Habitats of the World

Habitats of the World

Arctic/Tundra

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Rainforest you can click this link to find out
how to navigate the tutorial.

Desert
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information on Habitats

Grasslands

Ocean
Arctic/Tundra

Click to watch short video on the Tundra habitat.

 Arctic/Tundra - Plants
There are as many as 1,700 different plant species that grow here. That
may be surprising considering the extreme conditions. The tundra
plants consist mostly of mosses, grasses, lichens, sedges, and shrubs.
About 400 types of flowers bloom in the growing season.

The growing season lasts just for 50-60 days. Except for a few birches
in the lower altitudes, no trees grow in the tundra. Because of the
permafrost, trees cannot send their roots into the ground. Although in
some parts of the tundra willows do grow, but only up to about 8 cm, or
3 inches, high.

Developing over thousands of years, most of the vegetation have

adapted to the conditions in the tundra by growing in a dense mat of
roots. Except where the soil is fertilized by animal droppings, the soil is
low in minerals and nutrients.
 Arctic/Tundra - Animals

Animals are adapted to handle cold winters and to breed and

raise young quickly in the very short and cool summers.
Even though there is not much biodiversity, with only about
48 species of land mammals occurring in the tundra biome,
there are surprisingly large numbers of each species.

The tundra animals are mainly slightly modified forms of

deer, bears, foxes, wolves, rodents, hares, and shrews. In
North America, there are large caribou herds, which are
called reindeer in Eurasia, which feed on plants and lichens.
Smaller musk-oxen herds also roam about the frozen
regions. The predators of the tundra biome are polar bears,
arctic foxes, and wolves. Some of the smaller mammals are
lemmings and snowshoe rabbits.
Arctic/Tundra -
Climate/Location
Climate Location
Temperatures during the arctic winter can dip to -60 The arctic tundra is at the top of the world -- around the
F (-51 C)! The average temperature of the warmest North Pole. It is the portion shaded yellow.
month is between 50 F (10 C) and 32 F (0 C).
Sometimes as few as 55 days per year have a mean
temperature higher than 32 F (0 C). The average
annual temperature is only 10 to 20F (-12C to -6C).
The soil is often frozen. Permafrost, or permanent
ice, usually exists within a meter of the surface.
Water is unavailable during most of the year.
Annual precipitation is very low, usually less than
10 inches (25 centimeters).
Rainforest

Click to watch short video on the Rainforest habitat.

 Rainforest - Plants
The Rainforest has perfect conditions for plant growth with warm, wet,
long summers. There are more types of plant species in the Rainforest
then any other habitat in the world. See the photos of the Ceiba tree
with me and my fiancé. The Ceiba tree is the largest tree found in the
Rainforest.

More pictures from my trip to the

Peruvian Rainforest. These are giant lily
pads about five feet in diameter.
 Rainforest - Animals
The sloth is a slow-moving mammal that lives in trees.
These plant-eaters are more active at night; they eat leaves,
tender young shoots, and fruit. These mostly-quiet
mammals live in the tropical rainforests of South and A tarantula is a large, hairy spider. This is
Central America. Sloths may live 10-20 years in the wild. our brave tour guide.
Here is a photo of me with a sloth from the rainforest.
Rainforest -
Climate/Location
Climate Location
The tropical rain forest is a forest of tall trees in a Almost all rain forests lie near the equator. See
region of year-round warmth. An average of 50 to the Rainforest highlighted in yellow.
260 inches (125 to 660 cm.) of rain falls yearly.
Rain forests belong to the tropical wet climate
group. The temperature in a rain forest rarely gets
higher than 93 °F (34 °C) or drops below 68 °F (20
°C); average humidity is between 77 and 88%;
rainfall is often more than 100 inches a year. There
is usually a brief season of less rain. In monsoonal
areas, there is a real dry season.
Desert

Click to watch short video on the Desert habitat.

Desert - Plants

Plants in the desert are forced to make many adaptations in

order to survive in this dry, hot land. Some adaptations are
when rain falls they sprout at that moment, bloom quickly,
ripen their seed in a few days, then whither and die. Other
plants depend on underground water. Most plants have
developed roots that grow up to 80 ft. long.

The Cactus also survives because it has a thick waxy layer

on the outside of its stems and leaves. This helps to retain
water and protect tissues from intense sunlight. Other plants
store water in their fleshy stems or leaves and are called
succulents.
Desert - Animals

A variety of plant and animal species live there, thanks to

their power to adapt to the harsh environment. Camels, for
example, are able to store fat in their humps. Animals like
rattlesnakes and scorpions spend most of the day
underground but come out at night to eat and hunt.
Desert - Climate/Location

Climate Location
Deserts represent one-fifth of the land surface of the The majority of deserts are in the Arabian Peninsula,
world. Deserts are characterized by extreme heat Australia, The Americas, North and South Africa, India
and dryness, very hot in the daytime and chilly or and Pakistan. See the desert highlighted in yellow.
even cold at night.
The average temperature is 100 degrees during the
day and below 50 degrees at night. The wettest
desert does not get more than 10 inches of rain a
year.
Deserts often get their names like "Death Valley" or
"The place from where there is no return" because
of their extreme conditions.
Grassland

Click to watch short video on the Tundra habitat.

