Activity 2 - North American Biomes

Use the resources listed below to help you complete this activity.

State-Based Resources
General Resources

To learn more about this topic, visit the following web sites:

Climate and Biomes

Biomes, Exploring the Environment
Scientists have divided the broad spectrum of climates and ecological communities found on Earth into biomes in different ways - some with many divisions, some with only a few. This site focuses on some of the common biomes with photos that accompany separate descriptions of each.

• Arctic Tundra
• Deciduous Forest
• Desert
• Taiga
• Tropical Rainforest
• Tropical Savannah

Mission Biomes, Earth Observatory, NASA
Topics covered on this page include:

• Tundra
• Shrubland
• Rainforest
• Grassland
• Desert
• Temperature Deciduous Forest
• Coniferous Forest

Biomes for Teachers! University of Richmond
This page includes links to other sources of background information, a slide show of biomes, activities, and lesson plans.

To complete the investigation, each student group will need:

• Internet access

To find scientific information about most common plants and animals in your biome, visit the following web sites:

Exploring the Environment

• Arctic Tundra Animals
• Arctic Tundra Plants
• Deciduous Forest Animals
• Deciduous Forest Plants
• Desert Animals
• Desert Plants
• Taiga Animals
• Taiga Plants
• Tropical Rainforest Animals
• Tropical Rainforest Plants
• Tropical Savannah Animals
• Tropical Savannah Plants

Introduction to Biomes, Radford University
Each of the pages below outlines the animals and plants that live in that particular biome.

• Tundra
• Boreal Forest or Taiga
• Deciduous Forest
• Tropical Evergreen Forest
• Tropical Savannah
• Desert Scrub
• Temperate Grasslands
• Mediterranean Scrub

Characteristics of the Earth's Terrestrial Biomes, Dr. Michael Pidwirny, University of British Columbia Okanagan
Here is another article that provides descriptions of the animals and plants in different biomes.

 

Inquiring Further:

To learn more about herbivores and carnivores, visit the following web site:

The Energy Pyramids, World Builders
Check out this site with an energy pyramid for several different biomes. Click on a "K Calorie Pyramid" link under each biome (for example, Hot Desert) to see the number of calories the carnivores must obtain from the herbivores to survive.

To learn more about Alaskan animal adaptations to climate, visit the following web site:

Alaska Wildlife Notebook Series, Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Read about Alaskan big game, marine mammals, small game, birds, furbearers, fish, shellfish, amphibians, or reptiles.

Send all comments about this website to education@agiweb.org

Last updated: May 11, 2010

This project is supported, in part, by the National Science Foundation and the AGI Foundation. Opinions expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Foundation.