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Alejandra Cervantes
Linda Gamboa
Leslie Huerta

BIOL-1-18382
7-25-2021

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Out of all the biomes, the Arctic Tundra is by far the coldest. The foundation of the Arctic Tundra is permafrost and it makes up the entire landscape. Permafrost is simply the name to the soil that is permanently frozen. During the summers, thin layers of permafrost melt which allow for vegetation to grow. Summers are very short which leads to a very short growth period for vegetation as well. This period is usually only 50-60 days. Even though the summers are short, the sun is visible almost 24 hours during the summer. As a result, vegetation is able to grow much more rapidly than it normally would! The majority of the Arctic Tundra is made up of coastal lands found in the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere such as Siberia, Alaska, Iceland, Canada, and even southern regions like Antarctica. Despite it's harsh climate, the Tundra contains a wide variety of beautiful flora and fauna. However, it's most beautiful trait is by far the Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis (Northern and Southern Lights) which is a rare natural phenomena that can occasionally be seen in the Arctic Tundra!

Elevation: Ranges from 300-11,079ft.

Geology: The ground stays completely frozen because of the high latitudes.
Climate: 0°C for six to 10 months of the year.
Temperature: Average is -30 to 20 degrees Fahrenheit (-34 to -6 degrees Celsius)

Rainfall: Approximately 15 to 25 cm (6 to 10 inches) of precipitation yearly, including both snowfall and rainfall.
Seasonality: Cold, desert-like conditions. Growing season ranges from 50 to 60 days.
Wind: High levels of wind, at a speed that can reach 48-97 km/h.

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❄ Arctic Hare (animal) (Lepus Arcticus) ❄

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❄ Arctic Hare (animal) (Lepus Arcticus) ❄

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Interesting Fact: Like the vast majority of animals found within the Arctic Tundra, the Arctic Hare's coat changes colors to camouflage with each season. In winter it will have a pure white coat, while in summer it will grow blue-gray fur that can resemble the rocks of the Tundra. In the scarce locations of the Tundra where the summers are longer, the arctic hare is capable of growing a completely grey coat but for the most part it's coat will typically remain mostly white with few tuffs of grey here and there! Another interesting fact is that even though the arctic hare is classified as a herbivore, there has been reports of Arctic Hares eating the skin of dead caribou or musk oxen! Arctic Hares are also equipped with their own natural sunglasses which help shield their eyes from the intense sunlight reflected by the snow and ice. The "sunglasses" are actually their thick black eyelashes and the shape of their feet also act as their own personal snowshoes and keep them from sinking in the snow!

Ecological Role: Unlike caribou and musk oxen, arctic hares are very messy eaters and will completely uproot the plants they eat. As a result, they play an important role in dispersing seed and encouraging vegetation growth. While arctic hares favorite food are creeping willows, they will also eat other plants such as mosses, lichens, and sedges which means the interspecific interaction it displays is herbivory. Since other primary consumers such as lemmings, musk oxen, and caribou also eat those same plants, artic hares also display competition. Arctic hares are also an important food source for arctic foxes, arctic wolves and snowy owls. They are also hosts to parasites such as protozoans, nematodes, lice, and fleas.

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❄ Giant Spear Moss (plant) (Calliergon Giganteum) ❄

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❄ Giant Spear Moss (plant) (Calliergon Giganteum) ❄

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Interesting Fact: The giant spear moss is one of the every few plants that can grow in the Arctic Tundra. It is the slowest growing freshwater aquatic plant in the entire world and is capable of growing as little as 1cm every year per shoot! Since the giant spear moss grows so slowly, it can have a lifespan of 7 to 10 years making it the longest living freshwater aquatic plant as well! The giant spear moss is adapted to the harsh climate of the Tundra thanks to its shoots which can store nutrients for years. Once summer comes and the sun makes an appearance, the giant spear moss can grow its leaves and have more plant tissue to photosynthesize which allows the giant spear moss to create and store the energy it needs to survive.

Ecological Role: The giant spearmoss plays an important ecological role for primary consumers because as previously mentioned, the vegetation in the Arctic Tundra is very scarce so the giant spearmoss is a very important food source for animals such as musk oxen, caribou, lemmings, and arctic hares.  The giant spearmoss is a seedless non-vascular plant (byrophyte) so even though it does not have true roots it has root like structures called rhizoids that help anchor it to the soil. Together with lichens, the giant spearmoss can create a biological soil carpet which protects the land it covers from erosion, in particular form the harsh winds found in the Arctic Tundra. Since soil is scarce, the few plants that grow in the tundra, such as cottongrass and creeping willows, compete with the giant spearmoss for space in the soil to grow. It is because of this that the interspecific interaction the giant spearmoss displays can best be described by competition.

