STEPS:
Choose a biome
Options: Tropical Forest, Savanna, Desert, Chaparral, Temperate Grassland, Temperate Broadleaf Forest, Northern Coniferous Forest, Tundra, Lake, Wetland, River, Estuary, Intertidal Zone, Oceanic Pelagic Zone, Cora Reef, Marine Benthic Zone.
Research
Read Ch. 52 of our textbook. ( Campbell biology AP edition, 12e book)
Once you understand the general characteristics of your chosen biome, do a search in the library or Google Scholar to find books and peer-reviewed articles on the biome chosen and the species that inhabit it. Here are the specific types of information you will need to write your paper:
Physical characteristics of where the biome occurs: aquatic/terrestrial, latitudes, climate, etc.
Types of vegetation that are characteristic of this biome
Types of animals that are characteristic of this biome
Other organisms that may be characteristic of this biome
Adaptations of these organisms to the physical characteristics of the biome
Where in the world does this biome occur?
What is the current health status of this biome? Is it pretty intact or is it threatened by human activity or climate change?
IMPORTANT NOTE: For this paper, you can ONLY use information from books or peer-reviewed articles. Information from websites will not be accepted unless it is used only as a source for pictures.
You need a minimum of 5 sources (books or peer-reviewed articles)
Paper
Below is the list of sections I would like to see in your paper. Remember to include headings for each.
Introduction:
The Introduction should have a good paragraph (a paragraph needs to have at least 4-5 sentences).
Here you will define what is a biome and how one is characterized. You will also introduce the reader to your chosen biome. Explain why you chose this biome and what exactly in the biome you find interesting.
End the introduction with a clear description of the objective of the paper.
Physical Characteristics:
Here you will describe the physical characteristics of your biome: the climate, the latitudes/longitudes it is found at, the amount of sunlight, temperature, precipitation, elevation, etc.
Include a diagram of where this biome is found on the planet. Remember to number your figures and include a descriptive caption below each.
Typical Organisms:
Start this section by describing the challenges the physical environment imposes for living organisms to be able to thrive in this biome. Then, describe what types of adaptations would be required for organisms to live there.
After setting the scenario of challenges and adaptations, describe what plants, animals, and any other type of organisms are able to thrive in this biome. Give specific names of species (remember to follow the rules of nomenclature) and include pictures as needed (space taken by pictures doesn’t count towards the total number of pages of the paper).
Current Status:
Describe what you found in the literature about major threats to this biome and their current status. Are they pretty untouched by human activities and the organisms are healthy, or is this an extremely vulnerable biome due to human activities, climate change, diseases etc?
Conclusion:
Based on your research and personal experience, why is this biome important to the world? What do you think should be done in order to protect it or restore it?
The conclusion is not a summary of the paper, it is pretty much the conclusion you take from everything you learned during the research.
References cited:
Minimum of 5 sources required. These have to be from books and peer-reviewed published papers.
Material Type
Reference List/Bibliography
A book in print
Baxter, C. (1997). Race equality in health care and education. Philadelphia: Ballière Tindall.
An eBook
Millbower, L. (2003). Show biz training: Fun and effective business training techniques from the worlds of stage, screen, and song. Retrieved from http://www.amacombooks.org/
An article in a print journal
Alibali, M. W. (1999). How children change their minds: Strategy change can be gradual or abrupt. Developmental Psychology, 35, 127-145.
An article in a journal
Carter, S., & Dunbar-Odom, D. (2009). The converging literacies center: An integrated model for writing programs. Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 14(1), 38-48. Retrieved from http://kairos.technorhetoric.net/