Cortez, Ian Joshua O.

BS Biology 2-6

Ecology (Lecture) 12/13/19

Biome Characteristics Countries Temperature and Species Present

Precipitation
Tropical  very high annual  Tropical rain  Temperature: 70 Species: anaconda,
Rainforest rainfall forests to 85°F (21 to epiphytes, orchids,
 high average straddle the 30°C) philodendron, rafflesia,
temperatures equator in  Precipitation: pitcher plant, venus flytrap,
 nutrient-poor soil three major 300- 400 cm/year boa constrictor, red
 high levels of regions: junglefowl, monkey spider,
biodiversity  Southeast tigers, crocodiles
(species richness). Asia
 West Africa,
 South
America. –
 Others:
Southeast
Asia
 Laos
 Indonesia
 Thailand
 Vietnam
 Brunei
 Madagascar
 Brazil
 Australia
Savanna  Grasses and trees -  Southern  The average Australian savannas include
The savanna is a portion of temperature is kangaroos, large flocks of
 rolling grassland Africa 24°C - 29°C birds, wallabies, koala,
with scattered  Central  Precipitation: 76.2 dingo, ostriches, aardvark,
trees and shrubs. Australia – 127 cm/year gazelles, gnu (wildebeests),
 Rainy and dry  Northwest zebra, giraffes, rhinoceros,
seasons - Savannas India meerkats, warthogs, jackal,
have two distinct  Pakistan hyena
seasons in regards  Venezuela
to precipitation.  Brazil
There is a rainy
season in the
summer with
around 15 to 25
inches of rain and a
dry season in the
winter when only a
couple of inches of
rain may fall.
 Large herds of
animals - There are
often large herds
of grazing animals
on the savanna that
thrive on the
abundance of grass
and trees.
 Warm - The
savanna stays
pretty warm all
year. It cools down
some during the
 dry season, but
stays warm and
humid during the
rainy season.
Desert  Deserts are  Vast areas of  The maximum Cactus, spurge, succulents,
primarily defined North Africa temperature for euphorbia, velvet ant,
by their lack of  the Middle desert is 50°C camel, scorpion, snakes,
rain. East  Precipitation: Less vultures, armadillo
 They generally get  northwestern than 30 cm/year
10 inches or less parts of the
rain in a year. Indian
 Deserts are  Subcontinent,
characterized in an interior
overall lack of  Australia
water.  and smaller
 They have dry soil, areas of the
little to no surface Southwester
water, and high n United
evaporation. They States, and
are so dry that Chile.
sometimes rain
evaporates before
it can hit the
ground.
 Deserts are so dry
and their humidity
is so low, they have
no "blanket" to help
insulate the ground.
As a result, they
 may get very hot
during the day with
the sun beating
down, but don't
hold the heat
overnight.
 Many deserts can
quickly get cold
once the sun sets.
Some deserts can
reach
temperatures of
well over 100
degrees F during
the day and then
drop below
freezing (32
degrees F) during
the night.
Chaparral  The chaparral around the  The temperature Some of these plants are
biome is a part of Mediterranean Sea range is between poison oak, scrub oak,
each continent and and in North -1°C and 21° C Yucca Wiple and other
consists of various America, where they shrubs, trees and cacti.
extend from  The The animals are all mainly
types of terrain
California into average rainfall is grassland and desert types
including
northern Mexico. 25 to 43 cm/year adapted to hot, dry
mountains and
They are also found weather. A few examples:
plains.
in central Chile, coyotes, jack rabbits, mule
 It is often southern Australia, deer, alligator lizards,
confused with the and southern Africa horned toads, praying
 desert biome mantis, honey bee and
because they ladybugs.
share many
similarities such
as both being hot
and dry.
 The chaparral
biome receives
more rainfall per
year than the
desert biome.
 The fires that
commonly occur
during this period
are necessary for
the germination of
many shrub seeds
and also serve to
clear away dense
ground cover, thus
maintaining the
shrubby growth
form of the
vegetation by
preventing the
spread of trees.
 Chaparral returns
to its pre-fire
 density within
about 10 years but
may become
grassland by too
frequent burning.

Temperate  Grasslands are These include the  Temperature: Herbaceous plants:

