Terrestrial Biomes

• “Biosphere” - the portion of the earth

inhabited by life.
• “Biomes” are the major types of
communities that are typical of broad
geographic areas.
– often named for the dominate
vegetation in the area
 Climate, Altitude and Terrestrial Biomes

• Climate controls biome distribution by an altitudinal gradient

and a latitudinal gradient.

• With increase of either altitude or latitude, cooler and drier

conditions occur.
• Cooler conditions can cause aridity since cooler air can hold
less water vapor than can warmer air.

• Deserts can occur in warm areas due to a blockage of air

circulation patterns that form a rain shadow.
Air circulation patterns and the global distribution of wet and dry areas.
Image from Purves et al., Life: The Science of Biology,
4th Edition, by Sinauer Associates
Rainshadows and deserts. Image from Purves et al., Life:
The Science of Biology, 4th Edition, by Sinauer Associates
Effect of temperature on precipitation. Image from Purves et al., Life:
The Science of Biology, 4th Edition, by Sinauer Associates
 Tundra and Desert

• The tundra and desert biomes occupy the most extreme

environments, with little or no moisture.

• Extreme temperature acting as harsh selective agent on

organisms.

• fewest numbers of species due to the stringent

environmental conditions.
 Tropical Rain Forests

• Occur in regions near the equator, warm climate (20°

to 25° C), plenty of rainfall (upto 190 cm/year).

• The richest biome, both in diversity and in total biomass.

• Seasonal tropical forests in India, Southeast Asia, West

Africa, Central and South American have trees that shed
leaves in dry season.

• Climate supports high productivity and rapid

decomposition of detritus.
 Tropical Forests
• Near equator - little yearly temperature
variation, or day length change
• Rainforests - high, constant annual rainfall
• Thorn forests - prolonged dry season
• Deciduous forests - wet dry seasons
• High species diversity
 Temperate Forests
• Temperate forest biome occurs south eastern North
America, eastern Asia, and much of Europe.

• Rainfall abundant (75-150 cm/year) and a well-defined

growing season (140 to 300 days).

• Dominant plants include maple, oak; and other

deciduous hardwood trees.

• Sufficient sunlight penetrates the canopy to support a

well-developed under story of shrubs, a layer of herbs,
and a ground cover of mosses and ferns.
Fall color in deciduous forest, a few evergreens among the hardwoods.
Temperate rain forest, Washington, dense
understory of ferns and herbaceous plants.
 Shrubland (Chaparral)
• The shrubland biome is dominated by shrubs.
• dense spiny shrubs with tough evergreen leaves
• mild rainy winters, and long hot dry summers
• periodic fires

• Occur in parts of South America, western Australia, central Chile,

and around the Mediterranean Sea, where the summers are hot and
very dry, also known as chaparral.

• This Mediterranean-type shrubland lacks an understory and

ground litter, and highly flammable.

• Seeds of many species require heat and scarring action of fire to

induce germination.
Chaparral vegetation (predominantly Adenostema) in California
 Grasslands
• Occur in temperate and tropical areas, reduced rainfall (10-30
inches/yr) or prolonged dry seasons, America, Africa, Asia,
and Australia.

• Soils are deep, rich and excellent for agriculture. Quickly

recovering grasses dominate but entirely devoid of trees, and
can support large herds of grazing animals.

• Once covered over 40% of the earth's land surface.

• In temperate areas with rainfall between 10 to 30" a year,

grassland is the climax community because it is too wet for
desert and too dry for forests.
• Temperate grasslands include Russian steppes, South
American pampas, and North American prairies.

• A tall-grass prairie occurs where moisture is insufficient to

support trees. A short-grass-prairie survives on less moisture
between a tall-grass prairie and desert.

• Animals includes mice, prairie dogs, rabbits, and that feed on

them (hawks and snakes). Herds of buffalo and pronghorn
antelope have reduced with human activity.

• Savanna, a tropical grassland contains some trees, the greatest

variety and numbers of herbivores carnivores.

• Plant litter attacked by termites and other decomposers.

Human activities reduced the range for wildlife (herbivores
and carnivores).
 Savanna
• grasslands with scattered individual
trees
• three seasons, coolant dry, hot and
dry, and warm and wet (in that order)
• frequent fires
• large grazing animals - migration
 Temperate Grasslands
• prairies, similar to Savanna but in
regions with a cold winter
• occasional fire
• soils are thick and rich
• rainfall influences the height of
vegetation (high “tall grass prairie”
lower - “short grass prairies”)
• large grazing animals
 Deserts
• Characterized by dry conditions (usually less than 10
inches/year) and a wide temperature range.

