Answers Lesson 2 Ecology of Terrestrial Ecosystems The northern spotted owl ESSENTIAL QUESTION lives in temperate rain forests. It hunts mice What and other prey at night. relationships occur in terrestrial ecosystems? By the end of this lesson, you should be able to describe the ecological relationships that occur in a terrestrial ecosystem. 8.11A describe producer/consumer, predator/prey, and parasite/host relationships as they occur in food webs within marine, freshwater, and terrestrial ecosystems © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (bg) ©William Stevenson/SuperStock 512 Unit 9 Ecosystems © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: Quick Labs • Biomes and Ecosystems • Examining Feeding Relationships in an Ecosystem Exploration Lab • Parasites in a Food Web 1 Relate Read the following vocabulary terms. In 2 Describe What adaptations might the owl in the spaces provided, place a (+) if you know the this picture need to live in the desert? Share term well, a (?) if you have heard the term but and discuss your answer with a partner. are not sure what it means, or a (−) if you have never heard the term. Then, write a sentence that includes the word that you know best. host parasite predator prey abiotic Sentence using known word: Active Reading 3 Synthesize Many English words have their roots in other languages. Use the Latin word Vocabulary Terms below to make an educated guess about the meaning of the word terrestrial. • biome 4 Apply As you learn the definition of this Latin word Meaning vocabulary term in the lesson, create terra earth, land your own definition or sketch to help you remember the meaning of the term. Example sentence There are many types of vegetation, including aquatic plants and terrestrial plants. terrestrial: © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (r) ©Image Source/Corbis © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: Lesson 2 Ecology of Terrestrial Ecosystems 513 Answers 5. of sunlight, and amount of water. On Firm Ground What are the characteristics of a terrestrial ecosystem? A terrestrial ecosystem is an ecosystem on land. Trees, grasses, fungi, worms, squirrels, birds, and bears can live in terrestrial ecosystems. These organisms and their interactions make up the biotic factors in a terrestrial ecosystem. What abiotic factors affect terrestrial Active Reading ecosystems? Abiotic factors are the nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Soil type, 5 Identify As you read, underline temperature, amount of water, and amount of sunlight are abiotic the abiotic factors that affect factors in terrestrial ecosystems. terrestrial ecosystems. Abiotic factors influence the types of organisms that can live in an ecosystem. For example, soils in a grassland are rich in nutrients. Therefore, many different types of plants, bacteria, and fungi can live in a grassland. High temperatures and high humidity in a tropical rain forest allow many different types of plants to live there. However, the lack of light in some of these thick forests limits the number of plants that can grow on the dark forest floor. Visualize It! 6 List What are the abiotic factors that affect this forest ecosystem? White-tailed deer, oak trees, and black bears are biotic factors in this forest ecosystem. 514 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company What is a biome? A biome (BY•ohm) is a major regional or global community of organisms. A biome is much larger than an ecosystem. Many different ecosystems can be found in any biome. Biomes are characterized by their climate conditions and plant communities. Each biome has a distinct set of climate conditions. These include a typical temperature range and amount of precipitation. Climate affects the plant communities that can live in the biome. For example, a tropical rain forest biome has a warm, moist climate. This climate can support many layers of plants, such as orchids, banana trees, and rubber trees. Latitude is one factor that affects climate. Latitude is the distance of a place north or south of Earth’s equator. Areas at lower latitudes get more sunlight and have warmer temperatures than areas at higher latitudes. Similar climate conditions explain why certain biomes are found at similar latitudes around the world. Visualize It! 7 Relate Use the map to find the biome that you live in. Earth’s Biomes ARCTICARCTIC OCEAN OCEAN ARCTIC OCEAN PACIFICPACIFIC ATLANTICATLANTIC OCEANOCEANPACIFIC OCEANOCEANATLANTIC OCEAN OCEAN EquatorEquator Equator PACIFICPACIFIC INDIANINDIAN OCEANOCEAN OCEANOCEANPACIFIC INDIAN OCEAN OCEAN SOUTHERNSOUTHERN OCEAN OCEAN SOUTHERN OCEAN DesertDesert TemperateTemperate deciduous deciduous forest forest TropicalTropical grassland Desertgrassland TemperateTemperateTemperate rain rain