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❄ Anthrax (bacteria) (Bacillus Anthracis) ❄

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❄ Anthrax (bacteria) (Bacillus Anthracis) ❄

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Interesting Fact: Not many microorganisms are studied in the Arctic Tundra due to the harsh climate and permafrost. Most of the microorganisms in the Arctic Tundra live in the soil but because of permafrost, the microorganisms are found about a meter deep into it where the soil is not perpetually frozen. The vast majority of those microorganisms tend to be micron sized bacteria such as bacillus anthracis. An interesting fact about bacillus anthracis is that it can be thought of as zombie bacteria that can "die" and "come back to life" repeatedly. This is because the bacteria can exist in both a vegetative state and as spores. The vegetative state is the state in which the bacteria is replicating and reproducing but it is most fragile in this state. On the contrary, the bacteria is strongest in its sporous state but cannot reproduce. Bacillus anthracis can alternate back and forth these states allowing it to live for years in extreme climates. Bacillus anthracis is unique in that it's spores can withstand extreme environmental states, such as the intense cold of the Arctic Tundra, for decades! The spores remain in the soil beneath the permafrost until the environmental conditions change to a more favorable state so that the spores can change back to their vegetative state and reproduce. Bacillus anthracis can continue this process over and over again which is why I think of it as a zombie bacteria!

Ecological Role: Recently, there has been a case in which Bacillus Anthracis infected and killed several caribou. This began when a dead caribou that was frozen within the Tundra's permafrost and infected with B. Anthracis was thawed due to the increase in temperature caused by global warming.  Once the caribou's corpse was exposed, the B. Anthracis spores spread to the surrounding water and soil. When the spores spread to the soil they also spread to the vegetation that grew from that soil so the caribou that ate those infected plants also became infected! Even worse, the live caribou's bodies provided the perfect environment for the spores to go back to their vegetative state and reproduce. In the end, over 2,000 caribou were infected and countless died. While vaccines do exist for anthrax, the rate at which it can spread is much faster than the rate at which animals can be vaccinated. While in this case only the caribou were affected, caribou share the same diet as many other primary consumers such as arctic hares and musk oxen so any animal that consumes the same infected vegetation is also at risk of getting infected. Furthermore, any secondary or apex consumers are also at risk because they rely on the primary consumers for food. So if an apex consumer such as a wolf eats an infected primary consumer like a caribou, the wolf will also be infected. As a result, the entire food web can quickly become infected! So while B. Anthracis is not actually a parasite, the type of interspecific interaction it displays can best be described by parasitism.

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Dispersion: During mating season, arctic hare disperse instead of forming in groups. They pair off and define mating territories.
Gestation: 52 days
Sexual maturity: Reached around 315 days, but they can fend for themselves in 2-3 weeks after being born but they stay with their mothers.
Offsprings: 8 offsprings called levertes
Survivorship curve: Type II

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Click me to enlarge! :)

