Instructions: Match the plant and animals to the correct biome€¦ · Web viewInstructions: Match the plant and animals to the correct biome. Read about the plant and animals adaptations

Instructions: Match the plant and animals to the correct biome. Read about the plant and animals adaptations to find out where you think it should go.

Tundra

Arctic tundra is located in the northern hemisphere, encircling the north pole and extending south to the coniferous forests of the taiga. The arctic is known for its cold, desert-like conditions. The growing season ranges from 50 to 60 days. The average winter temperature is -34° C (-30° F), but the average summer temperature is 3-12° C (37-54° F) which enables this biome to sustain life. Rainfall may vary in different regions of the arctic. Yearly precipitation, including melting snow, is 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches). Soil is formed slowly. A layer of permanently frozen subsoil called permafrost exists, consisting mostly of gravel and finer material. When water saturates the upper surface, bogs and ponds may form, providing moisture for plants. There are no deep root systems in the vegetation of the arctic tundra, however, there are still a wide variety of plants that are able to resist the cold climate. There are about 1,700 kinds of plants in the arctic and subarctic, and these include:

Animals are adapted to handle long, cold winters and to breed and raise young quickly in the summer. Animals such as mammals and birds also have additional insulation from fat. Many animals hibernate during the winter because food is not abundant. Another alternative is to migrate south in the winter, like birds do. Reptiles and amphibians are few or absent because of the extremely cold temperatures. Because of constant immigration and emigration, the population continually oscillates.

Desert

Hot and Dry Deserts vegetation is very rare. Plants are almost all ground-hugging shrubs and short woody trees. All of the leaves are replete (packed with nutrients). For all of these plants to survive they have to have adaptations. Some of the adaptations in this case are the ability to store water for long periods of time and the ability to stand the hot weather. A Hot and Dry Desert is, as you can tell from the name, hot and dry. Most Hot and Dry Deserts don't have very many plants. They do have some low down plants though. The only animals they have that can survive have the ability to burrow under ground. This is because they would not be able to live in the hot sun and heat. They only come out in the night when it is a little cooler.

Rain Forest

Rainforests are very dense, warm, wet forests. They are havens for millions of plants and animals.

Rainforests are extremely important in the ecology of the Earth. The plants of the rainforest generate much of the Earth's oxygen. These plants are also very important to people in other ways; many are used in new drugs that fight disease and illness.

it is almost always raining in a rainforest. Rainforests get over 80 inches (2 m) of rain each year. This is about 1 1/2 inches (3.8 cm) of rain each week.

The rain is more evenly distributed throughout the year in a tropical rainforest (even though there is a little seasonality). In a temperate rainforest, there are wet and dry seasons. During the "dry" season, coastal fog supplies abundant moisture to the forest.

Deciduous Forest

Deciduous forests can be found in the eastern half of North America, and the middle of Europe. There are many deciduous forests in Asia. Some of the major areas that they are in are southwest Russia, Japan, and eastern China. South America has two big areas of deciduous forests in southern Chile and Middle East coast of Paraguay. There are deciduous forests located in New Zealand, and southeastern Australia also.

The average annual temperature in a deciduous forest is 50° F. The average rainfall is 30 to 60 inches a year.The deciduous forest has four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In the autumn the leaves change color. During the winter months the trees lose their leaves.

The animals adapt to the climate by hibernating in the winter and living off the land in the other three seasons. The animals have adapted to the land by trying the

plants in the forest to see if they are good to eat for a good supply of food. Also the trees provide shelter for them. Animal use the trees for food and a water sources. Most of the animals are camouflaged to look like the ground.

The plants have adapted to the forests by leaning toward the sun. Soaking up the nutrients in the ground is also a way of adaptation.

Prairie

In the middle of North America is a huge area of land which was once covered with grasses and colorful wild flowers. The French called the rolling plains of grass "prairie", from the word for a meadow grazed by cattle. The prairies are a type of grassland dominated by herbaceous plants and grasses. Very few trees grow on the prairies and are usually widely scattered.Precipitation in the prairies can reach from about 12.6 inches in the shortgrass prairie to 21.7 inches in the tallgrass prairies.

The prairies were maintained in their natural state by climate, grazing and fire. Rainfall varies from year to year in the prairies. There is usually a long dry period during the summer months. Every 30 years or so there is a long drought period which lasts for several years. The most famous drought was in the 1930s, when the prairies were called the "Dust Bowl".

