Biomes Mind Map
← BiomesHow biotic and abiotic factors shape each of Earth’s biomes, and what limits how many organisms a biome can support.
- ecosystemAll the living and nonliving things in an area and how they interact.A pond is a small ecosystem.
- biomeA large region with a certain climate and the plants and animals that live there.The desert is a dry biome.
- biotic factorA living part of an ecosystem, such as plants, animals, and fungi.Trees are a biotic factor in a forest.
- abiotic factorA nonliving part of an ecosystem, such as sunlight, water, temperature, or soil.Rainfall is an abiotic factor.
- habitatThe place where an organism lives and finds what it needs.A rotting log is a habitat for beetles.
- populationAll the members of one species living in the same area.The deer population grew after a mild winter.
- carrying capacityThe largest population an environment can support over time.The island’s carrying capacity is about 500 deer.
- limiting factorAnything that keeps a population from growing larger, like food, water, or space.Water is a limiting factor in the desert.
- communityAll the populations of different species living in the same area.The pond community includes frogs, fish, and plants.
- parasiteAn organism that lives on or in another organism and harms it.A tick is a parasite that feeds on deer blood.
- biodiversityThe number and variety of different living things in an area.A tropical rain forest has high biodiversity.
- successionChanges in the species and structure of an ecological community over time, including after a disturbance.After the fire, succession slowly turned the burned area back into forest.
- tundraA cold, mostly treeless biome with a short growing season; many areas have permanently frozen ground below the surface.Caribou graze on the tundra in summer.
- taigaA cold biome with long winters and forests of cone-bearing trees.Moose and pine trees live in the taiga.
- desertA biome that gets very little rain.Cactuses store water to survive in the desert.
- grasslandA biome covered mostly by grasses, with few trees.Bison once roamed the grassland.
- temperate forestA biome with four seasons and trees that often lose their leaves in fall.Ohio is in the temperate forest biome.
- tropical rain forestA warm, wet biome near the equator with very high species diversity.Many medicines come from plants in the tropical rain forest.
- aquatic biomeA biome in water, either fresh water or salt water.A coral reef is part of an aquatic biome.