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The Arctic Tundra faces several threats from humans such as animal poaching and industrial activity but it's greatest threat is global warming. Due to the extremely harsh climate of the Arctic Tundra, poaching and industrial activity is a lot less common than in other biomes such as grasslands, forests, or even deserts. On the other hand, the Arctic Tundra is one of the biomes that is most severely affected by global warming. Global warming is when the entire Earth begins to warm and this occurs due to greenhouse gasses collecting in the Earth's atmosphere. The Earths atmosphere can be thought of us a shield that protects the planet from the intense heat and radiation emanated by the sun. However, greenhouse gasses are gasses that trap heat and radiation so when these gasses infiltrate the Earths atmosphere, the atmosphere begins to trap sunlight instead of shielding the planet from the rays. The greenhouse gasses that humans produce include carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and fluorinated gasses. Carbon dioxide dominates over the other three gasses, making up about 65% of all the greenhouse gasses produced. Humans produce these gasses through a variety of ways but the main three are electricity production, industry activities, and agriculture. As humans continue these activities, more greenhouse gasses are produced and the planet begins to warm. This is deadly to the Arctic Tundra because it leads to the melting of permafrost which is the foundation of the Arctic Tundra. As permafrost begins to melt, new vegetation begins to grow and while this may sound like a good thing, it actually has detrimental consequences because it disrupts the Arctic Tundra's food web. The animals that comprise the Tundra's food web are already adapted to living in the Tundra and have their own diet's based off the vegetation and other animals. However, when new vegetation begins to grow due to the permafrost melting, new invasive animals begin to migrate and take root in the Tundra. New animals can completely wreck the Tundra's food web because they begin to compete with the animals already native to the Tundra and if those new animals are better predators, then the native animals will be left with no food and will begin to die out. As those native animals die out, the other native animals that depend on those animals as a food source will also begin to die out and this cycle will continue on and on. Further more, the change in temperature, in conjunction with the new species, also give rise to new bacteria and parasites that could not previously live in the Tundra or to bacteria already hiding beneath the permafrost. These new bacteria and parasites could be deadly for the native species of the Tundra that have not been adapted to fight against them. It is why the Arctic Tundra, in particular the permafrost and the soil beneath it, is often thought of as a Pandora's box of bacteria! Global warming also affects the Arctic Tundra by causing ice caps and glaciers to melt that then leads to the sea level increasing. A big portion of the Arctic Tundra is coastal and surrounded by water so when the sea level increases, the Tundra can "sink" because the water will surround it and the amount of land that is actually above water will decrease. So the rising sea levels can "shrink" the Tundra. Unfortunately, not enough is being done to combat global warming and a distressing amount of people don't even believe it's real. While the United Nations is constantly stressing how important it is to take action against global warming, in the end it remains all talk and no actual action. The best way to combat global warming would be to focus on putting an end to the main three causes. Electricity and Heat production causes the most greenhouse gasses out of the three main causes. The greenhouse gasses are produced through the burning of fossil fuels such as petroleum, coal, oils, and other natural gasses. Industry production (factories) are also powered by the same method of burning fossil fuels that electricity and heat production use. Unlike the first two causes, the last one is not powered by burning fossil fuels but instead is powered by deforestation. Agriculture produces greenhouse gasses through deforestation because when land is cleared for farming, the plant and animal life that dies in the process releases carbon that is kept in its body while the organism was alive. Furthermore, plants play an important role in removing greenhouse gasses from the atmosphere through photosynthesis so removing massive amounts of plants further fuels the increase of greenhouse gasses. There needs to be a bigger focus on using clean renewable energy that uses natural sources such as the sun or wind to generate energy, electricity, and heat. There also needs to be put a stop to mass deforestation. In recent years, the amazon rainforest which played a big role in removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere has actually begun to "produce" more carbon dioxide than it removes. In reality the plants themselves are not the ones producing the carbon dioxide but instead the deforestation is what's producing the carbon dioxide. Even worse, using fire as a method to clear the land for agriculture actively produces carbon dioxide through combustion. Mass deforestation needs to stop and instead policy makers should focus on sustainable agriculture methods instead. They should also focus on food loss and waste. Approximately one third of food produced for human consumption is completely wasted and lost. By putting a stop to this, the amount of land for agriculture that is "needed" should decrease leading to less deforestation. Even though the Arctic Tundra may not be as adaptable for human uses such as other biomes, it is still a very important part of the planet that is home to many unique species. Global warming is its biggest threat and if something is not done about it, the Arctic Tundra and all of its wonderful life may be lost forever!

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Arctic Hare - National Geographic
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/arctic-hare
Arctic Hare - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_hare
Arctic Tundra - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra
Tundra facts and information - National Geographic
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/article/tundra-biome
Tundra Human Disturbances - National Geographic
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/article/tundra-threats-explained/
Global Warming Causes - Environmental Protection Agency
https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emissions-data
Microorganisms - Columbia Climate School
https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/news-events/tundra-microbes-and-world-climate
Anthrax in Caribou - NPR
https://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/08/03/488400947/anthrax-outbreak-in-russia-thought-to-be-result-of-thawing-permafrost
Giant Spearmoss - Blue Planet Biomes
https://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/arctic_moss.php
Arctic Tundra - OpenStax Concepts of Biology
https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/20-3-terrestrial-biomes
Arctic Tundra - NASA
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/biome/biotundra.php
Arctic Hare - Canadian Museum of Nature
http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/edu/ViewLoitLo.do?method=preview&lang=EN&id=13762
Biological Soil Carpets - Australian National Botanic Gardens and Australian National Herbarium
https://www.anbg.gov.au/bryophyte/ecology-arid-soil-crusts.html
Bacillus Anthracis - National Center for Biotechnology Information
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK310478/

