Seasonal Climate
What is climate?
The weather conditions of a place over a long period of time.
What is an ecosystem?
An ecosystem is all the living and nonliving things that interact in an area.
What does dormant mean?
When plants are inactive during winter
What does hibernate mean?
When animals become less active during the winter
How does the bighorn sheep survive in spring?
They get water from the grasses and plants they eat.
Hot, humid and sunny
Name some non-living things in an ecoystem.
Sun, air, water, soil
What is an example of a Florida plant that becomes dormant during the winter?
What is an example of an animal that hibernates?
American bullfrog, squirrels, bears
Contrast the ecosystems of Arizona and Florida.
Arizona has a desert ecosystem that is hot and dry. Florida has coastal and wetland ecosystems that are hot and wet.
What is the difference between weather and climate?
Weather is the temperature and conditions of a place over a short period of time. Climate is the weather conditions of a place over a long period of time.
What are some examples of Florida ecosystems?
wetlands, salt marshes, freshwater ponds, tidal pools, longleaf pine forest, rivers
Describe the seasonal changes of the Florida maple (summer to fall to winter).
In the summer, it has bright green leaves. The leaves begin changing colors in the fall. In the winter, most of the leaves fall off the branches.
What is migration?
The movement of large groups of animals.
Why is the weasel's coat important to its survival?
How are animals in an ecosystem affected by climate changes?
An Artic ecosystem has glaciers. What would cause the glaciers to melt?
Warmer temperatures
A student in your class makes the statement "The best time to observe the bald Cypress is in the winter." Do you agree or disagree? Explain.
Disagree. The bald Cypress loses all its leaves, so you can't observe them.
Some animals, such as butterflies, manatees, and birds, migrate during the winter. Explain why.
These animals need warmer areas to survive.
Florida has deciduous and evergreen trees. Deciduous trees lose their leaves Evergreen trees keep their leaves year long. How is this similar to other areas of our country?
Many states have deciduous and evergreen trees.
Manatees and Monarch butterflies
How does water change in northern forest ecoystems?
It freezes and becomes less available to animals.
How do deciduous plants respond to seasonal changes?
They lose their leaves in the winter, then grow them back in the spring.
Bears in northern states hibernate, but bears in Florida do not. Explain why.
What do animals do if water is not available?
Migrate