Tundra Food Web 40°17'6.27"N 105°41'17.49"W

Location: Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado

Animals of the Tundra - 76°25'16.52"N 110°56'42.76"E

Location: Taymyr Peninsula, Siberia, Arcitc Tundra

The animals of the Arctic Tundra have adapted to bear through the harsh long winters.

• breed and raise young quickly
• ave an extra layer of fat for insulation
• hibernation when food is not abundant
• reptiles and amphibians are rare because of cold temperatures
• constant emigration and immigration

Ermine: white in the winter and creamy brown-white in the summer. They make their dens in the old roots of trees or in the crevice of a rock.
Genus: Mustela
Species: erminea

Snowy Owl: their eyes take up more space in their skull than their brains. Their hearing is so sensitive that they can hear vole and lemmings deep beneath the snow. The owl is a predator and keeps the environment from overpopulating.
Genus: Nyctea
Species: scandiaca

Arctic Fox: makes its home in small burrows in mounds or rock piles. They are scavengers and often follow behind polar bears to feed off the left behind remains.
Genus: Lagopus
Species: alopex


Winter coat



Summer Coat

Caribou: large members of the deer family. Both males and females have antlers, unlike deers. Caribou have large hooves to help them maneuver through the snow. During harsh winters, they have the ability to go into partial hibernation by lowering their metabolism.
Genus: Rangifer
Species: tarandus

Harlequin Duck: has a buoyant, compact body, with strong webbed feet, which give the duck the power to swim through torrent waters. Diet consists of mussels, shellfish, aquatic insects, crustaceans, and small fish.
Genus: Histrionicus
Species: histrionicus

Symbiotic Relationships in the Tundra - 69°12'29.99"N 166°10'1.67"E

Mutualistic relationship: Algae and Fungi

 



arctic lichen


• The fungus part of the lichen is called the mycobiont and the algae is phycobiont. Although lichens are composite organisms, they are catergorized as fungus because that is the dominant part of the lichen (thallus). The algae provides the food through photosynthesis and the lichen provides the structure.





Commensalistic Relationship: Caribou and the Arctic Fox
The arctic fox will follow behind a caribou while it is digging up the ground to find food (lichen). The arctic fox can then hunt for subnivean animals (animals that live in a layer beneath the snow). The subnivean animals come to the surface because of the caribou digging, making it easier for the arctic fox to catch them. The caribou is unaffected while the fox benefits from the caribou's actions.

Parasitic Relationship: Tape Worm and Caribou, Polar Bears, and Wolves

When the tape worm is in the larval stage, it lives within the caribou feeding on its liver. After the infected caribou is killed, the polar bear or wolf that killed it ingests the tape worm. The tapeworm does not kill the caribou, polar bear, or wolf but does cause scars on the liver where it was feeding.

Competitive Relationship: Caribou and Musk Ox

Caribou and Musk Ox typically eat the same food: lichen, berries, sedges, grasses. If food is scarce, the musk ox might begin to compete for food with the caribou.

Location: Northeastern Siberia

Endangered Species in the Tundra - 69° 6'0.34"N 143°59'55.19"W

Location: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska

Caribou are hunted for their hide, which is used for many things like tents, sleeping bags, and clothing. The number of caribou has decline from 2 million in the 1900s to less than million today.

Predators of the Tundra - 53°53'16.06"N 98°38'25.22"W

Location: Northern Manitoba, Canada- Alpine Tundra 
Snowy Owl: feeds on arctic foxes, lemmings, voles, and various seabirds.

Polar Bears: primarily eat seals. In the summer eat lemmings, arctic foxes, and ducks.

Wolverine: eat small rodents and rabbits and occasionally large prey like caribou.

Coevolution Mechanisms - 81°37'45.23"N 12°38'25.15"W

Camoflouge in the Tundra

• Arctic Fox: During the winter, the fox's coat will turn into a snow white color. During the summer, the coat will be a brownish grey color. This allows the fox to be less conspicuous to predators.
•          

Secondary Compounds

• Arctic Willow: during its strongest growing season, the arctic willow will produce a pesticide to keep insects like the Arctic woolly bear away.
• 

Invasive Species - 42°43'14.05"N 1° 8'48.77"E

Location: Pyrenees Mountains, between France and Spain; Alpine Tundra

Purple Loosestrife

• Introduced in the late 1800s for use in flower gardens
• hardy, wetland perennial
• seeds easily dispersed by water, in mud, or attached to animals or people
• spread throughout North America
• native shrubs and mosses are pushed out

Primary and Secondary Succession - 76° 8'54.45"N 63°46'56.54"E

Primary Succession in the tundra would probably begin after a glacier has retreated.

In primary succession pioneer species like mosses, lichen, algae and fungus as well as other abiotic factors like wind and water start to "normalize" the habitat.

Secondary Succession in the tundra would begin after a tundra fire.  Tundra fires are rare because they must reach a certain threshold before spreading. The sparse vegetation makes it difficult for fires to take hold.

Tundra fire in Alaska, July 2009. Lightening sparks fire.

Location: Island north of Russia, Arctic Tundra

Drilling in ANWR, Is it worth it? 69° 6'0.14"N 143°59'54.03"W

The United States has been interested in the oil available in northwestern Alaska since the early 1900s. Drilling there disturbs the habitat of animals that are already having difficulty surviving because of the difficult terrain. Although big businesses still encourage drilling, studies have shown that the oil gained from the oil rigs in Alaska would have little benefit for the future of our economy.
If drilling is allowed to continue in the ANWR, we can expect those species living there to become extinct in the near future.

