Science-Biomes



~ CHARLES DARWIN ** ** BIOMES INQUIRY PROJECT:   ** **__//TERMS//__** __Flora__ -** All of the plant life in a particular region or environment. __Climate__ –** The typical weather pattern in a region. Includes temperature, pecipitation, rainfall, and weather patterns. //• Ex: In a rainforest the biotic factors include the trees and animals while the abiotic include the temperature, amount of sunlight, and rain.// **Check out these sites. Remember, some scientists use different names to identify a biome and will often create subcategories. However, the 7 listed above are the 7 major biomes and the names we will use to identify them.** http://ecokids.ca  [|www.worldbiomes.com]  (a SciLinks site) [|www.blueplanetbiomes.org/world_biomes.htm] http://library.thinkquest.org/6225 “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.”
 * A biome is a major ecological community chiefly characterized by the dominant forms of plant life or vegetation, animal life or species, and climate pattern. Each of the seven world biomes is composed of many smaller ecosystems. An ecosystem is an ecological community consisting of all plants, animals and microorganisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living (abiotic factors) physical parts of the environment. Biomes and ecosystems are high in biodiversity. All of these living things are closely related to their environment. Living things adapt to their environment, or change in structure or habits, over thousands and millions of years. These adaptations lead to the evolution of a species, often toward becoming the strongest or most efficient. Charles Darwin, who was the first to realize that animals evolve through natural selection, coined the term “survival of the fittest”. The animals that cannot adapt in time will not be able to survive and will often be conquered by a stronger species. Any sudden change in one part of an environment, like an increase or decrease of a species of animal or plant, causes a ripple effect of change in through other parts of the environment. The earth includes a huge variety of living things, from complex plants and animals to very simple, one-celled organisms. But large or small, simple or complex, no organism lives alone. Each depends in some way on other living and nonliving things in its surroundings. The importance of biomes cannot be overestimated. Biomes have changed and moved many times during the history of life on Earth. More recently, human activities have drastically altered these communities. Thus, conservation and preservation of biomes should be a major concern to all.**
 * There are 7 biomes.  **
 * 1) **   Water (Marine)   **
 * 2) **   Rainforest   **
 * 3) **   Tundra   **
 * 4) **   Taiga (largest biome in the world, other than marina,...but it is cold and lonely)   **
 * 5) **   Desert   **
 * 6) **   Temperate or Deciduous Forest (where we live)   **
 * 7) **   Grassland   **
 * __Ecology__ –** The study of organisms and the environment
 * __Biome__ –** A major ecological community chiefly characterized by the dominant forms of plant life (vegetation), animal life (species) and climate.
 * __Ecosystem__ –** An ecological community consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (biotic factors) in an area functioning together with all of the non-living (abiotic factors) physical parts of the environment**.
 * __Fauna__ -** All of the animal life in a particular region or environment**.
 * __Biodiversity__ –** The number and variety of organisms found within a specified geographic region or environment.
 * __Vegetation__ –** The plants of a particular region or environment.
 * __Adaptation__ –** A change or adjustment in structure or habits, often hereditary, by which a species or individual improves its condition in relationship to its environment.
 * __Biotic__ –** The living components of an environment (environmental factors).
 * __Abiotic__ –** The non-living components of an environment.