Transcript Arctic Tundra

Arctic Tundra
By: Kevin, Hayley, and Caroline
Global Locations
 Northern Hemisphere
 Falls between 2 biomes: Taiga and the Ice Caps
Artic Tundra Food Web
Precipitation & Temperature Ranges
 6-10 inches yearly (mostly snow)
 Summer: sun 24/7 (3-12 degrees Celsius)
 Winter: several weeks no sun (-70 to -28 degrees
Celsius)
Common Plants & Animals
 Animals: Polar bear, caribou, arctic fox, snowy hare,
musk ox, rock ptarmigan, narwhal, mountain goat
 Plants: Artic moss, bareberry, arctic willow, arctic
poppy
Threats to the Biome
 People living in tundra: air pollution from cities,
drilling for resources
 Overpopulation of Canadian geese: graze when
vegetation is scarce
 Global Warming: shrinks the tundra
Animal Adaptations
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Hibernation: bears sleeping through winter
Fur: polar bears and caribou have hollow hairs
Burrowing: hares and lemmings live underground
Body shape: shorter limbs, more compact frames
reduce heat loss
Plant Adaptations
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Grow close to ground
Small leaves
Use as little energy as possible
Extremely resistant from cold
Photosynthesize from snow
Keystone Species
 Arctic moss: primary food source
Unique Creatures
 Musk ox
 Narwhal
 Both only live in Arctic Tundra
Endemic Species
 Musk ox, narwhal, bearberry, polar bears, caribou,
ptarmigan
Invasive Species
 Canadian geese: growing in population size
 Canis lupus (the dog): active hunters
 Beaver: cut down trees, cause floods
Indicator Species
 Tundra plants: willows, sedges and grasses, lichens,
mosses
 Caribou and Reindeer: THE indicator animal species
for the Arctic Tundra, Reindeer is the Old World form
and is smaller and Caribou is North American form
Important Abiotic Factors
 Abiotic factors that influence tundra are strong
winds, rainfall, short summer days, long and cold
winters, and permafrost layer
 Average winter temperature: -34 degrees C.
 Average summer temperature: 3-12 degrees C.
Examples of Resource Partitioning
 A plant species in a nitrogen-limited, arctic tundra
community were differentiated in timing, depth,
nitrogen uptake, and this species dominance is
strongly correlated with the uptake of most available
soil nitrogen forms.