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Polar ecology is the relationship between plants and animals in a polar environment. Polar environments are in the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Arctic regions are in the Northern Hemisphere , and it contains land and the islands that surrounds 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 ...
A polar bear and its cub. Animals that are active in the winter have adaptations for surviving the intense cold. [55] A common example is the presence of strikingly large feet in proportion to body weight. These act like snowshoes and can be found on animals like the snowshoe hare and caribou.
Antarctica has around 400 lichen species, plants and fungi living symbiotically. [3] They are highly adapted, and can be divided into three main types; crustose lichens, forming thin crusts on the surface, foliose lichens, forming leaf-like lobes, and fruticose lichens , which grow like shrubs.
A large amount of the land in the north polar region is part of Earth's tundra biome. South of the Arctic tundra, where temperatures are a little less cold, are the vast forests of conifer trees of the taiga biome. North of the Arctic tundra are polar bears and the unique marine life of the Arctic Ocean. [2]
Animal species that are endangered in the tundra include the Arctic fox, caribou, and polar bears. These animals have been endangered due to overhunting, an infestation of disease, loss of diet and habitat due to climate change, and human destructive activities, such as searches for natural gas and oil, mining, and road building. [ 10 ]
The Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), also known as the white fox, polar fox, or snow fox, is a small species of fox native to the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere and common throughout the Arctic tundra biome. [1] [8] [9] [10] It is well adapted to living in cold environments, and is best known for its thick, warm fur that is also used as ...
These islands have a somewhat milder climate than Antarctica proper, and support a greater diversity of tundra plants, although they are all too windy and cold to support trees. Antarctic krill is the keystone species of the ecosystem of the Southern Ocean , and is an important food organism for whales , seals , leopard seals , fur seals ...