Alejandra Ventura

AP Environmental Science
Period 1
Introduction to the Worlds Biomes
Terrestrial
Biome
Common Plants/Animals Interesting Features Weather/Climate
Rainforest Lianas, buttresses, snakes,
pumas, flying dragon, bearded
pig
The bark is designed to limit
moisture evaporation
Hot, humid, wet
Tundra Snowy owl, tundra swan,
caribou, arctic fox
Plants and microorganisms
can grow in the summer if the
tundra soil thaws enough
Cold, snowy
Taiga Conifers/Evergreen trees, birch,
poplar, aspen, hemlock, fir
Little diversity, drooping tree
branches
Cold winters, warm
summers
Desert Cactus: saguaro, old man, barrel
dingo, fennec fox, thorny devil
Plants grow with little water
and plenty of sun
Hot, dry
Temperate Rat snake, cardinal, wild boar
Trees
Changing of seasons Depends on the time of
year, diverse
Grasslands Bluestem grass, poison ivy,
stinging nettle, monarch butterfly
Not many bushes, 10-30 in.
rain/year, often located
between forests and deserts
Deep, fertile soil
Tropical: hot all year
Temperate: hot
summers, harsh winters

Aquatic
Biomes
Common Plants/Animals Interesting Features Weather/Climate
Rivers and
Streams
Anaconda, red piranha, Eurasian
otter, array river turtle, gavial
Watershed (area w/ common
set of streams that drain into
one larger body of water)
A lot of precipitation in
various forms
Ponds and
Lakes
Green and gold bullfrog, green
crested grebe, platypus,
spectacled caiman
Freshwater, range in size,
closely tied to rivers, algae in
ponds release oxygen
Pond: even water temp
from top to bottom
Lake: three distinct
layers of water temp
Wetlands Black-winged stilt, Dwarf siren,
South American Lungfish,
Siamese Fighting fish
Freshwater, variety: marsh,
swamp, bog, prairie pothole,
riparian marsh
Generally warm,
different for each type
Shorelines Conger eel, estuarine crocodile,
white-bellied mangrove snake,
California sea lion
Sandy and rocky shores,
barrier islands, tide pools,
estuaries, salt marshes, mud
flats, mangroves
Varies in each type, can
often be warm or cool
Temperate
Oceans
Gray whale, skate, Atlantic
hagfish, cnidarians, sponges,
echinoderms
Can be divided into many
zones, has three light zones,
has forests, upwelling
Diverse, Saline, warm
near top and colder as it
gets deeper
Tropical
Oceans
Brown booby, smooth
hammerhead, green turtle
Coral reefs Warm, saline, diverse