❄ Images ❄

Arctic Tundra Landscape - Treehugger
https://www.treehugger.com/land-biomes-tundra-373498
Arctic Tundra Map - Wikipedia
https://oc.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichi%C3%A8r:Biome_map_11.svg
Arctic Hare - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saylesman/517056490/
Giant Spearmoss - Biopix
http://www.biopix.net/calliergon-giganteum_photo-100559.aspx
Bacillus Anthracis - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/52859996@N07/4997651134/in/photolist-8BCgyS-htBAq8-MNKVj4-2ZUHCE-8Bz7fg-rvTvTC-rcU8cc-8cgDrf-e54nDF-9zG1d7-fWBjj2-2imrvwc-2imQMsp-2imM9L5-fWAV2H-fWAXEN-ods3Y2-fWAUza-fWBwuM-fWBimk-x4a8Ro-fWBiHn-fWAZDN-fWAYhk-fWASYV-fWB6Dq-5suJmc-ods4p2-SajiT6-ouNfZs-qeJ9th-BscBT8-fqwg34-oy6VCX-fWBfXc-oeZENb-fqwgbp-oy4aNr-sCaTnM-ddYA4c-rcQRUY-5XYk4V-wMmM77-wMCLR4-6cxP33-ax8LKT-49Mtkh-oeZYe2-kLoJsR-odirRN
Survivorship Curve - Britannica
https://www.britannica.com/science/Type-II-survivorship-curve
Tundra Carbon Cycle - Royal Meteorological Society
https://www.metlink.org/resource/carbon-cycle-feedbacks/

