The document discusses ecosystems and biomes. It defines an ecosystem as the plants and animals that live in a particular location and depend on each other to survive in a delicate balance. Disruptions to ecosystems can be disastrous. It then describes the major biomes - tundra, desert, grassland, tropical rainforest, deciduous forest, and coniferous forest - and examples of specialized plants and animals that thrive in each.

1. ECOSYSTEMS
Marcela Carbo

2.  The plants and animals that are found in a
particular location are referred to as an
ecosystem.
 These plants and animals depend on each other
to survive.
 In a delicate balance, these life forms help to
sustain one another in regular patterns.
 Disruptions to an ecosystem can be disastrous to
all organisms within the ecosystem.

3.  As an example, consider what happens when a new
plant or animal is introduced into an ecosystem,
where it did not before exist.
 The new organism competes with the natural
organisms from that location for available resources.
 These unnatural strangers can push other organisms
out, causing them to become extinct.
 This can then effect still other organisms that
depended on the extinct organism as a source of
food.

4.  Throughout the history of the Earth, the
delicate balance found within ecosystems
have been disrupted by natural disasters such
as fires, floods, storms, volcano eruptions, and
so forth.
 In recent years however, mankind has
increasingly been effecting the many
ecosystems around the world.

5.  As geographers study the many ecosystems
around the world, many similarities or patterns
become evident from one ecosystem to
another.
 This allows scientists to group ecosystems into
categories called biomes.

6.  The most commonly accepted biomes that exist on
the Earth are:
 Tundra
 Desert
 Grassland
 Tropical Rain Forest
 Deciduous Forest
 Coniferous Forest

7.  The frozen cold ecosystems found near
the Northern most parts of the Earth are
called tundra by scientists.
 These locations are known for their long
cold winters, and their short cool summers.
 The Earth’s tundra’s are home to a variety
of specialized plants and animals that have
adapted to survival in such brutal
environments.
 Animals such as seals, polar bears, arctic
hares, and arctic foxes, as well as a variety
of other animals have become experts at
finding food, and surviving the long cold
winters.
 Many of these animals have white fur, in
order to allow them to blend in with the
snow.

8.  Desert biomes are found
throughout the Earth.
 These dry locations have
specialized plants and
animals that have become
adapted to surviving on little
water.
 Some plants and animals can
actually store water within
their bodies, such as cactus,
camels, and some varieties of
frogs found in Australia.
 Due to there being fewer
resources available, there are
generally smaller
concentration of life forms in
a desert than in other biomes.

9.  Grassland biomes exist
throughout the Earth, and in
many cases can be vast,
expanding across millions of
square miles.
 These biomes are marked by
sparse trees, and extensive
grasses, as well as a variety
of small and large animals.
 Some of the largest land
animals on Earth live in
grasslands, including
American bison, elephants,
giraffes, and so forth.

10.  Tropical rain forests are found
in locations that receive
significant amounts of
precipitation. These locations
are easily recognizable by
their abundance of life forms.
These life forms include
numerous trees, plants such
as ferns, and an abundance
of insects, spiders, snakes,
monkeys, and other plants
and animals.
 Tropical rain forests are very
important to the overall health
of the planet Earth, and are
responsible for replenishing a
significant portion of the
atmosphere’s oxygen supply.

11.  Deciduous forests exist in areas
with a moderate amount of
precipitation, where
temperatures are also generally
moderate.
 These ecosystems typically have
long warm summers, and short
cool winters.
 The most noticeable feature are
the abundance of deciduous
trees.
 A deciduous tree is a tree that
looses all its leaves in autumn.
 Many other plants and animals
live in these ecosystems as well,
including birds, deer, and insects.

12.  Coniferous forest ecosystems are found in
regions of the Earth that experience
somewhat long and cold winters, with
summer being much shorter.
 Thus it is no surprise that these biomes
are more common, the closer one travels
towards the Earth’s poles.
 Additionally, this biome is found high a top
mountains, where temperatures tend to be
lower, and winter tends to last longer.
 Common life forms living in this biome are
evergreen trees, small mammals such as
rodents, large mammals such as moose,
and deer, and a variety of insects, spiders,
and plants life.