• The dry air leads to wide daily temperature fluctuations

from freezing at night to over 120 degrees during the
day.

• Most deserts occur at latitudes of 30o N or S where

descending air masses are dry. Some deserts occur in
the rain shadow of tall mountain ranges or in coastal
areas near cold offshore currents.

• Plants have developed a series of adaptations (such as

succulent stems, and small, spiny, or absent leaves) to
conserve water and deal with temperature extremes.
• Photosynthetic modifications are another strategy to life
in the drylands.

• The Sahara and a few other deserts have almost no

vegetation.

• Most deserts are home to a variety of plants adapted to

heat and lack of abundant water (succulents and cacti).

• Animal life includes arthropods (especially insects and

spiders), reptiles (lizards and snakes), running birds,
rodents (kangaroo rat), and a few larger birds and
mammals (hawks, owls, and coyotes).
 Taiga (Boreal Forest)
• The taiga (pronounced "tie-guh") is a coniferous forest
extending across most of the northern area of Northern
Eurasia and North America.

• In a few other areas, it has different names: the montane

coniferous forest near mountain tops; temperate rain
forest along the Pacific Coast.

• Receives 0 to 40 inches rain/ year and has a short

growing season.

• Winters cold and short, summers tend to be cool.

• Noted for great stands of conifers like pine, have thick
protective leaves and bark,

• Needlelike (evergreen) leaves can withstand the weight

of accumulated snow.

• Has a limited understory of plants, and a forest floor

covered by low-lying mosses and lichens.

• Conifers are common plants; wolves, grizzly bears, and

moose are common animals.

• Dominance of a few species pronounced, but diversity is

low.
Taiga (Coniferous or Boreal Forest)
• Coniferous trees - spruce, pine, fir
• long harsh winters, with short wet
summers
• soil is thin and acidic (coniferous
leaves) - slow decomposition
• elk, moose, deer, bear, wolves, birds
and rodents
Taiga biome
 Tundra
• Covers the northernmost regions of North America and
Eurasia, about 20% of the Earth's land area.

• This biome receives about 20 cm of rainfall annually.

• Snow melt makes water plentiful during summer months.

• Winters are long and dark, followed by very short summers.

• Water is frozen most of the time, producing frozen soil,

permafrost.
• Vegetation without trees, but patches of grass and shrubs;
grazing musk ox exists along with wolves, and rodents.

• During short summer numerous insects and migratory animals.

• Ground is completely covered with sedges and short grasses.

• Plenty of patches of lichens and mosses. Dwarf woody shrubs

flower and produce seeds quickly.
View of the tundra, locality unknown
 Aquatic Biomes

• Conditions in water are generally less harsh than those on land.

• Aquatic organisms buoyed by water support do not face desiccation.

• Despite covering 71% of Earth's surface, the open ocean have vast aquatic
desert containing few nutrients and very little life.

• Clear cut biome distinctions in water, like those on land, are difficult to
make.

• Dissolved nutrients control many local aquatic distributions.

• Aquatic communities classified into: freshwater (inland) and marine

(saltwater or oceanic) communities.
Species diversity and salt concentration.
 Freshwater Biomes
• Lotic: running water

• Lentic: standing water

• Littoral zone: shallow water where light penetrates to the bottom (vegetation)

• Limnetic zone: where light penetrates (phytoplankton)

• Profundal: beyond depth of effective light penetration

• Lakes
Eutrophic: Lakes are shallow-highly productive b/c light penetrates almost to
the bottom, good vertical circulation
• Oligotrophic: lakes usually so deep that little to no vertical circulation occurs,
limited nutrients and limited sunlight restricts primary productivity

• Other aquatic communities

Hypersaline lakes
Caves
Hot Springs
Estuaries, salt marshes, swamps
Photic and aphotic zones
 Vertical Zonation
• Vertical Zonation based on light
• Photic Zone: sunlight , penetration increases from coastal waters (~30
meters) b/c of organisms and suspended particles to open ocean (~100+
meters), a zone where photosynthesis occurs.

• Aphotic Zone: below photic zone, organisms obtain energy by consuming

organic material produced in the photic zone
 Classification based on bathymetry

• Intertidal (Littoral) Zone: where sea meets land, really an ecotone between
land and ocean.

