Biomes
What are biomes typically described by?
Vegetation
What types of wildlife would you typically see in a savannah? List both plants and animals.
Grasses and shrubs.
Rhinos, Gazelles, Giraffes, Hyenas, Cheetahs, etc.
Where are tundra biomes typically located?
Found just below the icecaps of the arctic. Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland.
What are tropical rainforests mainly threatened by?
Deforestation - removal of plants, which leads to habitat loss for animals as well.
What causes most coastal pollution in the United States? Name two sources.
Industrial waste, sewage, and fishing.
A biome with great species diversity (biodiversity) would be located near the...
Equator
How much average rainfall does a desert get annually?
About 10in of rain per year - the least of all biomes. Also accept - less than 25cm.
What types of adaptations do you typically see by animals in the Artic tundra to escape from the cold?
Animals tend to have thicker and warmer fur. Large bodies to help retain heat. Burrowing underground to escape from the cold.
What major issue is becoming an increasing problem due to the destruction of tropical rainforests? Why?
Flooding - forests soak up excess rainwater and prevent runoff.
Many rivers originate from where?
Snowmelt in mountains.
What are the main factors that determine what type of plants grow in a biome?
Temperature and precipitation.
Adaptations of desert animal that help them survive in the hot, dry desert often include what?
Nocturnal - go out at night when it is cooler.
Some have absence of sweat glands.
Storage of fat in humps to prevent intensifying of heat from fat coverage all over the body.
What animals live in a taiga biome? Name 3.
Moose, bears, wolves, foxes, lynxes, minks, squirrels, hares, caribou.
Why do plants in the Chaparral biome typically survive from fires, despite the biome being hot and arid?
These plants usually survive fires because they can resprout from small amounts of surviving plant tissue.
What are some major threats to ocean ecosystems? Name at least two.
Fishing - marine animals being caught in nets, populations being reduced from overfishing, habitat / ocean floor destruction from trawlers.
Sewage and algal blooms - disruption of nutrient cycles.
Nutrient runoff and industrial waste.
Biomes with higher temperatures and less rainfall typically have what types of plants?
Vegetation that is shorter and less dense.
What is the main threat that has jeopardized the health of grassland biomes, such as the North American prairies?
Soil Erosion - Native grasses have been damaged by plowing and over grazing (agriculture).
What is a coniferous tree? What type of adaptations do coniferous trees use in a taiga biome? (think structure)
Coniferous - produces pinecones, and does not lose its leaves during winter. Examples - Fir, Pine, Spruce, Cedar.
Trees have a unique overall shape in order to accumulate snow, which acts as a heavy insulating layer for them.
What are the environmental functions of wetlands? Name at least 3.
Flood control, trapping carbon that would otherwise be released into the air, absorbing and removing pollutants from water by trapping sediment and removing nutrients, habitat for species, etc.
What is an estuary? Why are they beneficial?
An estuary is an area where freshwater from a river mixes with saltwater from an ocean.
They receive fresh nutrients from both the river and the ocean, allowing for a thriving environment for species that can tolerate the salinity.
As you travel from the North Pole towards the equator, what would you expect to see? How would the biomes change - list the biomes you might encounter, and in an order that would make sense.
North Pole - Tundra, Taiga
Inbetween - Grasslands
Equator - Tropical Rainforests
Where are deserts typically formed? Try your best to explain WHY.
On the dry side of mountain ranges – mountain ranges block all plant growing rainy weather on the rain-shadow side.
What is the layer of soil permanently frozen beneath the topsoil called that is found in tundras? Why is this layer important to climate change? Explain what happens when this layer melts.
Permafrost. Helps prevent runoffs and wet soil, as well as traps frozen organic material. As permafrost melts, this organic material breaks down and greenhouse gases such as methane and carbon dioxide are released as a result.
What types of plants would you expect to see in a tropical rainforest? What adaptations might they have? Provide 2 examples of each.
Tall trees, large / wide plants, vines.
Tall trees - use above ground roots for extra support, and house vines that use the trunks for support.
Large, flat or cupped leaves that allow for large surface areas and water collection.
How are oceans involved in the carbon cycle? What do they do? Give me an in depth description of what they do to help with climate change / our carbon cycle.
Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in the surface waters of the ocean. Some of the carbon dioxide stays as dissolved gas, but much of it gets turned into other things. Photosynthesis by tiny marine plants (phytoplankton) in the sunlit surface waters turns the carbon into organic matter. Many organisms use carbon to make calcium carbonate, a building material of shells and skeletons. Other chemical processes create calcium carbonate in the water. The using up of carbon by biological and chemical processes allows more carbon dioxide to enter the water from the atmosphere.
Living things in the ocean move carbon from the atmosphere into surface waters then down into the deeper ocean and eventually into rocks. This action of organisms moving carbon in one direction is often called a biological pump.