Every inch of the earth’s surface consists of one or more biomes. A biome is a formation of flora and fauna (plants and animals) that have common characteristics as a result of similar climates and can be found on different continents. Essentially, biomes are distinct communities that have mushroomed due to a shared physical climate…
The word chaparral comes from the Spanish word Chaparro, meaning scrub oak. Chaparral biome is a relatively small yet one of the most extensive biomes in the world. It’s more extensive than the desert, the forests, and the sea shore. It’s virtually everywhere. Chaparral is created when cool water from an ocean or sea merges…
If you’ve ever scuba-dived or snorkeled near a coral reef, then you know that these series of small and gigantic structures are part of an interesting yet sensitive ecosystem. Coral reefs are important to marine animals as they provide them food, shelter and breeding grounds. Many think that coral reef is a composition of the…
Marine is the largest biome in the world. It takes up a whopping 70% of the Earth and accounts for 90% of the world’s water supply. This biome boasts more than 230 distinct species. The Marine biome is characterized by salty waters that have a lot of biodiversity making up numerous complex ecosystems. The marine…
We are fast losing earth’s greatest natural treasures when we are just starting to appreciate their unique value. Rainforests once attributed to 14% of the entire earth’s cover. Today, the figure has dropped to a measly 6%, and biologists have warned that the remaining rainforests could be decimated in the next 40 years. Rainforest deforestation…
The earth consists of a myriad of charming places. It’s also home to numerous plant and animal species including humans. This entire species live in completely distinct environments. These distinct environments are known as Biomes. Some of the main biomes of the world include the grassland biome, desert biome, deciduous forest biome, taiga biome, rainforest…
We watch documentaries and read a plethora of materials on the history of animal and plant species every single day. But how did humans discover the origins of these animals and plant species? It was with the help of fossils. Paleontologists have been able to harness vital information from fossils to give us clues to…
The entire human, plant and animal life spins around water. Lack of water can bring a region to its knees. Some regions entirely depend on agriculture for survival and when lack of water persists; their futures are literally dried up. But it’s not just farmers that need water to get by; industries, cities, and animals…
Deforestation persists to be one of the biggest environmental challenges in the world. More and more forests are cleared to create room for farming and the extraction of timber among other raw materials. In many parts of the world, the original forest cover areas have been reduced by more than 20% and some areas have…
The Southern Ocean is also known as the Antarctic Ocean located in the Southern hemisphere that surrounds the Antarctica. It is ranked as the fourth- largest of the five principal oceans in the world constituting 15 percent of the earth’s waters. The Southern Ocean is the newest named ocean recognized by the United States Board…
Succession is a series of progressive changes in the composition of an ecological community over time. Succession is directional. Different stages in a particular habitat succession can usually be accurately predicted. Ecological successions are the noticeable changes that occur in an ecological setup over time. These changes are often predictable and take place in an…
A Food chain can be defined as the feeding relationship between the different organisms that make up our ecosystem. An ecosystem is a commune of living organisms. The ecosystem also includes the non-living components like, earth, water, fire, air and ether. The living and non-living together form the environment. Within the environment, the living or…
The physical world is composed of living and non-living things. They are generally referred to as the biotic and the abiotic. The abiotic is the physical objects like rivers, mountains, volcanoes and water-bodies. The biotic is the world of flora and fauna. Flora The word “flora” is used to designate plant life. The word “flora”…
Reforestation is the consequence of deforestation which according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, is a complete clearance of trees. Deforestation is usually planned and deliberate felling of trees and the land cleared is used for activities which are not related to the forest. The act of re-growing trees in an area or…
That branch of science which deals with the physical and biological properties of the ocean and the various phenomena related to it is known as oceanography. It is the branch of Geography that studies the ocean and is also referred to as oceanology. Oceanography, as the name suggests, is that particular discipline of knowledge that…