Biomes Project

Biomes Project

AP BiologyFebruary 25, 2008

AquaticBiome

Ocean

Many people know ocean as a fun place to hang out and relax with family and friends, but do people know what the ocean also give us other than a place to hang out. Oceans, covering about 75% of the earth’s surface, have a lot of impact on the biosphere. The ocean water evaporating into the sky provides Earth with water from rainfall. Ocean’s temperature also has a lot of impact on the land’s climate and wind pattern. Portion of Earth’s oxygen came from photosynthesis that occurs on the ocean’s surface.

Oceans are divided into different parts containing salty water and different kinds of living and non-living organisms. The first zone of the ocean where the land meets ocean is called the intertidal zone. During ocean’s high tide, this area is pounded by waves, but during low tides, the area is dried by the sun and wind. Some ocean’s intertidal zone is rocky having many sedentary organisms living in the area. Organisms, such as algae, barnacles, and mussels, attached itself to rocks protecting from being washed away by waves. Organisms such as calms live on the sandy beaches of the zone.

Another zone is the “open ocean” zone called the pelagic zone. The pelagic zone contains animals such as fish, squids, whales, and dolphins. In this zone, there are also microscopic algae and cyanobacteria called the phytoplankton and the small drifting animal, or the zooplankton. The ocean’s seafloor is call benthic zone in which ocean depths vary depending on the heights of this zone. The part of the benthic zone called the continental shelves received some light. Usually in this area, coral reefs could be found. Sometimes the benthic and pelagic zones are combined and divided into photic and aphotic zone. The photic zone is the area of the ocean’s surface where light could penetrate through. Organisms such as sea urchins and polychaete worms live in the photic zone. Under the photic zone is the aphotic zone where light could not reach its region.

Before reaching the ocean, water from river goes through the area of estuary leading it into the ocean. Estuaries are one of the most nutritious areas, oysters, crabs, and many fishes live in this area. Around the estuaries are the wetlands where the aquatic zone meets with the terrestrial zone.

Asama Vorapattanapong

Freshwater

There are five different types of freshwater biomes seen in the ocean ecosystems. The first two are conjoined by their properties—lakes and ponds. Lakes and ponds have two zones of aphotic and photic; in which it depends on how much light is depicted on the area. Especially during the summer, the top water layer is usually warm, while the bottom half is still cool—where the fish stay in. If you think only fishes live there, that’s wrong! There are some algae, such as phytoplankton, growing and living in these areas. Now opposite from summer, during the winter times, the top water layer becomes heavier; which benefits the algae to increase in amount by eating up the nutrients coming up from the bottom water layer.

In other areas, such as streams and rivers, their source is vaguely different from lakes and ponds. Their sources are usually either springs or snowmelts; the sources have properties of having cold water, being clear, and having low amounts of nutrients. Since the channels are thin and the water is swift, it is hard for algae to grow and live there; but other organisms such as small crustaceans and insect larvae are able to survive in those rough water currents. Other than small arthropods, fishes also live there—such as trout or salmon. Unlike the upper streams, the downstream is more calm and wider in length; which makes the water current slower. Since the water is warmer down here, the downstream is usually dirtier. The streams are dirtier because of the different living things in there—such as worms, insects, frogs, catfish, and many more!

Average people would know the wetlands as swamps, marshes, or bogs. Wetlands are usually in low ranges of height near the basin of rivers or lakes. Unlike the other two areas, this water ecosystem has the most diversity in living things. This helps us in two major ways where it prevents flooding from occurring and improving water quality by taking in the bad pollutants in the water. From this benefits that we get, people are now trying to save dirty swamps.

Ye Sol Yun

TerrestrialBiome

Terrestrial Biomes

Terrestrial biomes are so vast that there are eight different regions depending on their climate, vegetation, and various species living in its environment. From those three subjects, the climate is what mostly affects the regions’ title—the climate affected by the temperature and the rainfall. The various species in those different regions are categorized by the “type” of biological community living in it. For example, the desert in the American Southwest and the desert in the Sahara are both similar regional-wise; but the species living in those areas are different because of the way each species adapt to its environment. Not only do the specific affect their regions, but the place there are located and the natural happenings—such as storms and fires—can cause open areas in the biomes. Because of the different locations the biomes are in, they don’t look very neat and organized in a way a person would grow trees in an orderly-fashioned way. Also, fires can be bad, but at the same time it helps by creating more forests from original grasslands. People usually think the fires would kill the plant; but actually instead, the fires would just shorten the length of the plant and from those cut ends many nutrients can be found.

Ye Sol Yun

Tropical Rain Forest

People living in areas near the equator, like in Thailand, should be familiar with tropical rain forest that usually occurs in this area. The area is always warm and its days are long ranging from 11-12 hours all year. It usually rains a lot in tropical rain forest area, or around 200 – 400 cm per year, though some area could have scarce rainfall. A great deal of rain causes the soil in the area to be poor since there are decomposition and recycling rather than building up of organic material. The rainfall also determined which kind of plants would be able to grow and live in tropical rain forest. In area where rain is limited, thorny shrubs and deciduous trees and succulents could be found. In areas that are really humid and have a lot of rainfall, trees are high and have canopies that covered the forest’s floor. The trees would be mostly covered with woody vines called lianas and epiphytes, or plants that grow on other plants. Organisms such as monkeys, birds, insects, snakes, bats, and frogs roam the forest.

