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In addition to species such as lichens, cotton grass, and Arctic willows, shrubs, sedges, lichens, mosses, and vascular plants dominate the tundra plant community (Folch and Camarasa 2000). Despite the tundra eco-region's reputation of being a cold and desolate ‘polar desert’, it is actually a varying landscape supporting a diverse amount ...
Grazing species such as plains bison, which is another keystone species, the pronghorn, and the mule deer have shown a proclivity for grazing on the same land used by prairie dogs. [26] Beaver dam, an animal construction which has a transformative effect on the environment. The beaver is a well known ecosystem engineer and keystone species. It ...
In physical geography, tundra (/ ˈ t ʌ n d r ə, ˈ t ʊ n-/) is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. There are three regions and associated types of tundra: Arctic, [2] Alpine, [2] and Antarctic. [3] Tundra vegetation is composed of dwarf shrubs, sedges, grasses, mosses, and lichens ...
The communities found in the Palearctic and the Nearctic are different, but have many species in common. This is the result of several faunal interchanges that took place across the Bering land bridge. However, these migrations were mostly limited to large, cold-tolerant species. [8] Today it is mainly these species which are found throughout ...
The establishment of a new cushion plant on a windy slope, or freshly exposed Arctic tundra is not a common event. The established plants may be hundreds of years old, although they extend only a few inches above the surface. The plants are spreading and are wider than they are tall, but they are not extensive above the ground.
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]
Ecologically distinct species, on the other hand, have a much larger effect. Similarly, dominant species have a large effect on ecosystem function, while rare species tend to have a small effect. Keystone species tend to have an effect on ecosystem function that is disproportionate to their abundance in an ecosystem. [11]: 324
There are various bird species that have been spotted in the Arctic. Eight species of birds reside on the polar tundra year round while 150 breed in the Arctic. [16] The birds that do breed go to the Arctic between May and July. One of the known birds is the snowy owl, which has enough fat on it to be able to survive in the cold temperatures.