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Y8How do plants and animals adapt to

their biomes?

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The climate zones we looked atTemperate Maritime

Tropical

Desert

Polar

Mediterranean

Equatorial

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What do we call the places where plants grow and animals live?

• An ecosystem is a community of living organisms (plants and animals) sharing an environment, that is weather and landscape, location etc

• The largest ecosystems are called biomes.

• There are about a dozen of these altogether, but just in the same way as we only picked out a selection of climate zones, we will only pick out a few biomes

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These are the 6 biomes we have looked at

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The tundra first

What can you remember about its climate?

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Tundra - Intro

• Where is Tundra found?Tundra is found in the extreme North of Canada and Asia.

• The tundra covers about one fifth of the land surface found on Earth.

• Tundra is the very cold to mild at best ( and no that often) and moderate to dry, but with little evaporation this is no so serious as in a hot desert.

• The Arctic tundra is also a windy place and winds can blow between 48 to 97 kilometers per hour.

• The ground is subject to permafrost (land that is permanently frozen), but the surface layer melts in the summer, giving rise to marshes

• Soil conditions are poor, being marshy and waterlogged. Little plant life can survive.

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Animals and plant that live in Animals and plant that live in the Tundra by Isabelthe Tundra by Isabel

Animals Polar bear Caribou Artic fox Artic hare Snowy owl Musk ox Brown bear

Plants Moss Lichens Low growing

shrubs Grass

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So what plants can grow in the Tundra? How?

• Tundra comes from the Finnish word tunturia, meaning treeless plain and this gives you hint about the plants. Because of the poor conditions only grasses, mosses, lichens and dwarf shrubs exist in this area, but there are about 400 flowering plants.

• Abdullah: These plants are small and they stay near the ground to avoid the strong wind and cold temperature. Some plants have cunningly useful hairy stems keep them warm. Plants in the tundra do not come alive until summer when the conditions are just right for growth. Some areas have more shade and so have more plants. In some cold deserts 80% of it can be covered in sage bush.

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So what animals can live in the Tundra? Why?

• Many insects live in the marshy parts in the summer. This attracts migrating birds.

• There are also smaller herds of musk-oxen. Wolves, wolverines, arctic foxes, and polar bears are the predators of the tundra.

• Smaller mammals are snowshoe rabbits and lemmings. • Abdullah: Strangely, a large amount of animals live in the tundra, such as

polar bears and caribou. Caribou are animals often called reindeer come in large herds, that feed on lichens and moss. They have thick fur coats to protect themselves from the cold. Cold Deserts also have animals like Antelope, Ground Squirrels, Jack Rabbits, and Kangaroo Rats.

• Me: Many turn white in winter – camouflage for either escaping your enemy or creeping up on dinner! Some have large feet to allow to go over snow/bog in summer without falling in.

• Isabel: Many artic animal are using it for there summer home such as birds and mammals.

• The Musk Ox has developed away of keeping warm is growing its own Thick coat.

• Some animal like the polar bear have a thick layer of blubber (fat)

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What is the impact of humans on Tundra?• On January 3, 1959, Alaska gained statehood along with its natural

resources. Rich oil deposits was one of the many natural resources found in this vast area causing a new breed of fortune hunters to come to Alaska.

• On March 24th, 1989, millions of gallons of oil spilled into the ocean when Exxon Valdez (an oil tanker) crashed into a reef.

• This spill affected all of the wildlife greatly, tens of thousands of seabirds, salmon, herring, and halibut were killed from a disaster that wouldn't have happened except for the intervention of man.

• An estimate was made that 100,000 birds died in the oil spill, something that could have been avoided. Even though the bulk of the oil was finally cleaned up, some of it still lingers there.

• Global warming is melting the sea ice and isolating the polar bears and threatening other animals too.

• Abdullah: Global warming has increased due to industrial activity in tundra areas. Grime and dust turn the ice black, reflecting less heat therefore adding further to global warming.

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Deciduous Forest

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The Deciduous forest - Introduction

• Where are they found?

• Deciduous forests can be found in the eastern half of North America, and the middle of Europe.

• There are many deciduous forests in Asia.