Asama Vorapattanapong

Savannas

If you are a fan of ‘The Lion King’, you will be able to recognize this terrestrial biome in a second! With its vegetation of grasses, forbs (small broadleaf plants) and scattered trees, the word ‘savanna’ derives from the Spanish word, sabana, which means ‘meadow’. The region has a fairly warm temperature all year-round and has an average rain fall of 30-50 cm per year, in which the vegetation grows rapidly during the rainy season. Some examples of wildlife in the savannas are large mammals, insects, such as ants and termites, and burrowing animals, such as mice, moles, snakes, ground squirrels, worms etc. In the African savanna, many giraffes, zebras, antelopes, lions, cheetahs occupy the land where as in the Australian savanna, kangaroos dominate the region. This particular biome frequently has fires caused by lightning or human activities, which has developed fire adapted vegetation. However, fires in the savannas are not always frowned upon, since it helps maintain the region as grassland ecosystems by preventing the spread of trees and other plants.

Christine Kim

Deserts

The desert, being the driest terrestrial biome there is, has an extreme lack of rain, recording less than 30 cm per year. Though deserts are usually perceived as “no water, all sand” regions, there are actually many different types of deserts. For example, some deserts are, of course, very hot, with the temperature soaring to about 60 degrees Celsius. However, there are other deserts that have a temperature as cold as -30 degrees Celsius. Also, most deserts are extremely dry, with very limited amount of rain. The Atacama Desert in Chile, with an average rainfall of less than 0.1 mm, is the driest place on earth! Though the majority of deserts are low in precipitation, deserts located near coastal areas, such as the Namib Desert in Africa, are full of fog, though the climate is still dry. The type of vegetation also varies according to the amount of precipitation a particular desert receives. Deserts with hardly any rainfall may not have any perennial vegetation but may have small shrubs and cacti. Plants in the desert produce a great amount of seeds; however, they will only germinate after heavy rain. Because there is a very limited amount of rain, not only plants, but animals, too, have to adapt to this environment. Animals in this region are usually asleep or resting inside their burrows during the daytime, in order to escape the heat, and are active at night, when the temperature is comparatively cooler. Examples of animals that live in this biome are snakes, birds, lizards etc.

Christine Kim

Chaparral

The word ‘chaparral’ is a Spanish word, meaning ‘place of evergreen scrub oaks’. Just like its name, this specific terrestrial biome has perennial vegetation that flourishes with shrubs with evergreen leaves and an addition of annual plants during the winter and spring. The plants are once again adapted to fire, usually caused by lightning; this also helps the maintenance of vegetation, one of the reasons being that many chaparral plants produce seeds that will germinate only after a fire. Chaparral climates are usually located in costal areas with hot, dry summers and little rain during winters. Some examples of wildlife are deer, fruit-eating birds, seed-eating rodents, lizards, snakes etc.

Christine Kim

Temperate Grasslands

Temperate grasslands are areas that have similar characteristics as savannas but are treeless with an exception along rivers or streams. This area could be found in areas where temperature could be really low. Temperate grasslands typically happen because of periodic drought, fires, and grazing by large animals. Animals such as bison, pronghorn, gazelles, and zebras could be found in the area. There are also microorganisms, such as annelids and arthropods, living in the enriched soil. The average rainfall in temperate grasslands determined the grassland vegetation. Areas that are drier have short-grass prairie. In areas with more water, tall-grass prairie occurs.

Asama Vorapattanapong

Temperate Forests

Temperate forests, also known as temperate broadleaf forests due to the abundance of broadleaf trees, have many different types of trees, varying from oak, hickory, maple, etc. This particular terrestrial biome is located in the mid-latitude regions of the world, where there is enough moisture in order for the large trees to grow. In order for the large trees to grow, the climate in these regions change, with temperatures varying from being hot in the summer to very cold in the winter. With the change of temperature varying 60 degrees, from -30 to 30 degrees, the precipitation rate stays evenly distributed every year, in which it has high rain fall. Also, the vegetation goes through a growth cycle, in which the trees lose their leaves during autumn and winter and grows new leaves during spring. The loss of leaves during autumn and winter is in order to prevent water loss through evaporation through the leaves during the cold seasons. Plus, the soil of this biome is rich in inorganic and organic nutrients, which contribute to the lives of the region’s wildlife. There are many different kinds of wildlife in the temperate broadleaf forest: vertebrates, such as mice and ground squirrels, many types of birds, bobcats, foxes, bears, mountain lions, etc.

Christine Kim

Coniferous Forests (a.k.a. Tiaga)

The coniferous forests—also known as the Tiaga—are usually located in areas with cool weather and high elevation, such as in mountains. The seasons are unbalanced by the more snow is appeared from long, shivering winters and short, wet summers. The soils are not as fertile as in other biomes because of how the pines take a long time to decompose, which makes it easier for the snow to insulate the soil. Even though the temperature could reach down pretty low, there are species living in these areas. The various living organisms found could be moose, elk, hares, bears, wolves, grouse, migrating birds, or any that can survive in cold weathers. Just like how the animals vary, the trees also have their own different types, such as cone-bearing evergreen trees, spruce, pine, fir, hemlock, and cone. For regions in North America, the temperature is warm and has moist air. This makes it easier for trees, such as hemlock, Douglas fir, and redwood, to easily grow.

Ye Sol Yun

Tundra

If you like cold long winter night, tundra is the place for you! Tundra has long awfully cold winter and short warm summer. This area has long nights and short days with little light. The artic tundra is categorized as being permafrost meaning that it is mostly frozen all year round. It always has bitter cold temperature and high wind. Plants in tundra consist of dwarf shrubs, grasses, mosses, and lichens. Animals, such as musk oxen caribou, lemmings, artic fox, and snowy owls, have skins that would protect it from the cold weather.

Asama Vorapattanapong