade wind patterns, and/or altitude

9. 8 Major Biomes 1.Tropical rain forest 2.Savanna 3.Desert 4.Temperate Forest (Deciduous/ broadleaf) 5.Temperate grassland 6.Chaparral 7.Coniferous Forest (Taiga) 8.Tundra High temperature Decreasing rainfall Mid temp Decreasing rf Very low temp

10. Tropical Rain Forest

11. Tropical Rainforest  Around equator  Temperature is warm, rainfall 200-400 cm/year  Little to no seasonal change  Photoperiod: 10-12 hr/day - year round  Most complex terrestrial biome, many varieties of vegetation (300 species of trees), highest variety of species  Layered: canopy vs. ground  Poor soil: rapid recycling rather than accumulation

12. Savannah

13. Savannas  Temp. warm, rainfall 30-50 cm year  Seasonal droughts  Main vegetation: grasses  Most abundant herbivores: ants, termites, large herbivores  Seasonal drought, fires  Fire adapted plants

14. Desert

15. Desert  Low and unpredictable rainfall, less than 30 cm/year (some none in decades!)  Driest terrestrial biome  High, extreme temperature fluctuations  Deep rooted, water storing plants (CAM), with defense from herbivores (spines)  Animal adapted by behavior and excretory systems

16. Temperate Forest (deciduous/broadleaf)

17. Temperate Forests  Seasonal rainfall 200 cm/year  Growing season 5-6 month (spring and summer)  Less diversity and density than rainforest  High rates of decomposition, but low cycling of nutrients, allows for thick layer of rich soil  Many invertebrates (leaf litter), many bird, rodent, deer species  Hibernation and migration is common  Good regeneration from human impact

18. Temperate Grassland

19.  Moderate temperatures, 50 cm of annual rainfall  Seasonal droughts and fires  Large herbivores  Nutrient rich (good for agriculture)

20. Chaparral

21. Chaparral  Mild rainy winter and long, hot, dry summers  Midlatitude areas close to cold oceans  Dense spiny shrubs, tough evergreens  Adapted to fire  Animals: grazers, fruit eating birds, rodents, lizards

22. Coniferous Forest (Taiga)

23. Taiga  Long cold winters, short wet summers  Cone shaped evergreens  Snow won’t break branches

24. Tundra

25. Tundra  Long bitter arctic winter, 24 hour photoperiod during growing season  Permafrost prevents large root growth  Animals adapted by thick coats  Grazing migratory herds