The world's biomes

What is a Biome?

A biome is a large geographical area of distinctive plant and animal groups, which are adapted to that particular environment. The climate and geography of a region determines what type of biome can exist in that region. Major biomes include deserts, forests, grasslands, tundra, and several types of aquatic environments. Each biome consists of many ecosystems whose communities have adapted to the small differences in climate and the environment inside the biome.

All living things are closely related to their environment. Any change in one part of an environment, like an increase or decrease of a species of animal or plant, causes a ripple effect of change in through other parts of the environment.

The earth includes a huge variety of living things, from complex plants and animals to very simple, one-celled organisms. But large or small, simple or complex, no organism lives alone. Each depends in some way on other living and non-living things in its surroundings.

To understand a world biome, you need to know:

-What the climate of the region is like.

-Where each biome is found and what its geography is like.

-The special adaptations of the vegetation.

-The types of animals found in the biome and their physical and behavioural adaptations to their environment.

The link below leads to a website on the world’s biomes: it provides detailed information on each biome along with maps and imagery. Some more minor biomes, not in your course work, have also been included so have a look at them if you like but don’t be confused.

World Biomes

Biodiversity

We discussed this image in class but it was difficult to see without the colour. If you look now you will notice that Biodiversity is highest in areas of the tropics and subtropics, dissipating gradually as one moves further toward the polar regions. 

Atmosphere Basics

Hi everyone! follow the links to access the Atmosphere notes put together by the SI Leaders. Please note these should be used in conjunction with your lecture notes and have been put together to help students grasp some of the basic concepts.

Atmosphere Basics

Session 1: Climate Change

So we spoke a lot about climate change and the likely impacts of global warming, The link below provides a summary of many of the key issues discussed in class:

IPCC Summary for Policy Makers

Introduction

Welcome to the ENVS 120 Supplemental instruction (SI) blog. for those of you who don't know,  SI is an academic support model developed by Dr. Deanna Martin at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).The SI program provides peer support by having students who succeeded in traditionally difficult academic courses (SI Leaders)  help other students complete these courses. SI is a non-remedial approach that provides regular review sessions outside of class in which students work collaboratively by discussing readings, comparing notes, working together to predict test items, and sharing ideas for improving class material. SI leaders attend class lectures, take notes, and act as models to those currently taking the course.

The aim of the blog is to keep you (the students) up to date with the exercises done in class and to make sure that you are always able to access the necessary SI material. The worksheets that are done during the week will be posted as well as any other online material (websites, journals, videos, etc...) that we feel will be beneficial to your learning experience. Please note that this is an interactive blog and so we (the SI leaders) encourage all students to participate in this process; by using the comments bar you can post links to anything you find to be beneficial or relevant to your lecture material on the web. You can also use the comments bar for online discussions between each other and to share ideas. Please note, however, that this blog should not be seen as a substitution for regular attendance of SI sessions, as these are the essence of the SI model.