• What is it like there?• The average annual temperature

in a deciduous forest is 10° C. • But there are 4 distinct seasons –

warm summers, mild winters and spring and autumn each quite ling and somewhere between summer and winter

• The precipitation is moderate to wet ( 500mm – 1500mm)

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The deciduous forest• But the most distinctive thing about the deciduous

forests is that they have four distinct seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter.

• In the autumn the leaves change colour. • 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.

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Deciduous Forest:Deciduous Forest:Plants by LukePlants by Luke

There is a lot of different and unique type of plants that live in the deciduous Forests. Firstly, there’s a plant called the “American Beech”. The American Beech tree grows in the southern and eastern parts of the United States. It grows best in deep, rich, moist and well-drained soils. The American beech is a huge type of tree, mature trees size from 30-40m , and spreads 17-25m.

However other plants cannot live beneath this tree. The reasons are because the leaves that grow on the tree block the sunlight and keep the ground constantly in shade.

And because much of the root system grows all over the ground's surface, and uses any moisture that may reach the ground.

American Beech trees produce lots of nuts. The nuts from this tree are loved by numerous animals. Animals such as: deer’s, rabbits, squirrels, porcupines and several more.

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More Plants by More Plants by LukeukeNext is the Guelder Rose. The Guelder

Rose is part of the shrub layer and grows to about 3m

The Guelder Rose is beautiful in August when the berries are ripe, and the leaves turn into maple-like leaves and change bright red or rich purple before falling. These berries are bright red and attract birds that spread the seeds. The very large white outer layer of flowers also attracts pollinating insects to the inner part of the flower.

Its bark is used as an herbal medicine for cramps and asthma. Just as well this plant’s berries can be used for ink. It can also be used as a decorative shrub. In Canada it is used instead of cranberries. It is an important food source for insects and birds that eat the nectar and the berries.

Other plants that live in the deciduous forest can be; Lady Fern, White Oak Tree and White Birch Tree.

Notice the animals that depend on these

plant for food in Autumn

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• Mosses are simple, rootless evergreen plants. They can live in a wide variety of habitats, but are most often found covering the ground, growing on stream beds, and on the base of trees in deciduous woodlands. .

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So what animals can live in the Deciduous Forest? Why?

• We have already seen how deer, rabbits, squirrels, porcupines, insects and birds all depend on the plants in the deciduous forest.

• But the winters can be quite harsh – the big ones are OK.

• Some of the small ones, like squirrels, store nuts from the Autumn to see them through.

• But some mice hibernate to survive.• Talking of squirrels – how are they adapted to living

in a deciduous forest?• Like the mammals in the Tundra, some animals

grow extra protection to survive the cooler weather. What is that?

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What is the impact of humans on Deciduous Forests?

• Most of the coniferous forests in the Northern hemisphere have been cut down to make way for farms and villages and towns.

• In the UK for example, most of the land apart from the mountain tops in Scotland and Wales would have once been tree covered.

• But in the last 30 years, people and governments have realized how important forests are, and all over Europe there are projects being set up to put the trees back. They are trying hard to make sure they planting back only those trees and shrubs that were there in the first place.

• Before that, governments thought that our greatest need fore wood was for paper and so they covered many mountain-sides with many hectares of quick-growing fir trees. These acidify the soil and discourage other plants by blocking out the light. And the animals are not that keen on them either!

• Now the governments know better!

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Chaparral

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The ChaparralIntroduction

• The chaparral biome is found in a little bit of most of the continents - the west coast of the United States, the west coast of South America, the Cape Town area of South Africa, the western tip of Australia and the coastal areas of the Mediterranean.

• Lay of the land: The chaparral biome has many different types of terrain. Some examples are flat plains, rocky hills and mountain slopes. It is sometimes used in movies for the "Wild West".

• The climate is warm to hot and is dry to moderate with most of the rain in Winter

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Plants in the Chaparral• Kane: Shrubs and drought tolerant

plants live in chaparral woods. These plants are not so dependant on water and can survive for long periods of time without any. Similar to cacti these plants store water in the soil and only use it when necessary but have problems due to the sheer amount of shrubs sharing the space to actually retrieve water.

• Yulia: Most of the plants have small, hard leaves which hold moisture. Some of these plants are poison oak, scrub oak, Yucca Wiple and other shrubs, trees and cacti. .