Grassland - Plants

Grasses are adapted to hot, dry areas: they have long, narrow leaves that lose less
water than larger leaves do and their root systems are extensive and deep so that they
can acquire water even during drought conditions.
 Grassland - Animals
Grasslands are full of life, with many animals that rely upon the
abundant resources of grasslands to provide them with food,
shelter and a place to reproduce.
The diversity of plant species allows a wide variety of plant-
eating insects to thrive there and the fact that most of the plants
are grasses means that grass-eating herbivores in particular can
be found in this kind of habitat. The watering hole serves as a
great meeting place for these zebras.

A baby tiger follows it’s mother’s lead.

Grassland -
Climate/Location
Climate Location
The climate for grasslands is basically dry.
Precipitation usually does not exceed 100 cm per See the Grasslands highlighted in yellow.
year, with a minimum near 20 cm per year. Also,
grasslands tend to be in temperate to subtropical
areas, often with cold winters and hot summers.
The average annual temperatures range from below
0 degrees C to about 20° C.
The warmer end of this range would probably tend
towards tropical savanna. As moisture levels
increase, grasslands usually give way to temperate
forests or taiga, depending on the temperature.
Ocean

Click to watch short video on the Ocean habitat.

Ocean - Plants

The oceans are full of life. A variety of animals and plants

must survive together. In shallow depths, the plant life
flourishes.

Sunlight beams down on the different types of algae.

These simple plants serve as food for many animals of the
sea. Not only are they important to the food chain, they are
also used by people in toothpaste, make-up and even
clothes!
 Ocean - Animals

See the eight armed octopus that live near the

Oceans coral reefs.
Invertebrates like crabs, starfish and worms roam the sea floors.
Coral grow in large numbers, creating a home for these creatures.
All of these animals are called invertebrates, because they don't
have a backbone. These smaller invertebrates feed the larger
animals like the sharks.
Ocean - Climate/Location

Climate Location
The average temperature of all oceans is about 39
degrees F (3.8 degrees C). But the oceans in
different parts of the world can have very different See the worlds oceans highlighted in yellow.
climates!
Tropical oceans, which are near the equator, are
warm and clear on the surface. The equator is an
imaginary belt which circles the earth and divides it
into two halves. The areas of land and water which
are near this belt are called the tropics, and are
always warm.
But in the cold polar regions of the far north and far
south, the ocean is so cold that its' surface is frozen!
Huge blocks of ice called ICEBERGS drift in these
seas.
The sun's heat warms only the surface of the water.
Deep down, oceans everywhere are cold, dark, and
still.
Quiz
1) What habitat does the polar bear live in?
a) arctic c) desert
b) rainforest
2) What is the term for ground that stays frozen all year long?
a) ice c) permafrost
b) dirt
3) What habitat has the biggest variety of plants species?
a) ocean c) rainforest
b) grassland
4) How has the camel adapted to the desert conditions?
a) They have a long neck to help shade them from the sun.
b) They have a hump on their back to store fat.
c) They have long hair that keeps them warm during the day.
5) How much of the Earth surface does the world Desert cover?
a) 1/5 c) 1/12
b) 1/8

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Correct!
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1) What habitat does the polar bear live in?

The polar bear is the world's largest carnivore species found on land. It is also
the largest bear. An adult male weighs around 350–680 kg (770–1,500 lb).
They are found mostly within the Arctic circle.

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2) What is the term for ground that stays
frozen all year long?

Permafrost or permafrost soil is soil at or below the freezing point of water (0 °C

or 32 °F) for two or more years.

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3) What habitat has the biggest variety of
plants species?

More than two thirds of the world's plant species are found in the tropical
rainforests: plants that provide shelter and food for rainforest animals as well
as taking part in the gas exchanges which provide much of the world's
oxygen supply.

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4) How has the camel adapted to the
desert conditions?

A camel's hump does not store water; the humps actually store the camel’s fat,
which can be up to 35kg. The camel's hump acts as a food reserve and camels can
lose up to 25% of their body fat without becoming ill or weakened.

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5) How much of the Earth surface does the
world Desert cover?

About 1/5 the of Earth's land surface is occupied by desert, most of it icy or
rocky rather than covered with sand dunes. And a substantial percentage of it
supports animal and plant life.

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Quiz Answers

1) a – Arctic
2) c - Permafrost
3) c - Rainforest
4) b - They have a hump on their back to store water.
5) a - 1/5

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References
 www.unitedstreaming.com
 www.nationalgeographic.com
 Google Images