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 * __**THE TUNDRA **__

 

[|Tundra] is described as an area where levels of subsoil beneath the surface of the earth are permanently frozen. The soil is referred to as permafrost. The level of earth above the permafrost will thaw in the short summer allowing plants to grow. This level will then freeze again in the winter and most of the plants will go dormant. The permafrost makes it hard or impossible for trees to grow so most tundras are treeless or look barren. Another characteristic of a tundra is that like desserts, there is very little precipitation. Tundras also reach very frigid temperatures, especially in the winter when it receives little to no sunlight.

 **Location of Ecosystem on Planet**:

 ** Tundra has two variations, Arctic Tundra and Alpine Tundra. Arctic Tundra can be found near or north of the Arctic circle around the north pole. Alpine Tundra can be found at various latitudes on earth but is located at high altitudes on mountains where trees do not grow. Areas that have arctic tundra include: northern Alaska, northern Canada, Greenland, northern Russia, and parts of the Scandinavian Peninsula (Norway, Sweden and Finland). Alpine tundra occurs throughout much of the world at high altitudes, generally beginning between 10,000 and 11,000 feet. Alpine tundra has similar conditions to arctic tundra including plant types and treeless terrain. Plant types of the alpine tundra include small shrubs and lichens. **

** Climate: **


 *  [|12.] The climate of a Tundra is very unusual. The tundra is the coldest region in the world. Fierce winds blow while snow and ice cover the ground. Even the sea freezes as the temperature gets colder. The tundra receives less than 10 inches of precipitation yearly. The tundra has a short summer that from May to July. During the summertime, the temperature only rises to about 51 degrees Fahrenheit. The average yearly temperature is only about 10 to 20 degrees. It rarely rains. Though Tundras are nearly exclusively found on the northern hemisphere, there are some that can be found on peninsular land in Antarctica. **

**Tundra [|Animals] ** 

** __The Polar Bear__ **  __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); text-align: center; display: block;">Classification __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;"> Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Family: Boidae Genus: Eunectes Species: Various  ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> <span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial;">
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;">[|1.] Polar bears are among the largest land mammals on earth. Males can weigh between 700 - 1400 pounds and stand between 8 - 10 feet tall. Females are smaller than males, with weights averaging 350 - 700 pounds. Polar Bears appear to have a white coat; however, the actual hairs are translucent and clear. The skin of the Polar Bear is black. The coat and skin are adapted to absorb sunlight and retain heat. Like many animals of the tundra, Polar Bears have short ears to minimize heat loss. <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;"> P <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">olar Bears are often located near areas of water and ice <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;"> floes where their favorite food - seals - can be found. Polar Bears have dens in <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">which they will sleep and where <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">the females will give birth to cubs. <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Polar Bears do not <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">enter true hibernation in the winter as this is a <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">period of hunting, however, some Polar Bears and pregnant <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">females in <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">particular will enter a deep sleep where their <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">heart rates will drop.Polar Bears' diets consist mainly of seals. <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Polar Bears <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">will use a <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">variety of tactics while hunting seals, and these <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">tactics will usually <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">involve stealth and patience. Polar <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">Bears will occasionally feed on <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">other animals including <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; line-height: 15px;">walruses. Polar Bears will also sometimes <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">feed on the <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">carcasses of dead whales. <span style="font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">
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__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">Classification **__**<span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Artiodactyla Family: Cervidae Genus: Rangifer Species: tarandus **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">The Caribou **<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;">[|1.] Female Caribou will weigh about 200 pounds, and can **  **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">weigh as little as 180 pounds as adults.Males weigh about twice as much on average but can weigh up to as much as 600 pounds. Caribou will stand from 35 - 55 inches at the shoulder.Males and females both have antlers and will shed their antlers at different times in the year, older males losing theirs after the mating season and females losing theirs in the summer.Caribou are migratory animals and are known for mass migrations across the tundra in search of food. Caribou are well adapted to living in the tundra with thick fur and skin that enable them to enter frigid rivers while migrating. The hooves of caribou are wide to assist supporting it on surfaces such as mud and snow, and wide hooves will also help the caribou to dig and swim. <span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The diet of the <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;">Caribou varies as the seasons change. In the summertime, when vegetation is more plentiful, Caribou will feed on a variety of plants including willow leaves. In the wintertime, Caribou will use their hooves to dig through snow to get to moss and other lichens that lie beneath the arctic surface. <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Caribou, or Reindeer, is located in northern countries such as Canada, Russia, Greenland, Finland, Norway and Sweden. It can also be found in the state of ** <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"> **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 13px; line-height: 15px;">Alaska **.



