Notes for ESL Students

Major Terrestrial Ecosystems

Terrestrial Biomes
- terrestrial = Earth

- biomes - regions of land determined by weather

4 Biomes of Canada
1) Tundra Biome - cold desert, short growing season (for plants), polar bears and caribou
2) Boreal Forest Biome - biggest, lots of rainfall, warm, coniferous trees, moss and ferns
3) Grassland Biome - prairies, hot and dry summers, grass, shrubs and bison
4) Temperate Deciduous Forest Biome - long growing season, diverse, variety of plants and
animals

1) 2) 3)

4)
Major Aquatic Ecosystems

Freshwater Ecosystems
- lakes, rivers, streams
- oligotrophic - low nutrients = little support for life
- eutrophic - high nutrients = lots of support for life

- wetlands - bogs and marshes, lots of plants and animals

- watershed - area of land where all the water drains into one river or lake

Marine Ecosystem
- saltwater
- 70% of Earth’s surface is ocean
- important for the water cycle

- open ocean - supports little life

- coral reefs - grow in warm, shallow oceans, supports a lot of life

- estuaries - both freshwater and saltwater, have clams and scallops

- mangroves - grow in hot and sandy shorelines, home for lots of marine animals

- intertidal zone - part-time land and part-time water, water levels go up and down, seaweed,
starfish and urchins