Topic 4 Ecology: Biomes

Question 1

1. Tropical rainforest
2. Savannas
3. Temperate grasslands
4. Temperate deciduous forests
5. Temperate coniferous
6. Deserts
7. Taigas
8. Tundras
9. Chaparral

Answer 1

Types of Land Biomes

Question 2

• has a high, but stable temperature and humidity. As the name suggests, there is heavy rainfall. The biome is filled with tall trees with branches at the tops that allow little light to enter. This is the most diverse biome. Epiphytes can be found in this biome, which are plants that grow commensally on other plants, like vines

Answer 2

Tropical Rainforest

Question 3

• these are tropical grasslands with scattered trees. Savannas are similar to the tropics in that they both have high temperatures, but savannas get very little rainfall (~25 inches a year to prevent the regions from turning into deserts). In the African savanna, you can find ungulates, which are large-hooved plant-eating mammals like giraffes. Savannas are also subject to seasonal droughts and fires. Savannas cover many tropical and subtropical parts of Australia and Africa

Answer 3

Savannas

Question 4

• this biome receives less water with uneven seasonal occurrences of rainfall. Temperate grasslands are subject to lower temperatures than savannas (e.g., north American prairie). Grassland soils are among the most fertile in the world. Seasonal droughts, fires, and large mammals grazing can be seen here

Answer 4

Temperate Grasslands

Question 5

• these forests have warm summers, cold winters, and moderate precipitation. Large deciduous trees shed leaves during winter, and the soil is rich due to leaf shed. There is vertical stratification in this biome: different types of plants and animals live depending on the strata, or “layer”, of the forest. Principal mammals hibernate through cold winters

Answer 5

Temperate Deciduous Forests

Question 6

• these forests are cold and sometimes dry. Vegetation has evolved adaptations to conserve water, such as needle leaves. Some temperate coniferous forests are not dry and receive precipitation via rainfall. These forests are cold, but warmer than taigas

Answer 6

Temperate Coniferous

Question 7

• are hot and dry and has the most extreme temperature fluctuations of hot days and cold nights. The growth of annual plants is limited to a short period following rare rain. Plants and animals adapt to conserve as much water as possible, such as urinating infrequently, cacti spines, etc.

Answer 7

Deserts

Question 8

• this biome is south of the tundra. Taigas are coniferous forests filled with trees like spruce, fir, and pine. Taigas have very long, cold winters and low precipitation in the form of heavy snow. This is the largest terrestrial biome

Answer 8

Tiagas

Question 9

• this biome has cold winters where the ground freezes. The top layer thaws during summer to support minimal vegetation, such as moss, lichen, low growing shrubs, grasses, but no trees. The deeper soil (permafrost) remains permanently frozen. There is very little rainfall, and it cannot penetrate the frozen ground. Tundras have short growing seasons

Answer 9

Tundras

Question 10

• this terrestrial biome along the California coastline is characterized by wet winters, dry summers, and scattered vegetation (dense, spiny shrubs). California fires happen here

Answer 10

Chaparral

Question 11

• The polar region is frozen with no vegetation or terrestrial animals.
• Aquatic biomes cover over 75% of the Earth’s surface.

Answer 11

Note

Question 12

• Ponds, lakes, streams, and rivers. Fresh water biomes are hypotonic to organisms, and the biome is affected by climate and weather variations

Answer 12

1. Fresh water biomes

Question 13

• The largest biome covering 3⁄4 of the world surface. Marine biomes provide most of the earth’s food and oxygen. These biomes include estuaries (where oceans and rivers meet), intertidal zones (where ocean meets land), continental shelves/ littoral zones (shallow oceans bordering continents), coral reefs, and pelagic oceans (open ocean). Marine biomes have a relatively constant temperature because of water’s high heat capacity and volume. The amount of nutrient materials and dissolved salts are also relatively constant. Marine biomes are divided into regions classified by the amount of sunlight received, distance from the shore, depth, and open water vs. ocean bottom. There are two major divisions to the marine biome:

Answer 13

2. Marine Biomes

Question 14

a. Benthic Zone

b. Pelagic Zone

Answer 14

Types of Marines Biomes

Question 15

• This is the lowest layer of a body of water, including the sediment surface and sub- surface layers. In deep ocean water, light does not penetrate. Most organisms here are scavengers and detritivores

Answer 15

a. Benthic Zone

Question 16

• The water that is neither close to shore nor close to the very bottom. This zone is broken down from top to bottom in layers:

Answer 16

b. Pelagic Zone

Question 17

i. Epipelagic
ii. Mesopelagic
iii. Bathypelagic
iv. Abyssopelagic
v. Hadopelagic

Answer 17

Types of Pelagic Zone

Question 18

• this is the surface layer of water and the only photic zone since there is enough light for penetration. Nearly all primary production of the ocean occurs here

Answer 18

Epipelagic

Question 19

• an aphotic zone, so there is not enough light for photosynthesis. There is minimal oxygen here

Answer 19

Mesopelagic

Question 20

• aphotic zone and pitch black. There is no plant life, and most organisms here consume detritus that comes down from above

Answer 20

Bathypelagic

Question 21

• also an aphotic zone. It is cold, high pressure, and most species have no eyes due to the lack of light

Answer 21

Abyssopelagic

Question 22

• most life here exists in hydrothermal vents. This zone is aphotic as well

Answer 22

Hadopelagic

Question 23

• The benthic zone can be aphotic or photic depending on the depth, and there are pelagic/benthic zones in both marine and freshwater biomes.
• In winter and summer, lakes are stratified by temperature. The upper layer is heated more by the sun. Because warmer water is less dense, it floats at the top. The warm and cold water is generally unable to mix in the summer. Oxygen concentration decreases with depth, and the bottom layer is high in nutrients. In autumn and spring, the warm, oxygenated water layer cools down and sinks to the bottom. The sinking water pushes up the old bottom layer, and so nutrients from the bottom go to the top. This process is known as turnover.

Answer 23

Note