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BIOL-1-21672
Alyssa Brewer
Sahara Goldsmith
Hongyi Li
Rebecca Orozco
May 8 2022

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The tundra biome spreads across regions in Canada, Russia, Alaska, Greenland, Iceland, and Scandinavia.
The tundra can have elevations anywhere between 11,000 to 11,500 feet.
Made up of treeless regions, mountains, lakes, rivers, and marshes that are covered in snow for most of the year.
The climate is extremely cold, but does get warmer in the summer.
The average summer temperature is 37° to 54° F.
The average winter temperature is -30° F.
Tundra regions get less than 10 inches of rainfall annually.
Wind speeds range between 5 to 10 miles an hour toward ground level and 75 to 125 miles an hour in the high reaches of the mountains.
The soil remands frozen year-around. Only a thin layer of soil is thawed in the summer for plants to grow in.

Alyssa Brewer

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Interesting fact: Lemmings are the only naturally occurring small rodent species in the high arctic.
Ecological role: Keystone herbivore, vital prey, acts as food for majority of arctic predators, support the arctic food chain, sustained lemming activity can even promote plant growth. Interspecific Interactions: Acts as the predator in herbivory situations, predation as the prey, and there is also competition with other lemmings for resources.

Rebecca Orozco

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Interesting fact: This plant can be used for several medicinal purposes such as relieving toothaches and acting as a poultice on wounds.
Ecological role: It is a primary producer, uses energy to make food, acts as food for many herbivores, adds organic material and stabilizes the soil.
Interspecific interactions: Herbivory

Rebecca Orozco

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Interesting Fact: Although Arrhenia isn't considered to be edible, if it was it wouldn't have a significant taste to it.
Ecological Role: It is a decomposer. It decomposes organic material.
Interspecific Interactions: Mutualism, they have beneficial interactions with plants to break down organic waste. Competition, they compete with other decomposers for space and nutrients.

Alyssa Brewer

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Lemmings have a random pattern of dispersion.
The gestation period is 3 weeks.
The sexual maturity time is 3-6 weeks.
They can have multiple litters with up to 8 offspring in each batch.
They have a Type 3 survivorship curve.

Rebecca Orozco

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Polar bears exhibit both uniform and clumped dispersion because they travel both in family groups and alone at times.
Gestation is close to that of a human, at 8 months.
Polar Bears reach sexual maturity is reached at about 5-6 years.
A litter can range from 1-3, with a third cub being rare.
Polar bears are represented by a Type 1 survivorship curve because they produce very few offspring, with females reproducing about every 3 years.

Sahara Goldsmith

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Tertiary consumers: Brown Bear, Arctic Wolf, Polar Bear
Secondary consumers: Arctic Cod, Arctic Fox, Snowy Owl
Primary consumers: Krill, Caribou, Arctic Hare, Lemming
Primary producers: Phytoplankton, Caribou Moss, Arctic Willow, Grass, Lichen

Rebecca Orozco

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Disturbances: Human activity has caused air pollution to occur in the Tundra. Toxic mercury sent into the atmosphere by industrial activity is the main cause of air pollution in the Tundra. Climate change is also disturbing the environment. As temperatures begin to rise, snow will begin to melt and many species won't be able to survive.

Solutions: The problem of air pollution is being solved by switching away from fossil fuels that contaminate the air. The use of fossil fuels also drive climate change. With less fossil fuels contaminating the environment, air pollution and climate change can decline.

Alyssa Brewer

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Disturbances: Human need for exploration and development have been an impact across all biomes. In the tundra, humans have tried to extract and transport oils, and gas which not only melts permafrost (also due to climate change), but also damages soil and prevents future vegetation. Exposed soil can increase erosion which is critical to the fragile tundra.

Solutions: Using less fossil fuels, eliminating industrial activity, and lessening our carbon footprint are the first of many steps of protecting the tundra. Scientists, and the world's governments should also work together to protect, and preserve the Tundra and its species.

Sahara Goldsmith

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Advani, A. “WWF Wildlife & Climate Change Series: Polar Bear .” World Wildlife Fund, 2015 https://arcticwwf.org/site/assets/files/1843/polar_bear_wwf_wildlife_and_climate_change_series.pdf

“Arctic Willows and Herbivores: Swedish Polar Research Portal.” Polarforskningsportalen, https://polarforskningsportalen.se/en/arctic/expeditions/tundra-nordvast-samspel-mellan-vaxter-vaxtatare-och-rovdjur/cruise-reports/arctic-willows-herbivores.

Arrhenia Paper - Montana State University. https://plantsciences.montana.edu/facultyorstaff/faculty/cripps/Arrhenia%20paper.pdf.

Biomes, Blue Planet. “Arctic Willow.” Blue Planet Biomes - Arctic Willow, https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/arctic_willow.php.

“Humble Lemmings Are an Arctic Keystone Species.” Frontier Scientists, 17 Aug. 2015, https://frontierscientists.com/2013/06/lemmings-arctic-keystone-species.

National Geographic Society. “Tundra Biome.” National Geographic Society, 5 Feb. 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/tundra-biome/#:~:text=Tundra%20regions%20typically%20get%20less,ten%20months%20of%20the%20year.

National Geographic Society. “Tundras Explained.” National Geographic Society, 14 Feb. 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/tundras-explained/#:~:text=Tundra%20ecosystems%20are%20treeless%20regions,summer%20brings%20bursts%20of%20wildflowers.

Nunez, Christina. “Tundra Threats Explained | National Geographic Society.” National Geographic Society, 9 June 2020, https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/tundra-threats-explained/.

Stirling, Ian. “The Amazing Breeding Behavior of Polar Bears.” Polar Bears International, 14 Mar. 2019, https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/polar-bears-breeding-behavior.