Arctic TundraBy: Kevin, Hayley, and Caroline
Northern Hemisphere Falls between 2 biomes: Taiga and the Ice
Caps
Global Locations
Artic Tundra Food Web
6-10 inches yearly (mostly snow) Summer: sun 24/7 (3-12 degrees Celsius) Winter: several weeks no sun (-70 to -28
degrees Celsius)
Precipitation & Temperature Ranges
Animals: Polar bear, caribou, arctic fox, snowy hare, musk ox, rock ptarmigan, narwhal, mountain goat
Plants: Artic moss, bareberry, arctic willow, arctic poppy
Common Plants & Animals
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
Threats to the Biome
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
Animal Adaptations
Grow close to ground Small leaves Use as little energy as possible Extremely resistant from cold Photosynthesize from snow
Plant Adaptations
Arctic moss: primary food source
Keystone Species
Musk ox Narwhal Both only live in Arctic Tundra
Unique Creatures
Musk ox, narwhal, bearberry, polar bears, caribou, ptarmigan
Endemic Species
Canadian geese: growing in population size Canis lupus (the dog): active hunters Beaver: cut down trees, cause floods
Invasive 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
Indicator Species
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.
Important Abiotic Factors
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.
Examples of Resource Partitioning
