Trophic Pyramid

Biomes and Ecosystems

Biomes

• Biomes are global geographical areas that share similar climatic conditions.

• Examples of biomes include rain forests, tropical forests, tundra, grasslands, and deserts.

Ecosystems

• Biomes contain ecosystems, which are comprised of the living and nonliving components that occupy an environment.

• Examples of ecosystems include coral reefs and ponds, tidal zones, oceans, coral reefs, kelp forests, alpine meadows, and the Arctic and Antarctic Ocean.

• Ecosystems consist of various trophic levels, which comprise complex networks of food chains called food webs. The more diverse an ecosystem, the healthier and more stable it is.

Differentiating the Two

• The grasslands are a kind of biome, while the African savanna or the Brazilian cerrado are both ecosystems found within the grassland biome.

• Tidal zones, Eastern Pacific Ocean, Pacific Northwest tidal zones, and Puget Sound tidal zones are all specific ecosystems within the marine biome.