Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The flora of the alpine tundra is characterized by plants that grow close to the ground, including perennial grasses, sedges, forbs, cushion plants, mosses, and lichens. [28] The flora is adapted to the harsh conditions of the alpine environment, which include low temperatures, dryness, ultraviolet radiation, and a short growing season.
According to the theory of predator–prey interactions, the relationship between herbivores and plants is cyclic. [62] When prey (plants) are numerous their predators (herbivores) increase in numbers, reducing the prey population, which in turn causes predator number to decline. [62] The prey population eventually recovers, starting a new cycle.
As new plant species from the south invade the region large extents of former tundra habitat are going to be replaced by arboreal forest. Competition; Competition with the resilient red fox (Vulpes vulpes), who is a superior hunter and known to prey on Arctic foxes. Population collapse of prey species.
By adapting to these harsh conditions, animals and plants represent iconic characteristics of the tundra. Plants grow in aggregated formations which provide shelter from wind, and ice and also improve seed success. [1] Animals have adapted with specialized organs, such as a rete mirabile, an organ that efficiently transfers heat.
Arctic ecology is the scientific study of the relationships between biotic and abiotic factors in the arctic, the region north of the Arctic Circle (66° 33’N). [1] This region is characterized by two biomes: taiga (or boreal forest) and tundra. [2]
Herbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects.Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. [4] Herbivorous insects are by far the most important animal pollinators, and constitute significant prey items for predatory animals, as well as acting as major parasites and predators of plants; parasitic species often induce the formation of galls.
Plant-animal interactions are important pathways for the transfer of energy within ecosystems, where both advantageous and unfavorable interactions support ecosystem health. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] Plant-animal interactions can take on important ecological functions and manifest in a variety of combinations of favorable and unfavorable associations, for ...
Mount Elbert rises through multiple biotic zones, with alpine tundra at its peak.. The Rocky Mountains range in latitude between the Liard River in British Columbia (at 59° N) and the Rio Grande in New Mexico (at 35° N), and in height up to the highest peak, Mount Elbert at 14,440 feet (4,400 m), taking in great valleys such as the Rocky Mountain Trench and San Luis Valley.