The Arctic Tundra

1. The Arctic Tundra Baffin Island Lowland Plains

2. Table Of Contents • 1: Biome Summary • 2: Ecosystems within the Biome • 3: Food Web • 4: Introduction • 5: Threats and Solution • 6: Affects by Humans • 7: Communities Interaction within the ecosystem • 8: The Conclusion

3. The tundra is located in some of the most northern places in the world which lead into the Arctic Circle. Most of the Arctic Tundra that is located in Canada is in the North West Territories, Nunavut and a small portion of the very north of Quebec. Biome: Arctic Tundra

5. The Arctic tundra has 1700 species of plants and animals. The tundra includes many kinds of animal life such as Polar bears, arctic fox, wolves, and caribou that all live in this biome. Within the tundra there is also Fresh and Salt water which takes up the majority of the animal population in the Arctic Tundra there are many types of fish in the water and many types of whales such as the Narwhale, Beluga, and Bowhead whales.

6. The Arctic tundra in Canada is huge. It is the size of Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas combined which is pretty big. The Tundra has the Physical features of Lowland Plains, water, and mountains/ Glaciers. The lowland plains are surrounded by mountain and glaciers and throughout the lowlands there are many rivers that flow through during the summer and the cause of this is of melting glaciers.

7. The Arctic Tundra is covered with ice for pretty much the whole year but during the summer there are many flowers and shrubs that are located throughout the tundra which makes it very colourful.

8. Baffin Lowland Fresh water Streams Salt Water Rivers Bedrock Outcrops Lancaster Plateau Foxe Plain Boothia Plain Victoria Lowland Shaler Mountains. Ecosystems

9. Food Web • http://biomesfirst.wikispaces.com/Tundra+Food+Web

10. Introduction • Are there any threats towards the Baffin Island Lowlands? • Well that’s what I’m here today to talk about. • I will be talking about the threats on this ecosystem and also a solution for these threats, also I will be talking about the communities interaction with the ecosystem and how they might affect it or if they help the ecosystem.

11. The Baffin Island lowlands include some important characteristics which causes it to be different from many other biomes and the reasons are because of extremely cold climate, low biotic diversity, simple vegetation structure, limitation of drainage, short season of growth and reproduction, energy and nutrients in the form of dead organic material, and large population oscillations.

12. The precipitation in the Baffin Lowlands is around 300 mm each year. • The lowlands is a very dry ecosystem with very few precipitation. • The temperature is very cold, in the winter the average temperature is -28 °C and can sometimes be -50 °C which is extremely cold. • In the summer the temperature can rise to 12 °C but will often drop to 3 °C. • From these temperatures the river and the Ocean will be frozen because of these cold conditions.

13. The lowlands are surrounded by mountains and glaciers. • Many of the rivers located throughout the arctic tundra, the water rises because every summer the glaciers are melting and are running into the rivers which causes the water level to rise. • This brings us up to the next topic and that is the threats towards the Baffin island lowlands.

14. Threats Towards the Ecosystem • Over the 30 years there has been a major amount of melted ice in the lowlands and also all of the arctic tundra and this is all because of global warming. • Each year the temperature is rising so the ice is melting rapidly because of the heat permafrost is melting when its not suppose to which is very bad (Permafrost: ground that is permanently frozen, often to great depths, and the surface sometimes thaws in the summer).

15. Global warming is affecting many organisms within the Arctic tundra because many animals that rely on ice to help them survive, for example polar bears like to rest on ice when they are swimming but if the ice is melting then its hard for them to rest on it because it will just break. • The positive part about that is that polar bears are able to swim for 90km so we don’t need to be that sad about it.

16. From global warming animals might want to leave the ecosystem and go further north and this Is huge because if this happens the food chain will be ruined because if they are the prey then the predators would not have enough food and then that species can become endangered and then another species population will rise rapidly and won’t stay sustainable.

17. Lately communities within the ecosystem have been not able to put there garbage anywhere because they don’t have a dump to put it so over the last couple of years they’ve had to burn their garbage which is polluting the area and is a major reason for melting ice.

18. Hunting is a necessary way of life in the northern communities. However, hunting animals just for sport can endanger different types of species. • So we should not kill so many of the animals in this ecosystem if we don’t want them to become extinct.

19. Solution for the Threats • A solution to solve the threats of pollution is for the communities to find an area outside of the lowland region and burn their garbage. Therefore, this would be less and harmful their ecosystem. • By doing this it won’t stop global warming but it will slow it down and not melt the ice as rapidly as it has been over the years.

20. Killing arctic species is a problem but people in northern communities need food and clothing to stay warm because these families have to be self sufficient. • The way to solve this problem is to stop hunting so frequently and save some of the food and also keep their clothes for a longer amount of time.

21. We can all help reduce climate change in the arctic tundra and everywhere else in the world by just making a few simple changes our lives. • Riding your bike or taking the transit system instead of driving a car. • Turn off the lights in rooms after you leave and to also shut the water off in the middle of brushing your teeth.

22. Conclusion • Are there any threats towards the Baffin Island Lowlands? • Yes there are threats towards the Baffin Island Lowlands but at the same time there are solutions for these threats which is really encouraging. • These solutions really help the organisms within the ecosystem so that they won’t become endangered.

23. In conclusion I think that the threats towards the Baffin Island lowland are very harmful but we can do something about it which is very helpful.

24. Bibliography • http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Images/Ovibos_moschatus/O_moschatus_map.gif • http://www.swisseduc.ch/glaciers/arctic-islands/icons-01/01-04-tundra.jpg • http://www.eoearth.org/article/Middle_Arctic_tundra • http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na1115_full.html • http://www.eoearth.org/article/Arctic_coastal_tundra • http://www.worldwildlife.org/wildworld/profiles/terrestrial/na/na1114_full.html • http://atlas.nrcan.gc.ca/site/english/maps/environment/land/arm_physio_arctic/1 • http://biomesfirst.wikispaces.com/Tundra+Food+Web • http://www.abecalaska.com/images/noatak/Noatak_Valley.jpg • http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/exhibits/biomes/tundra.php • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tundra • http://letanque.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/muskox_arctic_tundra1.jpg • http://i.ehow.com/images/a05/h1/vs/do-animals-survive-arctic-tundra_-200X200.jpg • http://conservationreport.files.wordpress.com/2009/10/arctic-sea-ice.jpg • http://www.freewebs.com/boomboy321/pollution.jpeg • http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/images/Canada/factfile/Polar-bear.jpg • http://www.hickerphoto.com/data/media/193/arctic-tundra-sunset-photo_29758.jpg • http://www.wired.com/geekdad/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/green-recycle-img.jpg • http://www.bugbog.com/images/maps/arctic-circle_map.jpg • http://www.duke.edu/web/nicholas/bio217/rsf4%20awc7/caribou_tundra.jpg

25. The End