❄ Food Web Images ❄

Giant Spearmoss - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/95549735@N08/29355625625/in/photolist-LJ4fLi
Arctic Willow - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/hmpresearchstation/2673479666/
Reindeer Lichen - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/annkelliott/29230285633/in/photolist-LwYRxX-qEBF9Z-dJHpxc-CnayYP-MHvvi9-dBuH6u-QKexWs-apLW5v-R6hA51-CzXkge-adgWRn-dJNS6Q-bnZU1b-c8tfHQ-U3RSus-Ka8eCU-4JDUi7-bpMzTD-yqcfqf-PvLMEf-du1oDL-CeV1H2-oL8whJ-fWEPPa-KZ4oRv
Arctic Cottongrass - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/33092397@N00/7558959554/
Caribou - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/studebakerbirds/21754392133/in/photolist-z9mWSr-pr7JJz-dnoqCK-dnotxu-oKWCxh-EfkP3-d5rMmf-nYtUcp-kXeE38-dnotpo-6Ljpa-8yc9Pt-fBjAcN-rnuaME-d5qSLw-6VXMkK-aidrDv-JifXP-2PPwhn-JBQq8u-7GuYXm-5QAEVa-q6nYNR-5cokv4-by3Q5T-uJuVGC-5WZKga-4hRtdt-2zbs1E-5PfdVT-fVta5y-gG4Uih-6qG5ey-9mvgAj-j5zzaQ-cY3GD9-ahj9U5-oBniUi-3t6nJn-qkAj8q-h3goXr-oeNZ4g-v6959T-osHFx5-nZyxuB-8Dj4Pj-8j6QZP-9f3Sr3-czKvHu-cvqRXh
Musk Ox - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/fridayschild68/23420989461/in/photolist-BFCGc8-jf6HVF-AvWsVH-aeyM5K-ETpYTU-7akYBP-gXLyuK-fn7htp-yeV2bx-nR95c8-nmzijp-HhjYgh-dm3ZpW-aiA3Kz-5y6nvB-cXv4yw-q1DPAN-yW2uh-fVcV7T-d59JhU-cADSE7-jWNRLD-fjy1yb-6T3ZsM-L9k9nK-qqhMgX-4bioz6-wVCpRS-iUCkCd-8Udw3h-6QhkWf-f7Gmo-do86b-585ovM-MnHgyu-4bnoQQ-JdLVf-fBD6mB-bhG53z-6ApEzf-oE5Njk-7dDzYg-fjxZ53-6T3Zze-4yPrYX-nHxtwm-33gBWp-EnYdhd-uxKKZZ-ojhztP
Arctic Lemming - Redbubble
https://www.redbubble.com/people/atlasthetitan/works/5917685-an-arctic-lemming-in-the-sprin
Arctic Hare - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/129520192@N04/31789018515/in/photolist-Qr62G8-zbMwYG-W5ftr5-2gSm8dQ-kXpJLN-7nRYei-kisst-c5F7pG-4NGWHd-8ZcVbh-aRDb8K-2ghsGx9-8PivT-b5MhJT-c5Fa7C-c5F9om-7g11NN-8ZcRTo-5yhiWT-jiDJ8a-dBxNMB-5hBF6r-W37Xum-7nLYtS-dtF7Pp-pvicgT-gLhLm3-bMQyPX-22th8es-6Z2myD-HCs1Nf-6pArmT-875QK9-etph2Y-kt7jpU-SqcPxS-TZUkvj-bb2tgM-z1TSaW-21mogMj-caJ15f-dzwCfB-B7TSVb-77eYFS-fMUoSi-fWF6og-VL4qYJ-DbUwJo-nyKf2-ceKvqE
Arctic Fox - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/earltpics/4126648156/in/photolist-7hE9J9-e71rqy-GYab6b-9dagfC-dppL5H-dHSmB6-aCH2TZ-e77b8C-h5Etzr-9vAsun-y58mbS-5SxcmC-BfDuBv-eMLAPG-nd4FAp-nvobQ7-ejDNFj-jaiewc-DrpX2R-aBV2EJ-aBV2ah-aBV4uS-Rhh1qv-aBV45q-aBV3a3-qVvkvY-7hE9A7-Cd4azK-dWfvea-bwKNs6-sC1pyo-rmZ3hG-9pqHhZ-qThNTq-DhBdUB-RpLcWd-rkdWfx-bpbzDT-ef5C4x-8VM7PP-aBV3CE-G4BuFV-5UUiky-B9BAWA-9nCxBL-6EqJNa-7yWAGa-8EaS3m-b6dYop-6Z4LL1
Ermine - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/mikewiz/15974256086/in/photolist-qkAeNo-XiYe7Y-DKSfCE-2e2HBP4-pr7D34-8krH8-4kTLTf-8iY8Ys-2giP8JR-REcVzF-4cRuDc-ZBooUc-mDQyyc-2maBcKZ-qkJqQj-JdfC5Q-22MyngB-5LFZUF-9XkDoA-9Qg6h8-ufNfKA-2hSohX9-ubDXmt-9Gu3RA-g63G7z-offFu2-qA5B7c-2jKgfMG-2ge1VTs-2j2Apr3-2jdJgrj-2m48Pju-KEGzM5-WBV4m1-2kcBs4u-2i17NHp-2jopXSM-2m66Gxh-6A7GJz-2jkyYUX-769Nuv-BdUgwL-ExRftd-cGAy1Q-jt4xc3-2jjiXcR-BJXUSp-282aUZz-SKYSnM-6hcijW
Snowy Owl - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/traciekovener/39557285812/in/photolist-23gxqVb-26jE2iA-4ETpZT-Cjhzeh-bVVEPT-dwhF4X-PhiUDb-jGZEVo-dTVJq5-dTVJSh-GQpzCL-5pAr7Z-cn1cmW-arBNar-erbeEL-23j6AZc-MjbpiJ-PUnzmE-8ixqPh-qUXkg7-QX2Nmy-64rReb-D5nTkK-j3nZn-bktKjL-BhFSqq-bvwYoa-hKrUED-252qWvZ-ay4YzU-8BFg66-q96uxu-HowWSA-BFzk4C-ptENuA-rkSgew-qNwbUD-9pQnWr-rCkXWX-k4dGvP-22DUVJj-SXJ3i4-djRkX6-23esMxL-rNPNr8-FtciRX-CRDNaV-6GDkVK-ftRZEW-goptCc
Polar Bear - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/130730856@N06/16914581620/in/photolist-rLFDPA-e68JiG-7rDKAj-sjFe2i-s1oqft-xU1QP-sjHgxF-aAcaKs-88y6vD-CsrHnK-8LLFXq-cCdkGA-uaJMPw-8bAENU-4MS7jm-cCdmuy-cCcPRQ-s3WNf4-cCdffo-cCdkVU-sjyoYC-cCdf4f-8msCxj-s37WTo-sjFbYv-sjEN7t-dcSzmn-s38c6G-shqriE-cNe8qf-T59jw-rnHiTw-6eNcGo-osDcjk-ooRjgu-osCEz4-oqRPjd-6xh4WC-6xcUQz-sjyv31-akQMC9-6Q5Nre-81eVAm-cCdjcN-cwuLbj-81bM82-cCdm6U-cCdki5-cCdkvW-cCdgcW
Arctic Wolf - Flickr
https://www.flickr.com/photos/45139404@N02/8347159257/

*Arrows, circles, borders, etc all created in photoshop! :)