Grassland wide expanses of tall grass prairie of -40°C to 38°C buttercup, anemone,
land filled with low North America and ranunculus, iris, and other
growing plants such pampas of South  Precipitation - 30 wildflowers; - animals:
as grasses and America (Bolivia, – 100 cm/year bison, pronghorns,
wildflowers. Panama, Latin Asia, antelopes, saiga, meerkats,
 The soil of the etc.), where rainfall burrowing owls
temperate is moderate and soils
grasslands is deep are rich, and the
and dark, with short grass steppes
fertile upper of Central Asia
layers. (Russia, Mongolia,
 The amount of rain etc.), typical of more
is not enough to semiarid conditions
grow tall trees and
produce a forest,
but it is enough to
not form a desert.
 The temperate
grasslands have
seasons including a
hot summer and a
cold winter.
Temperate  The temperate large cities, such as  Temperature: 0°C Vegetation: eucalyptus,
Forest forest biome is one Tokyo, Beijing, - 35°C birch tree, redwoods -
of the world's Moscow, Warsaw, Animals: squirrels,
major habitats. Berlin, Paris, London,  Precipitate: 70- chipmunks
 Temperate forests New York, 200 cm/year
are characterized Washington, D.C.,
as regions with Boston, Toronto,
high levels of Chicago, and
precipitation, Seattle, are all built
humidity, and a on lands that once
variety of supported a
deciduous trees. temperate forest.
 Deciduous trees
are trees that lose But recently: Most
their leaves in temperate,
winter. deciduous (leaf-
 Decreasing shedding) forests
temperatures and are located in the
shortened daylight eastern United
hours in fall mean States, Canada,
decreased Europe, China,
photosynthesis for Japan, and parts of
plants. Thus, these Russia.
trees shed their
leaves in fall and
bud new leaves in
spring when
warmer
temperatures and
longer hours of
daylight return.
  Temperate forest
can be found
between 30° and
55° latitude.
However, the
majority of this
biome lies between
40° and 50°. -
Primary production
in temperate
forests is less than
tropical forests,
but can be very
high
Taiga  The taiga has  The largest  Temperature: - The dominant plant in the
several taiga forest 50°C - 20°C taiga is the coniferous
characteristics covers much evergreen tree. These
that distinguish it of  Precipitation: 30- trees include spruce, pine,
from the other  northern 70 cm/year cedar, and fir trees. They
forest biomes: Russia and grow close together
 Evergreen trees - Siberia. forming a canopy over the
This forest is  Other major land, like an umbrella. This
covered with taiga forests canopy soaks up the sun and
evergreen, or include only lets a little bit of
coniferous, trees.  North sunlight through to the
These are trees America ground.
that don't drop (Canada and
their leaves, or Alaska) The conifers of the taiga
needles, in the  Scandinavia produce their seeds in
winter. They keep (Finland, cones. They also have
 their leaves so Norway, and needles for leaves. Needles
they can soak up as Sweden). are good at holding in water
much sunlight for and surviving the harsh cold
as long as possible. winds each winter. The
The dark green trees also grow in a cone
color of their shape. This helps the snow
leaves also helps to slide off their branches.
them to soak up
more sun and gain Under the canopy of the
more energy trees, few other plants
through grow. In some moist areas
photosynthesis. plants such as ferns,
 Cold weather - The sedges, mosses, and berries
taiga has the will grow.
coldest weather of
the forest biomes. The animals of the taiga
Winters can get as must be able to survive the
cold as -60 degrees cold winters. Some animals,
F. Winter can last like birds, migrate to the
for six months with south for the winter.
the temperature Insects lay eggs that can
averaging below survive the winter and then
freezing. Summers die. Other animals, like
are warmer, but squirrels, store up food for
very short. the winter while others
 The precipitation is hibernate by going into a
only slightly more long, deep sleep.
than the desert or
the tundra. Predators of this biome
Average include the lynx, wolverines,
 precipitation is Cooper's hawk, and wolves.
between 12 and 30 Other animals include
inches per year. It moose, the snowshoe hare,
falls as rain in the deer, elk, bears, chipmunks,
summer and snow in bats, and woodpeckers.
the winter.
 Thin layer of soil -
Because the leaves
don't fall from the
trees, like in the
temperate forest,
the layer of good
soil is thin. Also,
the cold weather
causes a slow rate
of decay taking it
longer for
nutrients to get
back into the soil.
 Short growing
season - With a
long winter and
short summer,
plants don't have a
lot of time to grow
in the taiga. The
growing season only
lasts for around
three months. This
compares to at
 least six months in
the temperate
forest and a year
round growing
season in the
rainforest.
Tundra  The tundra biome  Alaska  Temperature: Perennial herbaceous
is a cold and  Canada -30°C - 10°C plants, especially grasses,
treeless plain  Russia sedges, mosses, and lichens.
where harsh  Greenland The lichens, associations of
conditions make it  Iceland  Precipitation: 20- fungi and algae, are eagerly
hard for plants and  Scandinavia 60 cm/year up to eaten by reindeer and
animals alike to  sub-Antarctic 100 cm/year caribou. The woody
survive. Around islands. vegetation of the tundra
20% of the Earth's consists of dwarf willows
land surface is and birches along with a
covered with variety of low-growing
tundra. shrubs. - Reindeers, arctic
 It's cold - The fox, collared lemming, dull
tundra is the sheep/ mountain goat, grey
coldest of the wolves, muskox, polar
biomes. The bears, arctic owls
average
temperature in the
tundra is around
-18 degrees F. It
gets much colder in
the winter and
warmer during its
short summer.
 It's dry - The
tundra gets about
as much
precipitation as the
average desert,
around 10 inches
per year. Most of
this is snow.
 Permafrost - Below
the top soil, the
ground is
permanently frozen
year round.
 It's barren - The
tundra has few
nutrients to
support plant and
animal life. It has a
short growing
season and a slow
rate of decay.