Rainforests
1: What are the two types of rainforests? In the United States, where are our rainforests located?
(Be specific). What percentage of our original rainforests does this represent?
The two types of rainforests are tropical and temperate. In the US, our rainforests are
located in a stretch of 1,200 miles from Oregon to Alaska (Pacific Northwest). This represents
about 25% of our original rainforests.
Tundra
2: Where is the Tundra Biome located? What is permafrost? What percentage of the
Earths surface is covered by Tundra?
The tundra is located around the North Pole. Permafrost is a permanently frozen layer of
ground. About 20% (1/5) of Earths surface is covered by tundra.
Taiga
3: Where is the Taiga Biome located? What is the soil like in the Taiga- why?
The taiga biome is located around Canada, Europe, and Asia between 50 degrees
latitude North and the Arctic Circle. Soil in the taiga is thin and low in nutrients due to slow
decomposition in the taiga. Decomposition is slow because of the cool temperatures. This creates
a buildup of undecayed vegetation, which does not allow the nutrients to penetrate the ground.
Desert
4: How much rainfall is characteristic of deserts? Explain where most deserts are located and the
rainshadow effect.
The wettest deserts get less than 10 inches of rain per year deserts are not exactly
known for large amounts of rain. Most deserts are located along 30 degrees latitude North and
South. The rainshadow effect occurs when air moves up a mountain, getting cold and releasing
its moisture as rain or snow. When the air moves back down the mountain on the other side it
warms up and holds more water than cold air. This keeps the moisture from reaching the ground,
creating a desert.
Temperate Deciduous Forest
5: What is special about this biome? Deciduous trees have special leaves that are adapted to the
biome- explain.
The temperate deciduous forests are special because they have four distinct seasons,
whose changes are visible and more drastic than those of other biomes. The leaves of deciduous
trees change color during autumn, fall off during winter, and grow back in the spring. This is an
adaptation that allows the trees to survive winter. If the trees kept their leaves, the water in the
leaves would freeze which would damage the leaves and leave the plant vulnerable to bacteria.
Grasslands
6: Grasslands are found on every continent except for one- which? How much rainfall do
grasslands get- why is this important? What are the 3 types of grasslands that are found in North
America? What are grasslands called in other places in the world?
Grasslands are found on every continent except Antarctica. Grasslands receive between
10 and 30 inches of rain per year. This is important because if they received any more water,
they would become forests and if they received less rain, they would become deserts. The three
types of grasslands found in North America are tall grass prairie, mixed grass prairie, and short
grass prairie. Grasslands in South America are called pampas, steppes in Europe, and
savannas in Africa.
Rivers & Streams
7: How much water on Earth does running water represent? What is a watershed? What are the
two main processes that happen to surface water? What is the longest river in the world? What is
the longest river in the United States? What is a hydroelectric dam?
Running water represents 0.3% of the earths total surface. A watershed is an area with a
common set of streams which all drain into one larger body of water, such as a larger river, a
lake, or the ocean. Surface water mainly either becomes runoff until it reaches a large lake or the
ocean, or it infiltrates the ground. The longest river in the world is the Nile River, in Egypt. The
longest river in the United States is the Mississippi river. A hydroelectric dam is a man-made
structure that is built across a river and is meant to generate hydroelectric power. These dams
produce pollution free energy, but can hurt species that use rivers to breed.
Ponds & Lakes
8: What is the difference between a pond and lake? Name the four stages of succession of a
pond. Explain how an Oxbow Lake is formed. What is the largest lake in the world? What is the
largest lake in the United States? What is the deepest lake in the world? What is Lake Effect
Snow? Explain. What is the cause of summerkill in some lakes?
A pond is shallow enough that it can hold rooted plants and has a fairly even temperature
from top to bottom. A lake is much larger, is too deep to support rooted plants away from the
shore, and has three distinct layers of water temperature. The four stages of pond succession are
the following: Pond pioneers are flown in, creatures arrive and submergent vegetation appears
along the bottom, emergents appear and over time layers of decaying matter raise the pond floor,
and a marsh is created until it becomes a swamp with trees. This swamp could potentially create
a forest or grassland from land that was once a pond. An Oxbow lake is formed when a winding
river deposits silt on its inside loops and erodes the banks on the outside of the loop until the
neck disappears. This leaves a horseshoe-shape lake behind. It is now a lake because there is no
current moving the water. The largest lake in the world is the Caspian Sea. The largest lake in the
United States is Lake Superior, a pretty fitting name. The deepest lake in the world is Lake
Baikal in Siberia. Lake Effect Snow occurs when cold wind picks us warm water, cools down
during uphill travels, and releases snow through condensation. Summerkill occurs when an
overabundance of algae depletes oxygen levels, killing aquatic plants and animals.
Wetlands
9: What are the types of freshwater wetlands- name and define them. Explain why wetlands are
so important. What is happening to our wetlands?
The types of freshwater wetlands are marshes, swamps, bogs, prairie potholes, and
riparian marshes. Marshes are inland areas with 1-6 feet of water and a mix of animal and plant
life. Swamps are slow-moving streams, rivers, or depression with trees and some shrubs. A bog
is made up of partially decayed organic matter that has accumulated. Some shrubs, evergreens,
and mosses grow in bogs. A prairie pothole is a shallow depression found in the northern Great
Plains. Riparian marshes are marshes that occur along rivers and whose main purpose is to
absorb excess water and release water to prevent flooding or drought. Wetlands are important
because they prevent flooding, feed fish in rivers, control erosion, and purify water. Our
wetlands are rapidly disappearing at an alarming rate of approximately 300,000 acres per year.
Unfortunately, there is not yet any national law protecting our wetlands.
Shorelines
10: What kind of life forms will you find in the intertidal zone? What is a barrier island?
What is an estuary? What is life like in an estuary? What is a salt marsh? What is the Mangrove
Forest? How are the trees specially adapted to living in that environment? Why are they
important?
In an intertidal zone, you would likely find sea stars, sea shells, and clam shells. Barrier
islands are islands separated from mainland by bodies of water with various sizes. Estuaries are
partially enclosed bodies of water in which incoming seawater gets mixed with fresh water from
land. Life in an estuary is a diverse blend of land creatures, sea creatures, and animals with a
complex food web. A salt marsh is a wetland that occurs where land and sea meet. It has many
factors that affect its characteristics and the type of life there. A mangrove forest is a type of
forest with trees specially adapted to survive in brackish (salty, but not ocean-salty) water. They
are adapted in a way that they must keep their trunks and leaves above water, but have roots that
must be attached to the ground so as not to be moved by waves. Mangroves are important
because these areas can be used for timber, mining, agriculture, harbor development, and human
settlement. Without Mangrove forests, we couldnt have as much of what we need from them.
They also protect coastlines and prevent erosion.
Temperate Ocean Zones
11: Name and describe the different zones of the ocean and how they are divided. Describe the
different photic zones of the ocean. What are kelp forests? Where are they found?
The ocean zones are the benthic, pelagic, neritic, and oceanic. The benthic zone is the
ocean bottom, and the water column is the pelagic zone. The neritic and oceanic zones are
subzones of the pelagic zone, the neritic being less than 600 feet deep, and the water deeper is
the oceanic. The oceanic zone is also divided into the epipelagic, mesopelagic, and bathypelagic
zones. The photic zones are the sunlit zone, the twilight zone, and the midnight zone. The sunlit
(euphotic) zone receives enough sunlight for photosynthesis to occur, while the twilight
(disphotic) zone receives small amounts of sunlight, and the midnight (aphotic) zone which
covers 90% of the oceans space receives no sunlight at all. Kelp forests are made up of large
brown seaweed found around the world. Seaweed is made up algae, and has many parts: the
blade, stipe, float, frond, and the holdfast. Kelp is found in temperate oceans around the world,
although it is smaller around the Atlantic US coast than in the Pacific coast.
Tropical Ocean Zones
12: What is coral made of? Explain. Where are most coral reefs located? Where is the largest
coral reef?
Coral is made up of polyps, the name of the animals that make up the physical coral.
Coral reefs are only in warm, shallow water. Most of them are located near the equator, in
tropical oceans. The largest coral reef is The Great Barrier Reef, located in Australia. The second
largest is found off the coast of Belize, a Central American country.