BIOSPHERE KEY QUESTION 1 - Miami Killian Senior High School

BIOSPHERE KEY QUESTION 1

IV. BIOSPHERE: The living organisms that have established themselves in the

other three spheres

A. In this module, two contrasting ecosystems should be studied to a greater

depth and should incorporate information from Key Question 1,2, and 3?

ideally one of these studies can be based upon an area with which the

students have some personal familiarity.

B. KQ1a: What are the major abiotic and biotic factors, which drive and

influence the distribution of different ecosystems?

a. The biotic and abiotic factors, which drive and influence the

distribution of the world¡¯s major biomes

b. A survey of the global system followed by a study of the distribution

of the following biomes:

i.

Tropical rain forest

1. Abiotic Factors: water, warm climate, sunlight, humidity, poor

soil composition due to millions of years of rain and

weathering have washed out all the nutrients., and

precipitation. There is an average of at least 60mm to 2000

mm of rainfall per year. The average temperature is 24

degrees Celsius. Typically hot and wet all year round with

rainfall being both heavy and frequent. No dry season, it

rains all year. The layers of the Canopy, understory, forest

floor (shrub area), and then the soil and nutrient cycling.

2. Biotic Factors: The plants and animals that inhabit the

Tropical rainforest are necessary for the structure and

thriving of this biome. Plants like bamboo and tropical fruit

trees provide oxygen for the animals living in the tropical

rainforest. Fruit?eating animals, like birds and bats, spread

seeds and are also pollinators. Insects, fungi and bacteria

break down the plant matter and return nutrients to the soil.

Predators like jaguars and snakes feed on smaller animals.

ii.

Monsoon rain forest

1. Abiotic Factors: The temperature, humidity, sunlight, soil,

climate and precipitation. Temperatures are high all year

round and the average temperature during the rainy season

is 27.05 degrees Celsius, while monthly it is around 18

degrees Celsius. The monsoon rainforest usually has the

highest temperatures just before the rainy season. This

biome experiences a wet and dry season where in the dry

season less than 60 mm of rainfall is recorded while in the

wet season, up to 1000 mm of rainfall is recorded.

2. Biotic Factors: The plants and animals that inhabit the

Monsoon rainforest are necessary for the structure and

thriving of this biome. Some animals include, monkeys, deer,

parrots, and large cats like mountain lions. Some plants

include deciduous shrubs, bromeliads, orchids, deciduous

trees which shed their leaves to conserve the water they

lose when the leaves fall off and mushrooms which break

down plant matter and return it to the soil.

iii.

Tropical savannah

1. Abiotic Factors: The tropical savannah is a hot, seasonally

dry grassland that have an extended dry and wet season.

The average annual temperature of this biome is 25 degrees

Celsius, while in the dry season it is 20?25 degrees Celsius,

and in the wet season it s 25?30 degrees Celsius. The

average amount of precipitation is 38?63 cm. The weather

ranges from cool and dry to wet and warm in their respective

seasons. In the summer, the soil is very fertile due to grazing

of the large herbivores but during the dry season, the soil is

infertile which causes the small grasses and shrubs to die

off. There is a large abundance of water during the wet

season, but scarce during the dry season.

2. Biotic Factors: The Biotic Factors in this biome would include

the plants and animals the are needed to keep the

Savannah alive. Most of the animals on the savanna have

long legs or wings to be able to go on long migrations. Some

animals that inhabit the biome are the Wild dog, hyena, lion,

cheetah and caracal, all preying on smaller animals to

survive. Some plants that inhabit the environment would be

Star grass, Umbrella Thorn Acacia, and Bermuda Grass,

which provides food for the various herbivores that can help

the soil became fertile. Plants in the savanna are highly

specialized to grow in the the environment due to long

periods of drought and they have long taproots that can

reach the deep water table and thick bark to resist fires and

store water.

iv.

Desert

1. Abiotic Factors: Hot area of land with very little moisture in

the air. The dessert has an average rainfall of 25.2

centimeters a year. Average temperature during the day is

about 30 degrees Celsius and at night it is ?4 degrees

celsius. Natural deserts occur where moisture is slim with

the exceptions such as the Namib Desert in Africa where

coastal fog?deserts occur because of cold oceanic currents.

Fog? deserts are types of deserts where fog drip supplies the

majority of moisture needed by animal and plant life.

2. Biotic Factors: The biodiversity of deserts is much lower than

that of other biomes, as the harsh conditions only allow for

the most adaptable plants and animals to survive. Producers

of this biome are cacti, turpentine bushes, prickly pears.

Primary and secondary consumers are rabbits, and then

rattlesnakes. Plant in this biome have similar characteristics

of being able to retain water for long dry periods and most

animals only come out after the hot sun has set to prey.

v.

Temperate deciduous

1. Abiotic Factors: Located usually in the Eastern US, Canada,

Europe and experiences all four seasons. There are

approximately 77?153 cm of rain per year. The temperature

ranges per season which allows there to be constant plant

litter and decomposition on the ground. There is constant

moisture but it is enough to allow greenery rather than a

humid climate. Rich soil which leads to large amounts of

foliage as well as animal life.

2. Biotic Factors: Deciduous trees drop their leave and go into

dormancy into the winter. The trees dropping their leaves

allows rodents to survive using the shed leaves as shelter or

source of nutrition. Types of plants that live in this biome are

lichen, moss, ferns, and hardwood trees like oak. If these

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