| A | B |
|---|
| climate | a combination of abiotic factors such as annual rainfall and temperature |
| chaparral | common biome found in California and the Mediaterranean Sea area |
| desert | very dry, often hot biome |
| biome | a large region characterized by a specific climate and certain plants and animals |
| evergreen | plants that keep their leaves all year round |
| grassland | biome whose vegetation is mainly grasses |
| prairies | temperate grasslands |
| savannas | tropical grasslands |
| tundra | a treeless plain found in the Arctic or on mountaintops |
| permafrost | soil that stays frozen year round |
| coniferous forests | forests which contain many conifers |
| conifer | tree that produce seeds in cones |
| deciduous | from the Latin "to fall off," refers to trees |
| forest canopy | area in forest tree tops |
| tropical rain forest | forest near equator that is hot and gets lots of rain |
| phytoplankton | tiny producers that float in the oceans |
| surface zone | part of ocean that receives sunlight and is relatively warm |
| thermocline | part of ocean where temperature drops sharply |
| deep zone | part of the ocean that is dark and cold |
| intertidal zone | ocean biome between high and low tides |
| neritic zone | ocean biome near shore...lots of things live here! |
| oceanic zone | largest ocean biome |
| abyssal zone | the very darkest, coldest ocean biome |
| estuary | where salty ocean water and fresh river water mix |
| coral | tiny animals that form reefs with their skeletons |
| kelp forest | biome found in Monterey Bay in which you'd see very large algae |
| hydrothermal vents | where water heated by volcanic action is released into the ocean |
| Sargasso Sea | biome in which large rafts of seaweed float |
| tributary | small river that feeds into a larger one |
| littoral zone | biome near shore in ponds and lakes |
| wetland | a land biome that contains a lot of wet land...get it? |
| marsh | treeless wetland ecosystem with many grasses |
| swamp | like a marsh, but with trees! |
