Biome survival: Part I.

Each biome has a unique climate. So each biome's plants and animals have developed a variety of adaptations, or traits that help them survive in their environment. Study the chart below to learn about each biome and how certain plants and animals are adapted to live there.

BIOME                              ANIMAL                PLANT
                                ADAPTATIONS           ADAPTATIONS

Temperate Forest            Gray squirrels and     Some plants fill
This temperate biome is     chip-munks gather      their stems with a
located between the polar   nuts and store them    sugary solution,
regions and the tropics.    underground. This      which keeps water in
The forest has four         ensures that they'll   the stem from
seasons: a cold winter,     have food during the   freezing during the
warm summer, and two        chilly winter when     winter.
in-between seasons-spring   food is scarce.
and fall. By winter, the
forest's deciduous trees
have lost their leaves,
which re-grow in the
spring.

Grasslands                  During the dry         During the savannas'
These open, flat areas      season, elephants      dry season, many
are covered with grasses    use their strength     grasses shed their
and few trees. There are    to tear open the       leaves to reduce
two main types: Tropical    trunks of baobab       transpiration, or
grasslands, called          trees, which store     the loss of water
savannas, are warm all      water in their         vapor through pores
year, with a wet and a      trunks. Then, the      in the leaves.
dry season. Temperate       animals drink up.
grasslands have hot
summers and cold winters.

Tropical Rain Forest        The toucan's long      Many trees sport
Found near Earth's          bill helps it reach    leaves with pointed
equator (imaginary line     fruit on branches      "drip tips" that let
around Earth's middle),     that are too fragile   water droplets from
tropical rain forests get   to support the         plentiful rainfall
lots of sun- shine and      weight of some birds   roll off easily.
plenty of rain--more than   that are competing
2.5 meters (8 feet) a       for similar
year. The rain forest       resources.
supports the world's
greatest diversity of
plants and animals.

Tundra                      The arctic hare and    The arctic willow
Spanning the Arctic         arctic fox sport       has shallow roots so
Circle, the tundra is the   white coats. This      it can survive in
coldest and snowiest        form of camouflage     the soil atop the
biome. Temperatures can     helps them blend in    permafrost. This
dip below freezing          with the snow so       layer of frozen
(0[degrees]C, or            they are nearly        earth beneath the
32[degrees]F) for 10        invisible to           soil makes it
months a year. During       predators.             impossible for
this biome's short                                 deep-rooted trees
summer, the sun stays                              and plants to take
overhead 24 hours a day                            hold.
melting the snow for a
brief period.

Desert                      The thorny devil       The barrel cactus
This biome receives less    lizard has a body      has a pleated shape
than 25 cm (10 in.) of      covered with tiny      that lets it expand
precipitation a year.       spines. At night,      like an accordion.
With no moisture-rich       dew forms on the       That way, it can
clouds to block sunrays,    lizard's back. The     store more rain
daytime sun can be          spines channel the     water in its
intense. Hot deserts,       water to its mouth.    tissues.
such as those in
Australia, stay toasty
all year, while cold
deserts, such as
Mongolia's Gobi desert,
can be chilly much of the
year.

Boreal Forest               Some animals, such     Conifers, such as
This belt of coniferous,    as black bears,        pine and spruce,
or cone-bearing, trees      hibernate, or sleep    have a conical shape
stretches across the        through the cold       that lets the heavy
northern portion of North   winter. During this    snow easily slide
America, Europe, and        time they fast,        off their branches.
Asia. Winters are long      relying on stored
and snowy, while summers    fat for energy.
are short. Temperatures
can stay below freezing
(0[degrees]C, or
32[degrees]F) for six
months a year.