Tundra Biome Project
By crystal Durall 8th class
Biome Desccription
The Tundra Biome is located on top of the world ,So the north pole. It covers a fifth of the Earth's Surface. The most distinctive characteristic of Tundra is the soil ,it's permafrost, a permanently frozen layer of ground. During summer, the top section of the soil may thaw out allowing plants and microorganisms to grow. however, these plants and microorganisms become dormant during the cold winter months.
Abiotic Factors
The arctic tundra is at the top of the world -- around the North Pole. Animals are adapted to handle cold winters and to breed and rise young quickly in the very short and cool summers.
Temperature during the arctic winter can dip to -60 F(-51 C)! The average temperature of the warmest month is between 50 F (0 C). Sometimes as few as 55 days per year have a mean temperature higher than 32 F ( 0 C) the average annual Temperature is only 10to 20F (-12C to -6C).
The soil is often frozen. Permafrost, or permanent ice, usually exists within a meter of the surface. Water is unavailable during most of the year.
Poler bear (Jeff)
A huge bear with an unmistakable creamy-white coat, the polar bear is surprisingly fast and can easily outrun a caribou over a short distance. It wanders over a larger area than any other bear and, of course, swims well.
snow fox (Timmy)
one of the few truly arctic mammals, the arctic fox has well-furred feet and small, rounded ears. It feeds on ground-dwelling birds, lemmings and other small rodents and also eats the leftovers from polar bear kills and carrion, such as stranded marine animals.
Penguins (cannon)
There are many types of penguin one of the most know types of penguins are the Empire Penguin with a yellow crown like thing on there head so they are called Empire.
Biotic Factors
There are many animal some like the ones you see above and other animal like the ones you see below. The cold and the bad winters make life in the tundra very hard. There are no plants in the Tundra it is way to cold only in the summer can you see at lest 1 plant. Every animal must adapt in order to surviver. some grow a think fur which turn white in the winter for camouflage to surviver and to not be seen by prey or animal that might try to eat them up for lunch
Gyrfalcon
An impressive bird and the largest of the falcons, the gyrfalcon has a stockier build than the peregrine. Plumage can be dark, white or gray. Most breed north of the timberline and remain in the Arctic all year, but some populations migrate south for the winter.
rock ptarmige
he ground-dwelling rock ptarmigans depend on camouflage for defense, and to achieve this in the changing background of their northerly range, they adopt different plumages. The summer plumage is mottled to blend with the forest, while during the winter snows ptarmigans have white plumage, only the tail feathers remaining dark.
snow Bunting
An breeding plumage, the male snow bunting is almost pure white, except for his black back, central tail and primary wing feathers. In winter, his white plumage becomes mottled with rusty brown. The female has a gray-brown head and back in summer and is simply paler and duller in winter.
Ecological Concers or issues
The tundra may seem tough, but it is a very sensitive environment. More people have recently been moving to the tundra to work in the mines and oil industry. New towns and roads are being built to support the increased population. Developments have interrupted many of the animals’ migrations and feeding patterns, as well as caused damage to the permafrost. It takes so long for the tundra to recover that tire tracks and footprints remain on the ground for decades after they were made. In areas of the tundra there are also many natural resources, such as oil. People worry that pollution from these mines and rigs may ruin the fragile ecosystem.A caribou migration route was interrupted by construction of the Alaskan oil pipeline. In some places the pipeline has been raised high enough above the ground for caribou to pass under it. Insects bombard the tundra in the summer and birds flock there to eat them. Pesticides used to control insects may work their way up through the food chain and affect many of the animals that live on the tundra. We need to be careful with the delicate tundra environment.