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Animals in the Chaparral

• Yulia: The animals are all mainly grassland and desert types adapted to hot, dry weather. A few examples are: coyotes, jack rabbits, mule deer, alligator, lizards, horned toads, praying mantis, honey bee and ladybugs.

How do you think these animals are adapted to the Mediterranean climate and

conditions?

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Threats to the Chaparral

• Kane: the real main issue is human development which drives out creatures from the natural habitat forcing them to adapt or die, and although it seems harsh its true. Also there is very unique way of germinating with the shrub life there and is completely dependant on heat and sometimes even fire.

• But due to fires being put out by the fire service plant life there is dying out due to lack of germination and intense heat doesn’t go well with humans so cooling in houses kills all nearby plants around houses.

• But also due to carelessness or even deliberately some fires get out of hand and so destroy whole areas, leading to soil erosion as there are no plant roots left to hold the soil in place in the winter rains.

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Desert

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Plants in the deserts• Abdullah: “Vegetation is rare in hot deserts but there are some plants

such as prickly pears and brittle bush. All of these are suited to live in a hot area.”

• By Yulia: Different plants have different ways to adapt to the desert. They have their own way to reserve and collect water.

• Some plants have developed tap roots. Tap roots are a type of root grown by mostly desert plants or plants that adapt to dry Biomes. Tab roots can stretch as far as 30m under the surface of the sand and ground to get water to survive.

• Other plants have shallow roots to catch water as soon as it lands. Desert sand is well drained and water doesn’t sit around on top. This means water can soak into the ground very fast.

• There are many others ways plants adapt, for example some plants in the desert have small knife like leaves that have a very small surface area. The small surface area means that less water is evaporated. Some of these types of plants also have a waxy feature that stops a lot of the plants stored water to evaporate.

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Plants in the deserts by Eli

The white hairy surface of the Old Man Cactus helps

the plant reflect the hot desert

sun.

Saguaro - The stem stores all of its water. The stem is

green. Photosynthesis occurs in the top layer of the stem instead of in leaves. It also has large net of roots.

Why?

Prickly pear - Many desert plants store

water in their spongy tissue. Animals will eat

them for the moisture. The

thorns keep them safe from many

animal predators.

Aloe - The waxy surface of the aloe plant acts like a plastic

wrapper, keeping precious water

inside.

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Animals in deserts • Abdullah: “Hot and Dry Deserts animals

include small nocturnal (only active at night) carnivores. There are also insects, arachnids, reptiles, and birds. Some examples of these animals are coyote, Mourning Wheatears, and Horned Vipers. .”

Luke: The Bob cat - They like it there the most because of the bushy, and rocky terrain. The bushes give shade if it's hot, and the rocks are a perfect hiding spot if they're hunting prey. The bobcat's diet consist of rabbits, squirrels, mice and more.

Look at that colour scheme – how does that help it adapt to deserts?

A horned viper

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Animals the deserts Eli: Desert

tortoises - they live in burrows to escape the cold and the

heat

Eli: Camel - It is the largest animal of the desert. It can

store large amounts of water to help it to survive in the dry desert. They have a

transparent eyelid which enable them to keep sand

out of their eyes.

Lauren – chipmunk: feeding on fruits and seeds and the occasional insect and mouse. Diurnal and active year-round (does not hibernate). Because it is adapted to tolerate hyperthermia, it often is the only small mammal seen during the hottest parts of the day in summer. They will scurry around collecting seeds and storing them in their cheek pouches until their body temperature climbs to near lethal, then they will duck into the shade, often spreading eagle in the cool soil, to cool their temperature back down enough to go back out in the sun again.

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Savannah

Thanks Zaineb

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Animals and plants that live Animals and plants that live in the Savannahin the SavannahAnimals

Zebras Elephants Warthogs rhinos gazelles, hyenas, cheetahs, lions, leopards, ostrich, Mousebirds Starlings weavers. Wildebeests

Plants

Acadia trees Baobab tree Grass Shrubs

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Plants in Savannah

• By Kane: Mainly grass and spaced out trees grow on a savannah. The reason why the trees are spaced out is that so when it rains on the savannah the desperately needed water can reach the grass, instead of the trees just crowding them out. The plants have uniquely adapted to survive due to there being only rainfall at a certain time of year so they almost “ration” the water with the other plants. The Savannahs cover 20% of the Earth’s land mass.

