North Attleborough
Public Schools

Thematic Links Unit

ECOLOGY/BIOMES

 Created by Michelle McDermott, North Attleborough Middle School, Grade 6 teacher

Deserts      Rainforests      Oceans     Grasslands    

Learn about deserts:   what they are, where they are located, plants and animals and animal adaptations.

Click here to find the information on the following desert topics: (see left index for topics contained below)

  *What is a desert like?

  *What are the different types of deserts?

  *What causes deserts?

  *Deserts of the world.

  *What are the plants of the desert?

  *What are the animals of the desert?

What adaptations have animals made? - Extreme temperatures and lack of water create survival problems for the animals in the desert.  Find out the various behavioral and physiological means that animals use to solve their heat and water problems in this environment.

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RAINFORESTS

Learn about the different types of rainforests, their locations, the layers of the rainforest, and the plants and animals.

Types of Rainforests - Find out what the two types of rainforests are.

Where are the rainforests located? - In what parts of the world would we find rainforests?

What are rainforests like? - Find out how rainforests are alike, rainfall, & vegetation.

The layers of the rainforest - How many layers are in the rainforest?  What are they?

Rainforest plants - The following plant adaptations enable tropical plants to thrive in the hot, humid and wet conditions of the tropical forest.

Animals of the rainforest - From the Bearded Pig to the Xenosaurus, learn about the different animals of the rainforest and their intense competition to survive.  (Use left index to click on the various animals.)

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OCEANS

Covering three quarters of the Earth's surface, oceans are as diverse as they are large. The open seas is an interesting and little understood world full of bizarre and fascinating creatures. This ecosystem is a self-containing world with a complex food chain and many organisms that have adapted to extreme and unusual conditions.

Ocean Zonation - See how many different zones the ocean is divided into.

Atlantic and Pacific Oceans - How are these two oceans different?

Ocean Light Zones - The ocean is divided into three zones based on the amount of light it receives.

How does the ocean refresh itself? - What role does "upwelling" play in replenishing the ocean's nutrients?

Ocean Forests - Are there really forests in the ocean?

Open Ocean creatures - Explore the realm of the deep sea and meet some of the most strange and mysterious creatures on earth.

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GRASSLANDS

About one quarter of the earth's land is in the grasslands. This biome can be found on every continent except Antarctica. Grasslands exist on either side of two desert belts that circle the earth. Tropical grasslands -- those closest to the equator -- are hot all year long. Those farther from the equator -- such as the U.S. prairies -- have both hot summers and harsh winters.

Types of Grasslands - Find out what the three types of grasslands are and why the U.S. prairies are called the "breadbasket of the world."

Grasslands of the world - Besides locations in the U.S. and Canada, where else in the world can you find grasslands?

Plants of the grasslands - Click here to find the answers to some of these questions:  What are some of the most beautiful prairie flowers?  How are prairies maintained?  What is one of the best animal adaptations?  What are harmful prairie plants?  What is the tallest plant on the prairie?

Animals of the grasslands - Grasslands are home to large herds of grazing animals.  Click on the left column to learn about a variety of animals from African Elephants to Warthogs.

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