Polar Ice Biome

By Jon Joshlin and Alex Bogert

Location of Polar Ice Biome

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Polar Ice Biome

• This biome refers to the large polar ice cap found in the frigid zone environments of the Arctic, Greenland and Antarctica. The Polar Ice biome is a marine biome that is rich in nutrients from the land around them, and contain ice.  This makes the perfect environment

for plankton, and plankton fuel the surrounding ecosystem.

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Climate Comparison

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Climate

• Basically, it's below freezing here year round.

• Summer daytime temperature: + 5 C

• Summer nighttime temperature:  -30 C

Climate

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Plant Species

• It's ICE, folks!  There are no higher plants; in some areas algae may grow in the snow and give it a pinkish color.

• With no exposed soil, it's hard for plants to take root, so there really isn't much of a base for a biological community on land (with the exception of those algae in the snow and perhaps a few insects that feed on them). 

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Animal Species

• Few animals live in the Polar Ice Biome because they have to adapted to extreme conditions to live here.

• Beluga Whale (Delphinapterus leucas)

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Animal Species

• Killer Whales (Orcinus orca)

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Animal Species

• Penguins

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Animal Species

• Harbor Seals (Phoca vitulina)

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Phytoplankton

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Animal SpeciesArctic Fox

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Animal SpeciesArctic Hare

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Animal SpeciesArctic Wolf

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Polar Bear

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Animal Species

• Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)

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Walrus

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Threats

• There aren't a lot of people running out to build houses on the polar ice biome.  Development is not a major problem, nor is there much pressure from human populations (although pollution problems near human settlements can be severe; it is a great technical challenge to effect efficient sewage treatment in a cold environment, for instance).

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Threats

• The biggest threat, however, is from oil and gas development and the resulting global warming.

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Oil Drilling

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Global Warming

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Global Warming

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Global Warming

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1979

2003

Polar Ice Biome

•The End!!

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