The climate of the prairies is influenced by its mid-continental location, and the sheltering effect of the Rocky Mountains. Being located far from the moderating effects of oceans causes a wide range of temperatures, with hot summers and cold

winters. Strong winds blow across the endless plains during both summer and winter.

Prairie plants have adapted to fires by growing underground storage structures, and having their growth points slightly below ground surface. The soil under a prairie is a dense mat of tangled roots, rhizomes, bulbs, and rootstock. The plants die back every winter, but are kept alive from year to year by the underground root system. Roots of prairie plants can by longer than the plant is tall. The roots of big bluestem may be 7 feet long, and switchgrass roots can be 11 feet long. Two-thirds of most prairie plant are below the ground. Some roots die each year and decompose, adding lots of organic matter to the soil. That's why the soil of prairies is so fertile.

Big Bluestem Grass

This grass is also called Turkey feet because the shape of the seed heads look like turkey feet. It is also called beard grass. The name big bluestem grass comes from the fact that this grass can grow to very big, 3 to 10 feet as a matter of fact. It blooms from June through September.

Big bluestem is known as a bunch grass because it grows in little hill shapes

Milk Weed

It attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. Monarch butterflies particularly like it , just like butterfly weed, which is in the same family. Milkweed is the flower of choice for Monarchs in North America.

Bald Eagle

The Bald Eagle is the national bird of the United States of America. It is considered a sea eagle that has a white head. It is large and strong and weighs eight to twelve pounds. Their wingspan can be two meters (seven feet) and they can be larger than a meter from head to tail. The Bald Eagle has a curved beak which is large and very strong. It's toes have talons which are very strong claws. They have excellent vision which helps them to hunt.

Coyote

Not a lot of animals have a better hearing system than coyotes. Their ears move back and forth, pinpointing any noise they hear. This special ability makes it easy for them to find food. Coyotes are smart animals and when they sense trouble, they don't investigate, they run. Coyotes have a good population. They are the hunters, not the hunted, though some humans think it is fun killing coyotes for sport. You will probably agree with me that taking pride in killing an animal for the fun of it is very dumb. But the coyotes are proud animals and will not be defeated.

Artic Moss

The Calliergon giganteum grows in a harsh cold environment in the Northern Hemisphere within the arctic circle. There are strong winds, up to 100 miles per hour.

Arctic Fox

The Arctic fox (Alopex lagopus) makes its home in small burrows in frost-free ground, often in low mounds, or in rock piles. Because the Arctic fox is a scavenger it can usually find food to eat. Sometimes the fox will follow Polar

They do not have flowers. They can either reproduce by growing shoots or by sending out spores, which need to be wet to survive.

bears or other predators and feed off the remains they leave behind.

Snowy Owl

The snowy owl is considered to be one of the largest and most attractive of the owls. It is called the snowy owl because of its white feathers. The male and female owls have different markings. Male owls are mostly pure white with small spots and wing barring. The female has heavy gray-brown lines across her body and wings and speckled plumage. They both have large, yellow eyes, set in front of the face.

Polar Bear

Polar bears can be found all through the polar regions of the Northern hemisphere. They are the largest carnivore on land.

They have a black nose and eyes. They have two layers of fur which is so warm that adult bears can easily overheat when they run. The polar bear's fur is really clear, not white. Some light reflects off the fur and makes it look white.

Pecan Tree

The pecan tree can grow to enormous heights, sometimes to heights of 180 feet, and has an upright growing pattern. The bark is pale gray or whitish brown, scaly, and deeply furrowed. The bark on the pecan tree is rough and scaly, and is pale grey or brown. The heartwood is solid brown and black.

Dormouse

There are 21 different species of dormice. The fat dormouse is the largest dormouse in Europe. They can be found in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Japan. These rodents look like short, fat squirrels with bushy tails. The European and Asian dormice are the largest in the dormice family.The dormouse finds shelter in hollow trees, rock crevices or even woodpecker holes.

The leaves grow in groups of 11-17. Each leaf is slightly pointed at the tip. The width of the leaves are approximately 3 inches. Each full grown leaf is about 5 inches top to bottom. This tree is a perennial. The Pecan tree has a shallow root system. The flowers are tiny and hang down in tassels.

White-tailed Deer

The fur of the white-tailed deer is a grayish color in the winter then more red comes out during the summer. It has a band of white fur behind its nose, in circles around the eyes, and inside the ears. More white fur goes down the throat, on the upper insides of the legs and under the tail.