• Neritic (Sublittoral) Zone: beyond intertidal zone, few meters to ~200m

deep
• Bathyal Zone: edges of continental shelf

• Abyssal Zone: most of the ocean deep waters (2000-6000m in depth)

 Organisms are also classified:

• Benthic or Pelagic (oceanic): Association with substrate or water

column.

• Benthic: Hard substrates: kelp forests, coral reefs

vs. soft muddy substrate: burrowing organisms beneath surface.
•
Plankton: microscopic organisms that float in water column

• Simple plants; phytoplankton

Tiny animals: zooplankton
• Nekton: comprises the actively swimming animals, i.e. fish,
whales, large invertebrates (higher trophic levels)
 FRESH WATER

• Freshwater is defined as having a low salt concentration

usually less than 1%.

• Plants and animals in freshwater regions are adjusted to

the low salt content and would not be able to survive in
areas of high salt concentration (i. e., ocean).

• There are different types of freshwater regions: ponds

and lakes, streams and rivers, and wetlands.
 The Freshwater Biome

• Subdivided into two zones: running waters and standing

waters.

• Larger bodies of freshwater are less prone to stratification

(where oxygen decreases with depth).

• The upper layers have abundant oxygen, the lowermost layers

are oxygen-poor.

• Mixing between upper and lower layers in a pond or lake

occurs during seasonal changes known as spring and fall
overturn.

• Lakes are larger than ponds, and are stratified in summer and
winter.
• The epilimnion is the upper surface layer. It is warm in
summer.

• The hypolimnion is the cold lower layer. A sudden drop in

temperature occurs at the middle of the thermocline.

• Layering prevents mixing between the lower hypolimnion

(rich in nutrients) and the upper epilimnion (which has oxygen
absorbed from its surface).

• The epilimnion warms in spring and cools in fall, causing a

temporary mixing.
• So phytoplankton (minute free-floating aquatic plants) become
more abundant due to the increased amounts of nutrients.
 Streams and Rivers

• defined by the current

• clear nutrient poor waters near
source
• slower moving nutrient rich near the
end
 Freshwater Biomes
Ponds and Lakes
Rivers begin at head waters with fast current and
low nutrients
As the river flows down to a lake or the ocean it’s
current slows and the nutrient levels rise.
 Ponds and Lakes
• These regions range in size from just a few square
meters to thousands of square kilometers.
• Scattered throughout the earth, several are remnants
from the Pleistocene glaciation.
• Many ponds are seasonal, lasting just a couple of
months (such as sessile pools) while lakes may exist for
hundreds of years or more.
• Ponds and lakes may have limited species diversity
since they are often isolated from one another and from
other water sources like rivers and oceans.
• Lakes and ponds are divided into three different “zones”
which are usually determined by depth and distance
from the shoreline.
 Ponds and Lakes
• These regions range in size from just a few square
meters to thousands of square kilometers.
• Scattered throughout the earth, several are remnants
from the Pleistocene glaciation. Many ponds are
seasonal, lasting just a couple of months (such as
sessile pools) while lakes may exist for hundreds of
years or more.
• Ponds and lakes may have limited species diversity
since they are often isolated from one another and from
other water sources like rivers and oceans.
• Lakes and ponds are divided into three different “zones”
which are usually determined by depth and distance
from the shoreline.
 Ponds and Lakes
• The topmost zone near the shore of a lake or
pond is the littoral zone.
• This zone is the warmest since it is shallow and
can absorb more of the Sun’s heat.
• It sustains a fairly diverse community, which can
include several species of algae (like diatoms),
rooted and floating aquatic plants, grazing
snails, clams, insects, crustaceans, fishes, and
amphibians.
• The vegetation and animals living in the littoral
zone are food for other creatures such as turtles,
snakes, and ducks.
 Ponds and Lakes
• The near-surface open water surrounded by the littoral zone is the
limnetic zone.
• The limnetic zone is well-lighted (like the littoral zone) and is
dominated by plankton, both phytoplankton and zooplankton.
• Plankton are small organisms that play a crucial role in the food
chain.
• Without aquatic plankton, there would be few living organisms in the
world, and certainly no humans.
• A variety of freshwater fish also occupy this zone.
• Plankton have short life spans—when they die, they fall into the
deep-water part of the lake/pond, the profundal zone.
• This zone is much colder and denser than the other two.
• Little light penetrates all the way through the limnetic zone into the
profundal zone.
• The fauna are heterotrophs, meaning that they eat dead organisms
and use oxygen for cellular respiration.
 Streams and Rivers