__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">The Arctic Fox **__**<span style="line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|1.] The Arctic Fox measures 3 - 3.5 feet in length from head to tail.The weight of the Arctic Fox can range from 6 - 9 pounds, with females being smaller than males. Like many animals of the tundra, Arctic Foxes have special adaptations to help them survive in extremely cold climates.These adaptations include fur on its paws to help keep them warm, a thick, dense coat of fur around its body, short ears, a small body, and a large and bushy tail that it uses to curl around its body.Like many foxes, the Arctic Fox builds a den. For the Arctic Fox the den can sometimes be in a hillside or river bank, and will usually have multiple entrances and exits. The Arctic Fox can be found in arctic or alpine tundra.Arctic Foxes' diets consist of small mammals including voles and lemmings, as well as on birds and their eggs. Arctic Foxes are opportunistic and will sometimes scavenge on dead carcasses of animals, and they are often seen following Polar Bears to feed on the leftovers the bears leave behind. Arctic Foxes will also eat some vegetation such as berries. The Arctic Fox is circumpolar and can be found throughout the Arctic region. This includes parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, Iceland Scandinavia, Svalbard, and Alaska. <span style="text-align: center; display: block; line-height: 15px; font-size: 13px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Classification <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;"> Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Carnivora Family: Canidae Genus: Alopex  ****<span style="display: block; font-size: 12px; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"> Species: lagopus ** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">

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**<span style="display: block; font-size: 180%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">Tundra [|Plants] **
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">[|3.]The Labrador tea plant grows to be 4 to 5 feet. It will grow up straight in the southern latitudes of the tundra, but in the colder northern latitudes it will creep over the ground forming a carpet. It has woolly branches with narrow 1 to 2 inch leaves which are smooth on the upper side, with rusty hairs underneath. They droop slightly and edges are rolled under, and are a leathery green in color. At the ends of the branches are tiny clusters of white flowers with protruding stamen, which bloom in June and July.The ****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The part used from this plant are the leaves, which were brewed for tea by Native Americans. The tea is very <span style="font-size: 110%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">rich in vitamin C. They were also scattered among clothes to keep moths away. Branches kept with grain are said to keep mice away. They are also used for medical purposes. Externally it was used for all kinds of skin problems. Tea was used for stomach and nerve ailments. A syrup was made from the tea to be used for coughs. They usually grow in wet meadows, bogs, and forest areas mostly in the lower latitudes of the tundra biome. Bees are attracted to the flowers, but animals don't eat them because they are said to be slightly poisonous. <span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 90%;">Classification <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">Kingdom: Plantae Phylum: Eudicots **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">**Class: Asterids Order: Ericales Family: Ericaceae Genus: Rhododendron Species: R. tomentosum**
 * <span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Labrador Tea

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Georgia;">

[|9.] It is a deciduous, much branched flowering shrub growing to 0.1–1 m tall, rarely up to 1.5 m. The habit is variably upright to sprawling or prostrate, but stems are often ascending especially those stems with many long branches. The bark of older stems is shredding with long thin strips. The plants are densely leafy, the leaves are divided into five or seven (occasionally three or nine) pinnate leaflets. The leaflets are linear-oblong, 3-20 mm long, with entire margins and more or less acute ends. The foliage (both leaves and young stems) is pubescent, variably covered in fine silky, silvery hairs about 1 mm long. The flowers are produced terminally on the stems and are 2–3 (–4) cm across, <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">buttercup <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-shaped, with five petals and 15–25 stamens; the petals are pale to bright yellow (orange to reddish in some western Chinese populations). The fruit is a cluster of achenes covered with long hairs. The species is variably dioecious or bisexual; flowering is typically from early to late summer. It is normally found growing in moisture retentive soils in swamps and moist rocky areas **.
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 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">The Yellow Tundra Flower <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

Kingdom: Plantea Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class: Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Species: D. fruicosa
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">Classification

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 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">The Cloud Berry <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">

[|5.] The cloud berry plant can grow to be anywhere from 10 to 25 centimeters high with leaves that grow on stalks. They prefer bog, marshes or wet meadows with a fair amount of sun and can survive through very cold winters.In Newfoundland Labrador the cloud berry grows wild and can be found in the wilderness or along side the road. This particular plant was seen on Highway 100 on the way to Cape St Mary's Ecological Reserve on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland Labrador.he cloud berry, also named a bake apple in Newfoundland Labrador, Canada starts out as pale red and ripens into an amber color. Many people confuse the cloud berry with a salmon berry as they are very similar in looks, texture and co louring.