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Animal adaptations:

• By Isabel: During the rainy season, birds, insects, and large and small mammals thrive in the savannah, but the rainy season only lasts 6 to 8 months.

• Consequently, most birds and many of the large mammals migrate during the dry season in search of water.

• The migration may be just to another area within the savannah.• When drought conditions exist for a long time and over a wide area,

the animals may migrate to another biome until the rainy season begins again.

• During the dry seasons all the animals are at war for water. • By Kane: Lions live there due to wandering prey such as gazelles ,

zebras, antelopes, buffalos and giraffes. This provides a good food source and little competition from other predators such as the cheetah. Furthermore there is an obvious shortage of water in Africa and the plains of the savannah with their ponds and waterholes are perfect for water-based animals.

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More animals in the Savannah• Zaineb: African elephants live on the savannas of

Africa. They are herbivores, and feed on grasses, fruits, tree leaves, bark, shrubs, and vines.

• The African elephant's size makes them hard for predators to eat, such as leopards, lions, or jaguars. At night, the adults form a circle around the calves to protect them from danger.

• The adults have thick skin, making it hard to bite. This protects them from the predators

• These animals have a special job in savannas. They keep the savannas clear by eating shrubs and trees which helps the grass grow. This allows the many grazers on the savannah to survive.

• Most of the animals on the savannah have long legs or wings to be able to go on long migrations.

• Many burrow under ground to avoid the heat or raise their young. • The savannah is a perfect place for birds of prey like hawks and

buzzards. The wide, open plain provides them with a clear view of their prey, hot air updrafts keep them soaring, and there is the occasional tree to rest on or nest in.

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Threats to the Savannah

• Kane: Obviously global warming has a massive impact on the African savannah and especially the seasons. Animals living there are dependant on seasonal rain and with warming it changes the cycle and proneness to rain and heat therefore creating a major threat for life living there. Also tree clearing has an effect as habitats are swept away, animals have to adapt to new conditions or just die out due to a lack of habitation.

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Rainforest

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What is the structure of vegetation in the rainforest?

• Emergents are the tallest trees and are usually over 50 metres tall. The Kapok tree is an example of an emergent.

• The sea of leaves blocking out the sun from the lower layers is called the canopy. The canopy contains over 50% of the rainforest wildlife. This includes birds, snakes and monkeys. Lianas (vines) climb to the canopy to reach this sun light.

• The under canopy mainly contains bare tree trunks and lianas.

• The shrub layer has the densest plant growth. It contains shrubs and ferns and other plants needing less light.

• The forest floor is usually dark and damp. It contains a layer of rotting leaves and dead animals called litter. This decomposes rapidly (within 6 weeks) to form a thin humus, rich in nutrients.

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Plants adapt to the rainforest

• Max: Lianas are green-stemmed plants that grow on tree trunks where there are gaps in the canopy. They are a type of climbing vine with thick, woody stems. While they begin life on the forest floor, they grow upward toward the sunlight using trees for support by attaching themselves to the trunks with sucker roots or tendrils. Types of Lianas include Philodendron and rattan palms

• Max: Bromeliads live in the equatorial rainforest and are related to the pineapple family, they live on the forest floor, their thick waxy leaves form a bowl that catches water and forms a shelter for some species of animals such as snails, frogs, beetles and salamanders.

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Animals adapt to the rainforest

• Max: Sloths live in the trees in the Amazon rain forest, descending to the ground only once every five to seven days to urinate, defecate and occasionally change trees for a different food source. They do everything while hanging upside down in the trees---eating, sleeping, mating and even giving birth there. The liver, stomach, spleen and pancreas of these animals have been repositioned over the centuries to better function in an upside-down position. They are extremely slow animals. Algae grows on their fur and is utilized by the sloth for nutrition and camouflage. The nutrients from the algae are absorbed through their skin and the blue-green tint helps them blend in with the rain forest canopy. The majority of the sloth's diet consists of tree foliage but they occasionally enhance it with bird eggs and hatchlings, lizards, insects and carrion.

• Max: Jaguars: Their intricately coats are shades of gold and buff with spots of darker golden color within a black outline. How are they adapted to their biome?

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The rainforest under threat

• Logging

• Cattle ranching

• Soya bean farming

• Mining and oil exploration

• Roads

• Building towns