forest forest deciduous forest TemperateTemperateTropical grassland grassland grassland TaigaTaiga Temperate rain forest TropicalTropical rain Temperaterain forest forest grasslandTundraTundra Taiga Tropical rain forest Tundra © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company Lesson 2 Ecology of Terrestrial Ecosystems 515 8_CTXESE025547_274M8_CTXESE025547_274M 7/13/20127/13/20128_CTXESE025547_274M 7/13/2012 Answers 8. leaves that can store water. Around the World Active Reading What are the major biomes? Earth has eight major biomes. These biomes are tundra, desert, 8 Identify As you read, underline tropical grassland, temperate grassland, taiga, temperate deciduous the general climate conditions found in each biome. forest, temperate rain forest, and tropical rain forest. Each biome has a distinct climate. The types of plant and animal species that can live in a biome depend on its climate. Tundra Tundra is cold and dry. In arctic tundra, Tundra temperatures can range from –32 °C in winter to 4 °C in summer. Yearly precipitation can be less than 38 cm, which includes melted snow. Tundra soil has a layer of permafrost, which stays frozen all year long. Mosses, lichens, grasses, and some flowering plants grow in the tundra. Lemmings, caribou, arctic ground squirrels, arctic foxes, wolves, and polar bears can survive in the tundra. Tundra plants and animals have adaptations for cold conditions. Desert Desert is the driest biome. Often only a few centimeters of rain fall in a desert each year. Desert temperatures can reach 40–50 °C during Desert the day. At night, they can drop to 0 °C. Desert soil is dry with few nutrients. Some desert plants have shallow roots to take up water when it rains. Some cacti have stems that store water. They also have spines (modified leaves) that prevent water loss. Desert animals are adapted to extreme temperatures and lack of water. Some desert rodents get water from eating seeds. Many animals sleep in burrows during the day. These animals are active at night, when it is cooler. 9 Describe List one way that a plant or animal in this picture is adapted to survive in the desert biome. 516 Unit 9 Ecosystems © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (tr) ©Rolf Hicker/All Canada Photos/Corbis; (br) ©Visual&Written SL/Alamy Grassland Tropical grassland Grasses dominate grassland biomes. Frequent fires prevent most trees from growing in grasslands. Prairies and steppes are temperate grasslands. Savannas are tropical grasslands. Tropical grasslands are warmer and may have more precipitation than temperate grasslands. Temperatures in temperate grasslands can fall to 0 °C during winter. Hoofed animals that eat grasses are common in this biome. Bison and pronghorn are found in prairies. Zebras and antelope are found in savannas. Taiga Taiga, or boreal forest, is the northernmost forest biome. It has long, cold winters and Taiga short summers. Taiga soils can stay frozen all year. Mosses and cone-bearing trees such as spruce and pine are common plants in the taiga. Moose, deer, mink, owls, wolves, and lynx are animals that can live there. Many bird species nest in the taiga during the summer. Forest Biomes Tropical rain forests, temperate rain forests, and temperate deciduous forests are other forest biomes. Tropical rain forests have warm, wet climates all year round. Temperate rain forests have wet climates and seasonal temperature changes. Temperate deciduous forests have seasonal temperature changes and less precipitation than rain forests. Animal and plant life is rich in forests. Tropical rain forest The inhabitants of tropical rain forests include trees and vines, sloths, monkeys, insects, and birds. Temperate rain forests have cone- bearing trees and animals such as owls, elk, and cougars. Temperate deciduous forests have trees that lose their leaves in the fall. Mice, squirrels, deer, woodpeckers, and black bears are common animals in this biome. 10 Compare What is the main abiotic factor that makes a temperate rain forest different from a temperate deciduous forest? © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company • Image Credits: (cl) ©John E Marriott/All Canada Photos/Corbis; (tl) ©Oleg Znamenskiy/Fotolia; (bl) ©Joel Sartore/Getty Images Lesson 2 Ecology of Terrestrial Ecosystems 517 Answers 11. food or abiotic factors. Eat Up! What are the feeding relationships Active Reading in a terrestrial ecosystem? Plants are the producers in a terrestrial ecosystem. During 11 Identify Underline the photosynthesis, plants use energy from sunlight to produce sugars. different roles within feeding relationships that occur in a Plants then store these sugars or use them to fuel cell processes. terrestrial ecosystem. Primary consumers in an ecosystem eat producers. Secondary