1. A biome is a large, relatively distinct terrestrial region with
amount of precipitation. Temperate grassland is grassland with hot summers, cold winters, and less rainfall than is found in the temperate deciduous forest biome. Chaparral is a biome with mild, moist winters and hot, dry summers; vegetation is characteristic climate, soil, plants, and animals, regardless of where it occurs; a biome encompasses many interacting ecosystems. typically small-leafed evergreen shrubs and small trees. Desert Near the poles, temperature is generally the overriding climate is a biome in which the lack of precipitation limits plant growth; factor in determining biome distribution, whereas in temperate deserts are found in both temperate and tropical regions. and tropical regions, precipitation is more significant. Savanna is tropical grassland with widely scattered trees or clumps of trees. Tropical rain forest is a lush, species-rich forest biome that occurs where the climate is warm and moist throughout the year.
2 Describing Earth’s Major Biomes 132
1. Tundra is the treeless biome in the far north that consists of
boggy plains covered by lichens and small plants such as mosses; it has harsh, very cold winters and extremely short summers. 3 Aquatic Ecosystems 142
1. In aquatic ecosystems, important environmental factors include
Boreal forest is a region of coniferous forest in the Northern salinity, amount of dissolved oxygen, and availability of light for Hemisphere, located just south of the tundra. Temperate rain photosynthesis. forest is a coniferous biome with cool weather, dense fog, and high precipitation. Temperate deciduous forest is a 2. Freshwater ecosystems include standing-water, flowing- forest biome that occurs in temperate areas with a moderate water, and freshwater wetlands. A standing-water ecosystem is a body of fresh water surrounded by land and whose water does not flow, such as a lake or pond. A flowing-water ecosystem is a freshwater ecosystem such as a river or stream in which the water flows in a current. Freshwater wetlands are marshes and swamps—lands that are covered by shallow fresh water at least part of the year; wetlands have a characteristic soil and water-tolerant vegetation. An estuary is a coastal body of water, partly surrounded by land, with access to the open ocean and a large supply of fresh water from a river. Water in an estuary is brackish rather than truly fresh. Temperate estuaries usually contain salt marshes, whereas tropical estuaries are lined with mangrove forests.
4 Population Responses to Changing
Average monthly temperature in °C
28 Conditions over Time: Evolution 147
24 20 Average monthly precipitation in cm
16 1. Evolution is the cumulative genetic changes in populations that
12 occur during successive generations. 8 4 2. Natural selection is the tendency of better-adapted 0 individuals—those with a combination of genetic traits best –4 14 suited to environmental conditions—to survive and reproduce, 12 increasing their proportion in the population. Natural selection 10 is based on four observations established by Charles Darwin: 8 (1) Each species produces more offspring than will survive 6 4 to maturity. (2) Organisms compete with one another for the 2 resources needed to survive. (3) The individuals in a population 0 exhibit heritable variation in their traits. (4) Individuals with the J FMA MJ J A SOND most favorable combination of traits are most likely to survive Months and reproduce, passing their genetic traits to the next generation.