Biomes Activity

1. What are biomes?

Biomes include a collection of various ecosystems that may share similar trails and live in
harmonious and well adapted environments. Within these biomes, there are different types of
ecosystems which depend on the temperature and climate location. Specific biomes can be either
aquatic, grassland, desert, tundra, temperate forest, coniferous forest, and more.

2. Why are biomes important?

Animals and plants reply on biomes for their survival. Within each biome, there are different
levels of abiotic and biotic factors that will require some adaptation to live. For example, a coral
reef may have over a hundred species of fishes which rely on the sponges, seaweed, and coral
living on the reefs. This dependency between each species is why biomes are so important, even
for fisheries and farmers.

3. What biomes are found in California?

The most common biomes that exists in California are the deciduous forest, desert, and
chaparral which resides on various locations of the state. Although there are many other smaller
biomes such as grassland, conifer, woodland, and wetlands, California is best known for its
forest, desert, and chaparral ecosystems.

4. Aquatic

In the ecosystem of the aquatic biome, there are typically freshwater and salt water regions. The
freshwater region gets its water supply from the rain and mainly consist of animals living in low
salt concentrations which include lakes and ponds. Temperatures for freshwater will vary
depending on the season resulting a warmer surface and cooler depth. The animals that live in
freshwater would include frogs, snakes, dragonflies, ducks, and turtles. In the case of a salt water
region, this would include the ocean and sea. The water supplied to these ecosystems stem from
the melting ice caps from the northern or southern parts of the planet. Marine life can be found to
be a bit more humid and have an air temperature that is cooler. Animals and plants that live in
the ocean are greater in diversity among species such as coral reefs, crustaceans, mollusks,
snails, crabs, and over 700 different types of fishes varying in color and size.

5. Desert

The desert is best known for being hot, humid, and dry which can be found in locations closer to
the equator where heat is generated towards from the sun. The temperature in desert climates can
reach extremes of up to 49 degrees Celsius and lows closest to 20 degrees Celsius. Additionally,
the amount of rain in these ecosystems are less than 1.5 cm annually. The soil maintains a texture
of coarseness with fine dust particles which can easily travel due to the wind. The animals and
plants that adapt in these harsh environments include coyotes, arachnids, reptiles, birds, cacti,
yuccas, turpentine bush, and agaves and brittlebush. Particularly with plants, the groundwater
that is supplied is scarce and requires a self-sufficient nature by conserving nutrients and water to
survive in a dry and hot climate. In the case of animals, they can be found to be inactive during
the daytime safe in hideaways while foraging in the cool night for food.

6. Forests

The biome that has been prevalent for most of all ecosystems is the forest. There has been a long
history dating back millions of years regarding the fossilization of plants and arthropods. The
planet, as scientist and researchers understand, was initially forest which had mosses and ferns
that then evolved into flowering plants. This led to the development and evolution of insects and
mammals. As of this time, the forest biome is approximately 33 percent of the planet’s surface
area on land. Generally, the animals and plants that live in forest biomes vary by the location
mainly consisted of trees and other wooden shrubbery. Within these forest ecosystems, there
exist more specific regions of tropical, temperate, and boreal forests depending on the elevation.
The tropical region is highly diverse in flora, rains a lot, and a steady weather climate. For
temperate regions, these include locations of moderate climates where wild animals live such as
squirrels, rabbits, deer, birds, and bears. In a boreal region, the climate weather is lower and there
is mostly snow where soil is fine, acidic, and poor in nutrient where hawks, moose, fox, and bats
live.

7. Grasslands

Grassland are unique for their tropical savannas and temperate regions. For savannas, there are
mainly meadows dominated by scattered shrubs and trees. Around these areas, mountains can be
found to surround the savannas. The savannas rely on the warm temperatures that can long and
dry throughout the year. Also, there are long periods of rain during the summer which help to the
animals and plants to survive. Typically, every animal has a special way of eating that prevents
any competition for food. In addition, farmers will have to burn trees to maintain the conditions
of the savanna. The other grassland is temperate which means there is a lot of grass and less rain
than savannas. In addition, temperate grasslands have flat areas that are scarce of trees, mainly
with grass and rich with soil that interest farmers. The animals that live in these ecosystems
include that of various livestock and other wildlife such as badgers, snakes, and birds.

8. Tundra

The chilliest biome is the tundra which can be found in climates furthest away from the equator.
These are lands with no trees and very low temperatures. There is not a lot of rain in these
ecosystems so there is a lack of nutrients and inadequate seasons for vegetation growth.
Additionally, there is a small amount of animal and plant diversity living there which is means it
is susceptible to basic vegetation formation, surplus of energy and nutrients from dead organic
material, and limits of water drainage. The two most familiar ecosystems are arctic and alpine.
The plants that adapt to the artic are mosses, liverworts, flowers, and lichen. In the case of artic
animals, caribou, hares, migratory birds, and insects are able to live here by being able to manage
survival in long and cold seasons. For the case of alpine, the animals that live here are marmots,
mountain goats, sheep, grouse birds, and small insects.