BIOMES STUDY GUIDE

BIOME FACTS HIGHLIGHTS

  • Grasslands in United States have decreased due to overgrazing, land development, natural disasters, and fire.
  • Some of the world’s fastest predators live in the Tropical Savanna.
  • Eventhough Tropical Rain forests have the greatest amount of biodiversity of all of the land biomes their soils are thin and nutrient poor due to high amounts of rain removing/washing them from the soil.
  • Grasses are the major plant type of the savanna.
  • Grasslands receive between 25cm -75cm of rainfall per year.
  • Deserts have large changes in temperature on a daily basis.
  • An adaptation for living in the desert is having plants that store water and have deep roots.
  • Water could be a limiting factor in the tundra.
  • Permafrost refers to the top layer of soil in the tundra that remains frozen.
  • Migration is one adaptation animals of the Tundra or Taiga have.
  • Lichens (a mixture of algae and fungus) are low growing plants of the tundra.
  • Sunlight is plentiful for plants of the tundra in the summertime.
  • A cactus has a green body to help it photosynthesize without leaves.
  • Desert biomes refer to areas of consistently high temperatures during the day and less 10 inches of rain fall.
  • Coniferous trees have waxy needles, bear cones, and stay green year round.
  • Amphibians like frogs would be best suited to tropical rain forest because water is not a problem.
  • Most of the Eastern United States was once covered by large areas of temperate deciduous forests.
  • Nails or suction cups would be an adaptation for animals in the Tropical Rainforests.
  • Epiphytes are plants like orchids that live commensalistic lifestyles.
  • Three major forest biomes are the coniferous, temperate deciduous and tropical forests.
  • An estuary is a mix of fresh and salt water.
  • In an ocean, as depth increases, light decreases.
  • Bison or buffalo have thick fur because winters in the temperate grasslands/prairie are cold and windy.
  • Plant roots in grasslands in general are short and close to the surface.
  • Corn and wheat are important crops in the prairie.
  • Grazing animals would most likely be found in the Savanna.
  • Most deserts are located near the Equator.
  • Snakes and other reptiles would most likely be found in the desert.
  • Plants low and close to the ground would probably be found in the alpine tundra.
  • Cactuses have spines to help prevent water loss.
  • Caribou would most likely be found in the arctic tundra.
  • One common characteristic of both the desert and tundra is very little precipitation.
  • Common adaptations of desert animals are having nocturnal lifestyles.
  • There are two major seasons in a Tropical Rain forest.
  • Temperate Forests generally have four seasons.
  • Spruce and Fir are the two dominant trees in a northern coniferous forest.
  • Adaptations of plants in the taiga would be trees with waxy needles and deep extensive root systems.

Which biome is represented by the following descriptions?

  • The ______biome is characterized by permafrost as soil.
  • The ______is also known as the boreal or northern forest.
  • The ______biome may vary based on elevation or location.
  • A large amount of water and high temperatures are characteristics for the ______biome.
  • In the ______biome, light decreases as depth increases; this causes plants to colors other than green.
  • In the ______biome, many animals are nocturnal and plants have spines instead of leaves. These adaptations help them survive heat.

Using Key Terms

Complete each of the following sentences by choosing the correct term from the word bank.

conservationpollutionnonrenewable resource

biodiversityoverpopulationrenewable resource

recycling

A(n) ______is a resource that is replaced at a much slower rate than it is used.

The presence of too many individuals in a population for available resources is called ______.

______is an unwanted change in the environment caused by wastes.

The preservation and wise use of natural resources is called ______.

______is the number and variety of organisms in an area.

Understanding Key Ideas

Multiple Choice

Why is preventing habitat destruction important?

______

How are Exotic or Invasive species introduced into a habitat and how does their introduction impact the ecosystem?

______

What is a renewable resource?

______