Unit 2: The Living World Flashcards
What is a biome?
A group of land ecosystems with similar climates and organisms
How is a biome determined?
Their climate (Temperature and precipitation)
What are all the Biomes?
Rainforest: Tropical and Temperate
Deserts
Grasslands
Savana
Chaparral
Deciduous Forest
Boreal Forest
Tundra
Freshwater Ecosystems: Rivers, Streams, Ponds and Lakes
Marine Ecosystems: Estuary, Intertidal Zone, Neritic Zone, Open Ocean (Surface and Deep zone)
How many rainforests are there?
Tropical and Temperate
What are characteristics of a Tropical Rainforest?
- Close to the equator
- Warm and Humid
- High Precipitation
- Diverse plant growth
What are characteristics of a Temperate Forest?
Moderate Temperature
Northwestern coast
Huge Trees: Cedars, Redwoods
More than 300 cm of rain
What are deserts? What are the conditions?
An area that receives less than 25 cm of rain per year
Often undergo large shifts in temperature throughout the day
More nocturnal organisms
What are Grasslands? And the conditions?
Prairies
An area that is populated mostly by grasses and non-wood plants
25-75 cm of rain, so droughts and fires are common
What is a Savanna?
Grasslands that are located closer to the equator (Africa). Covered in tall trees
10-30 in of rain
What is a Chaparral? And conditions?
It’s a Coastal Biome with hot/dry summers and mild/rainy winters
15-39 in of rain
Low as 10 degrees Celsius
Plants: scrub oaks and drought resistant shrub
What is a deciduous forest?
Deciduous trees: trees shed their leaves (Oaks and Maple)
Receive enough rain so growing season lasts 5-6 months
Boreal Forest (Taiga)
Mostly contains coniferous trees(Fir and Spruce)
Very cold winters
Warm and dry summers
What is a Tundra? And their conditions
Extremely cold and dry biome
Some rainfall (desert vibes)
Most soul is frozen all year long (permafrost)
Summer thaws top layers of soil
Rainwater cannot soak into permafrost leading to shallow ponds
What are the 4 Freshwater Ecosystems?
Rivers, Streams, Ponds and Lakes
What are characteristics Rivers and Streams?
Few plants are algae can grow because of currents
animals rely on seeds and leaves to fall into the water as food
What are characteristics of Ponds and Lakes?
Bodies of standing still freshwater
Lakes > Ponds
What is a pond?
Shallow enough for sunlight to hit the bottom
What are lakes?
Too deep for plants to grow on, so algae grows and floats
What are the 4 Marine Ecosystems?
Estuary
Intertidal Zone
Neritic Zone
Open Ocean
What is an estuary?
Freshwater river meets saltwater ocean (Mississippi River)
What is the intertidal zone?
Area between the highest high tide line and lowest low tide line
Organisms have to survive the pounding waves water level changes
What is the Neritic Zone? Characteristics of it too!
Area below the low tide line which extends over the continental shelf
- sunlight passes through the zone for photosynthesis
- Many Living things
- coral reefs form in warm water
What are the two parts of the Open Ocean?
Surface Zone
Deep Zone
What is the surface zone?
The first few hundred meters deep of the ocean