<span style="text-align: center; display: block; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Classification <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center; display: block;">Kingdom: Plantea Phylum: Magnoliophyta Class:Magnoliopsida Order: Rosales Family: Rosaceae Genus: Rubus Species: R. chamaemorus <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> **

=<span style="display: block; font-size: 180%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;"> **Tundra EPA** =

[|8.]**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Title 50: Wildlife and Fisheries. ** (b) The development of these schedules involves annual data gathering programs to determine migratory game bird population status and trends, evaluations of habitat conditions, harvest information, and other factors having a bearing on the anticipated size of the fall flights of these birds. The proposed hunting schedules are announced early in the spring, and following consideration of additional information as it becomes available, as well as public comment, they are modified and published as supplemental proposals. These are also open to public comment. Public hearings are held for the purpose of providing additional opportunity for public participation in the rule making process.
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">(a) The taking, possession, transportation, and other uses of migratory game birds by hunters is generally prohibited unless it is specifically provided for under regulations developed in accordance with the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. Consequently, hunting is prohibited unless regulatory schedules are established for seasons, daily bag and possession limits, and shooting (or hawking) hours. Migratory game bird population levels, including production and habitat conditions, vary annually. These conditions differ over North America, and within the United States, by flyways, States, and frequently areas within States. Thus, it is necessary to make annual adjustments in the schedules to limit the harvests of migratory game birds to permissible levels.

What it means: "This is basically saying that random hunting and etc is prohibited.There has been too much of hunting Tundra animals without scheduled regulated hunting dates. People have been going crazy hunting and possibly endangering different animals." **

=**<span style="display: block; font-size: 180%; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; text-align: center;">The Human [|Impact] **=


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> It is 30 years since environmental concern was first expressed over the prospect of large-scale resource development in the Arctic. Human impact is more extensive within the tundra biome now than at any time in the past. In fact, direct human impacts on arctic ecosystems may be even more important than climatic change during the next few decades, including disturbance associated with resource exploitation, fire management and altered grazing regimes due to changing patterns of reindeer husbandry. Thus, there are numerous lessons to be learned from studying similar environmental impacts in widely disjunctive arctic ecosystems. This is relatively easily done since so many anthropogenic disturbance regimes are extremely widespread.

However, long-term data on both natural and assisted recovery have traditionally been lacking.In general, arctic tundra vegetation has low species diversity, simple structure, and low annual productivity. Nonetheless, tundra ecosystems support large populations of wild and semi-domestic animals highly valued by aboriginal and non-native peoples, and they supply critical nesting habitat for immense numbers of shorebirds, waterfowl, and other birds. Yet large portions of the region are faced with widespread threats ranging from the obvious, like petroleum development, to the seemingly benign, such as 'wilderness' recreation. Competition for access to land and living resources is keen, even on the tundra fjells of Kilpisjärvi in northernmost Fennoscandia. A serious challenge is to predict how vegetation will respond to various environmental and management changes and what will be the consequences for arctic ecosystems. For example, even moderate climatic warming is likely to cause a massive increase in thermokarst erosion (subsidence of terrain due to thawing of frozen ground), particularly in ice-rich permafrost regions like northern Alaska and northwest Siberia. **

=<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive; font-size: 180%; text-align: center; display: block;">**Reference List** =

2.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrubby_Cinquefoil 3..htm ****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/pasque_flower ** 5.http://www.iwebquest.com/alaska/webquest/plants/tundraplants.htm 6.http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php 7.http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=ecfr&sid=9c5848ecc3395b984c9670e22fd89ed4&rgn=div6&view=text&node=50:6.0.1.1.3.11&idno=50 8.http://www.ulapland.fi/home/vies/ajankohtaista/kide/Kide4_2000/Forbes.htm 9.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrubby_Cinquefoil 10.http://oncampus.richmond.edu/academics/education/projects/webunits/biomes/tunclimate.html 11.http://www.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/climate_systems/tundra_1.html 12.http://ths.sps.lane.edu/biomes/tundra4/tundra4c.htm **l
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1.http://tundraanimals.net/
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> 4.http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/tundra_plant_page.htm
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