Some Shaky Figures on ANWR Drilling

By Douglas Waller

http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,170983,00.html

Eco Tourism 2 - 72°13'5.96"N 88°53'11.77"W

PERMAFROST!

 Permafrost is a layer of permanently frozen ice beneath active layer of soil preventing the growth of any large plants with deep root systems.

Location: Baffin Island, Canada; Alpine Tundra

Eco Tourism 3- 54°40'32.10"N 167°42'34.07"E

IT IS FULL OF ENDANGERED SPECIES!!!

A majority of the animals living in the tundra are endangered due to the difficult life of the harsh tundra. Loss of food sources and frigid winters make survival extremely difficult. Come see these animals now before their gone!

Polar Bear

Peary Caribou

Arctic Fox

***Arctic Fox is not endangered worldwide. Reduced populations found in Russia's Mednyi Island and in Fennoscandia (Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Kola Peninsula)*****

Eco Tourism 4- 64° 5'26.32"N 10°35'29.14"E

LAND OF THE ICE FLOWER!

During the winters in the tundra, salt rises to the surface of the sea and freezes forming little figures that look like crystal ice flowers.

Location: Northern Norway; Arctic Tundra

Eco Tourism 5 - 68°59'14.29"N 144°56'15.75"W

SUMMER SUN ALL DAY LONG!!!

During the summer months of the tundra, the sun shines 24-7, all day long.

Location: Northern Alaska, Arctic tundra

Unique Characteristic of the Tundra - 70°49'34.18"N 152°22'3.05"W

ANTI FREEZE MOSQUITOES!!!

The mosquitoes that occur in the tundra prevent themselves from freezing by substituting the water in their bodies with glycerol, therefore they can't become frozen mosquitoes!

Location: Northern Canada, Arctic Tundra

Biotic Features of the Tundra - 47°47'40.52"N 123°41'5.96"W

Location: Olympic National Park, Washington, Alpine Tundra

• Plants like heaths and mosses have to adapt to the very long and cold winters because the sun does not come up in the winter
• Wildlife like arctic tundra animals include snowy owls, reindeer, polar bears, white foxes, lemmings, arctic hares, wolverines, caribou, migrating birds, mosquitoes, and black flies.

Biogeographic Cycles - 62° 2'47.12"N 13°53'5.47"E

PHOSPHOROUS CYCLE

NITROGEN CYCLE

CARBON CYCLE



HYDROLIC CYCLE


Location: Sweden; Alpine Tundra



Limiting Factors - 65°47'34.00"N 169° 3'21.12"W

Location: Big Diomede Island, Russia; Alpine Tundra

Density Dependent: Describes a factor that influences individuals in a population to a degree that varies in response to how crowded (dense) the population is.

• overgrazing of lichen by the moose and caribou decreases the lichen population. The wolves following behind the caribou as they eat the lichen, will then over eat the subnivean animals greatly decreasing their population.
• increases in the populations will increase chances of disease

Density Independent: A factor that influences individuals in a population in a manner that does not vary with the extent of crowding present in the population.

• harsh cold winter
• food shortage (less lichen or mosses grow)

Eco-Tourism 1 - 76°45'3.54"N 69°50'58.67"W

NO TREES IN THE TUNDRA!

The active dirt layer in the tundra is too shallow for the roots of trees penetrate deep enough, therefore the tundra is made up of primarily shrubs, mosses, and other low bearing plants.

Location:  Moriusaq, Greenland; Arctic Tundra

Plants of the Tundra- 66° 4'10.88"N 165°17'42.78"W

Location: Bering Land Bridge National Preserve, Alpine Tundra 



Although the permafrost makes it difficult for plants to survive, there are some that can. There are lichens, low bearing shrubs, mosses, liverwart, and grasses. There are also 400 species of flowering plants that are able to survive on the rocky soil.

    The plants are adapted to sweeping winds and disturbances of the soil. Plants are usually short and grouped together to bear through the harsh weather. They are able to carry out photosynthesis with little light and low temperatures. Most of the plants reproduce by budding and division rather than flowering.

Arctic Moss: an aquatic plant found growing on the bottom of lakes beds and in and around bogs or fens. It is a very slow growing plant, growing approx. one centimeter per year and shoots living for about seven to nine years.        
Genus: Calliergon                
Species: giganteum


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Rock Willow: grows prostate, shrub, and carpet. It has developed adaptations to bear the cold of the North American Tundra. The arctic willow will produce a pesticide to keep insects away during the growing season.
Genus: Salix
Species: arctica



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Caribou Moss or Reindeer Lichen: although one of its common names is moss, it is not a moss but a lichen.  Grows in arctic and northern regions around the world. When there is little water or light available, the lichen dries out and becomes dormant.
Genus: Cladonia
Species: rangiferina

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Tufted Saxifrage: grows on rocky slopes or crevices. Saxifrage has well developed root system for storing carbohydrates, allowing it to respond quickly to the cold changing tundra weather.
Genus: Saxifraga
Species: caespitosa

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Pasque Flower: only grows on southward facing slopes. Covered in fine silky hairs to insulate it from the harsh tundra cold.

Genus: Anemone
Species: patens

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