• These are bodies of flowing water moving in one

direction.
• Streams and rivers can be found everywhere—they get
their starts at headwaters, which may be springs,
snowmelt or even lakes, and then travel all the way to
their mouths, usually another water channel or the
ocean.
• The characteristics of a river or stream change during
the journey from the source to the mouth.
• The temperature is cooler at the source than it is at the
mouth.
• The water is also clearer, has higher oxygen levels, and
freshwater fish such as trout and heterotrophs can be
found there.
• Towards the middle part of the
stream/river, the width increases, as does
species diversity
• Numerous aquatic green plants and algae
can be found.
• Toward the mouth of the river/stream, the
water becomes murky from all the
sediments that it has picked up upstream,
decreasing the amount of light that can
penetrate through the water.
• Since there is less light, there is less
diversity of flora, and because of the lower
oxygen levels, fish that require less
oxygen, such as catfish and carp, can be
found.
• Towards the middle part of the
 Wetlands

• Wetlands are areas of standing water that support aquatic plants.

• Marshes, swamps, and bogs are all considered wetlands.
• Plant species adapted to the very moist and humid conditions are
called hydrophytes. These include pond lilies, cattails, sedges,
tamarack, and black spruce.
• Marsh flora also include such species as cypress and gum.
Wetlands have the highest species diversity of all ecosystems.
• Many species of amphibians, reptiles, birds (such as ducks and
waders), and furbearers can be found in the wetlands.
• Wetlands are not considered freshwater ecosystems as there are
some, such as salt marshes, that have high salt concentrations—
these support different species of animals, such as shrimp, shellfish,
and various grasses.
Oligotrophic and Eutrophic lakes
•
 Seasonal Turnover

• Temperature varies in ponds and lakes seasonally.

• During the summer, the temperature ranges from 4° C
near the bottom to 22° C at the top.
• During the winter, the temperature at the bottom can be
4° C while the top is 0° C (ice).
• In between the two layers, there is a narrow zone called
the thermocline where the temperature of the water
changes rapidly.
• During the spring and fall seasons, there is a mixing of
the top and bottom layers, usually due to winds, which
results in a uniform water temperature of around 4° C.
• This mixing also circulates oxygen throughout the lake.
• Of course there are many lakes and ponds that do not
freeze during the winter, thus the top layer would be a
little warmer.
Lake overturn.
Temperature stratification
 Estuaries

• where freshwater rivers flow into the

ocean
• very productive because of nutrients
carried by the rivers
• many mollusks, fish, and water fowl.
Estuaries
 Marine Biomes
Marine communities are defined
by depth
–
 The Marine Biome

• The marine biome contains more dissolved minerals than the

freshwater biomes.

• Over 70% of the Earth's surface is covered in water, by far the

vast majority of that being saltwater. There are two basic
categories to this biome: benthic and pelagic.

• Benthic communities (bottom dwellers) are subdivided by

depth: the shore/shelf and deep sea.

• Pelagic communities (swimmers or floaters suspended in the

water column).
 Oceans
• Oceanic organisms-pelagic (open water) or benthic
(ocean floor) categories.
• Pelagic division divided into neritic and three levels of
pelagic provinces.
• Neritic province has greater concentration of organisms
due to sunlight penetration and more nutrients.
• Epipelagic zone brightly lit, has photosynthetic
phytoplankton, that support zooplankton the food for fish
dolphins, and whales.
• Mesopelagic zone is semi-dark, adapted organisms are
translucent, red colored, or luminescent; i. e. shrimps,
squids, and hatchet fishes.
• Bathypelagic zone is completely dark and largest in size;
it has strange-looking fish.
• Benthic division includes organisms on continental
shelf (sublittoral), continental slope (bathyal), and the
abyssal plain.
Zones within the marine biome
 Intertidal zones
Rocky shores
– high, low tides
– wave action
Mud flats
– high nutrients
– less wave action
•
pelagic zone – open ocean
Benthic zone
 Coral Reefs
• found in warm clear water
• shallow were sunlight reaches
bottom
• high diversity of life
• highly productive
• Phytoplankton, Corals, Mollusks,
Fish