Only the males have antlers, which they shed in January to March, and grow out again in April or May. The white-tailed deer can be 3 to 3 1/2 feet at the shoulders. Males can weigh up to 400 pounds, and females from 70 to 200 pounds.

Eastern Chipmunk

The Eastern chipmunk is a very cute little animal. It is a ground-dwelling squirrel about 5-6 inches long and weighing about 3 ounces. It is a brownish-red color. Its head has two white stripes above and below the eye. Its ears are short and rounded and stick straight up on its head. Five black stripes with white lines go down their backs. Its belly and sides are white and its tail is black above and rusty underneath. When it runs it sticks its tail straight up. It makes a sharp chattering or chucking noise when upset.Chipmunks live in forests and edges of forests and are also found around suburban and rural areas.

Barrel Cactus

The cactus usually reaches from around five to eleven feet tall, and at that height it is one of the largest cacti in the North American deserts. This cactus is really a man-sized (or bigger) cylinder with numerous parallel ridges that run down the sides. These ridges are topped with dangerously sharp 3-4 inch spines. The barrel cactus is also a flowering plant. It has rings of yellow-green or red blossoms at its top.

Palo Verde

The yellow palo verde is a very strange looking shrub or small tree. It has adapted in unique ways to survive the killing heat. Palo verde, or "green wood" in Spanish, has a thin, almost waxy looking green bark studded with large of thorns. The smooth greenish trunk and branches have for a large part taken over the photosynthesis. The green bark contains chlorophyll, which gives it the ability to carry on photosynthesis when the tree has shed its leave during dry, hot periods. This way the tree doesn't have to shut down completely and can still store up energy in its roots. The tree has a very deep root system to access any underground water supply. Palo verdes are "branch deciduous", meaning that they may shed some of their branches during severe droughts, becoming a smaller tree.

Thorny Devil

The strangest of lizards is the Thorny Devil. This is the only species in its genus. The lizard's body has conical spines all over, including spines above each eye and a hump behind its head which is spiny. The tail is also spiny. Its spines make it easy to identify. The color changes on the Thorny Devil's body from yellow to reddish brown to black, depending on which type of soil it is crossing.

They change colors to be camouflaged and make it easier for them to hide.

Gila Monster

The Banded Gila Monster is very shy but can strike back very quickly, with painful results. It is a subspecies of the Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum), and is one of two poisonous types of lizard in the world.

They are pink, orange and red. Four or five black bands with spots in them run around the body. The tail is also banded. Their heads are spotted with black around their eyes and mouth.

Bougainvillea

Bougainvillea's habitat could not be greener. It has lush vegetation with thick forests.The plant can reach over thirty feet. It can either be vines, trees, or shrubs with sharp thorns. The leaves of the bougainvillea are shaped like little hearts with drip tips at the ends. They are dark rich green and look almost like ivy leaves. On the underside of the leaves there are little hairs. The flowers of the bougainvillea can be several different colors, from pink, to red, to orange, to white and yellow. They are small tubes with three papery bracts around them.

Tamarin

Golden Lion Tamarin have very strong legs which allow them to be very good climbers. They use their amazingly strong legs to climb into their nests up in trees, where a family of Golden Lion Tamarins would normally sleep huddled together in a tree hole or thick nest of vines. In order to have protection against predators Golden Lion Tamarins share their homes with other Tamarin families. Another characteristic which adapts Golden Lion Tamarin to its environment is its long, sharp claws, that help them pick out bugs from dead logs, small tree holes, and wherever else bugs live.

Tiger

The Bengal tiger is a carnivore. It eats boars, wild oxen, monkeys, and other animals. The Bengal tiger can catch big animals, but prefers killing either young or old animals because they don't run as fast. The Bengal tiger is a nocturnal and greatly feared predator. It eats wild oxen and other animals, which eat plants, which are part of the food web. So it helps balance the web.

5 Pit Viper

Wagler's pit viper is a medium sized viper which can grow up to 4 feet in length. It is called a pit viper because they have pits just behind the nostrils which contain special organs that can sense heat and locate warm-blooded animals. This is an important adaptation since Wagler's pit viper is nocturnal and hunts at night.

It is an arboreal species, which means it

lives in trees. The adult male is green, with a black border and many greenish-yellow crossbars on its back. The young viper changes its color as it grows. The young are all green with spots of white and red. The spots are sometimes arranged in pale crossbars.