ScienceFreePrintable

Polar vs Tropical Ecosystems

A free science worksheet ready for your classroom. Open in Kuraplan to grab the print-ready PDF, customize it for your students, or generate a fresh version in seconds.

Download now

Name:Date:

Polar vs Tropical Ecosystems

Compare two very different ecosystems using the evidence below. Use the data and food-web diagrams to support your answers; accept that ecosystems vary between locations and seasons.

Two ecosystem snapshots

A tropical rainforest near the Equator is warm throughout the year and receives abundant rainfall. Its layered vegetation provides many habitats, and decomposers recycle nutrients quickly. A polar marine ecosystem around Antarctica has extreme seasonal light: long summer days and very dark winters. Sea ice expands in winter and shrinks in summer. Microscopic algae grow in open water and on the underside of sea ice; krill feed on algae, and many larger animals depend on krill. Both ecosystems contain interconnected food webs, and conditions vary across places and seasons.

Measure

Tropical rainforest

Antarctic coastal marine zone

Typical summer temperature

25–30 °C

−2 to 5 °C near the coast

Seasonal daylight

About 12 hours daily, with little seasonal change

Extreme seasonal change: very long summer days and very dark winter periods

Main producers

Trees, shrubs, ferns and other plants

Microscopic algae and phytoplankton

Trace the energy

Arrows point from a food source to the organism that eats it. These are simplified examples, not complete food webs.

Tropical forest: leaves → caterpillar → small insect-eating bird → hawk

Antarctic marine: algae → krill → penguin → leopard seal

1.Which statement best explains why producers are essential in both ecosystems?

They bring energy into food webs by capturing energy and making organic matter.
They eat every consumer in the ecosystem.
They prevent seasonal changes in climate.

2.Choose one piece of evidence from the seasonal-conditions table that shows how the polar marine environment differs from the tropical rainforest.

3.In the Antarctic chain, which organism is the primary consumer, and what does it eat?

4.A warm spell reduces the amount of sea ice. Explain one possible effect on algae growing under the ice, then one possible knock-on effect in the food chain.

5.True or false: A tropical rainforest must contain more individual organisms than a polar ecosystem because it usually has more species.

TrueFalse

6.Complete the sentence: In the tropical rainforest chain, the hawk is a because it eats another consumer.

7.Complete the sentence: In the Antarctic chain, the algae are because they make their own food.

8.Match each feature in List A to an ecosystem from List B. Use each ecosystem option twice. List A: A. Layered vegetation creates many forest habitats; B. Seasonal sea ice affects habitat and producer growth; C. Warm, rainy conditions support trees and ferns; D. Algae and phytoplankton form the base of a marine food web. List B: 1. Tropical rainforest; 2. Antarctic marine ecosystem.

A. Layered vegetation creates many forest habitats
B. Seasonal sea ice affects habitat and producer growth
C. Warm, rainy conditions support trees and ferns
D. Algae and phytoplankton form the base of a marine food web

2. Antarctic marine ecosystem
2. Antarctic marine ecosystem
1. Tropical rainforest
1. Tropical rainforest

9.Give one reason a rainforest can support many different species. Link your reason to a habitat feature or resource.

10.A classmate says, “Polar ecosystems have no producers because plants cannot grow in the cold.” Correct the claim using evidence from the Antarctic food chain.

11.Compare one way energy enters the two food chains, then explain why a change to a producer could affect organisms higher up the chain.