Vocabulary | Deifnition |
biosphere | a narrow layer near the earth's surface where life exists |
biomes | major land ecosystems |
climate | long term weather patterns in an area, most affects plants in a biome |
intertidal zone | closest to shore, organisms live both in and out of water |
neritic zone | beyond the intertidal zone, no breaking waves, constant temperature |
open sea zone | beyond the neritic zone, where the continental shelf drops off |
plankton | microscopic organisms, the basis for most food chains in the open oceans |
abyss | below 2000 meters, no sunlight, very cold, few organisms, the largest zone |
fast moving bodies of water | streams contain little life |
slow moving bodies of water | rivers and lakes, contain more living things |
estuary | where a river and ocean meet (ex: mud flats, salt marches, swamps) |
brackish water | mixture of salt and fresh water |
tropical rain forest | over 400 cm of rain each year, tall trees with large leaves, constant temperatures |
deciduous forest | 75 cm of rain each year, cold winters & warm summers, hardwood trees |
deciduous trees | lose their leaves each year |
boreal forest | 60 cm of rain each year, very cold winter & cool summer, mainly conifer trees |
conifers | produce cones, have needles, don't lose their needles all at once |
tundra | 25 cm of rain each year, long & dark winters, 1 - 2 months summers, permafrost |
permafrost | below a thin layer of soil it is always frozen |
grasslands | 50 cm of rain each year, mainly 2 m grass, cold/snowy winters & hot/dry summers |
deserts | less than 25 cm of rain each year, can be both hot and dry |
climotogram | a graph of both temperature and precipitation |
precipitation | the amount of water (rain/snow) that falls annually |
marine | of or pertaining to the sea; existing in or produced by the sea, estuaries and many zones |