Today is the last day in Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. This final day will summarize what this whole trip is about.
The tundra biome is the world's youngest biome. It is also the coldest and one of the most driest biome on this planet. It was formed only 10,000 years ago. Not too many animals live here, but there is a diversity. Some of the biotic factors here are lichen, which is food to many species, polar bears, which help other animals get their lunch, as well as their own, and sedges, which grow an exotic fruit on them. As I studied in the day, the temperatures weren't too bad. about 54*(F). Nights were about 37*(F). So, sleep wasn't too much trouble than I expected. There was only a few minutes of rain in this 5 day trip, which was a very light rain. As the days went on, I made many different studies. I studied its food chain, where man was on top and many differents plants on the bottom. I also made observations on different types of symbiosis. An example is a polar bear leaving food for the gulls, which is an example of mutualism.
Overall, I had a very fun trip. I am currently on a plane back to San Francisco. I thought I could've done more studying, but I'm perfectly happy with what I have. It was a very educational experience, and I hope to visit again soon.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Day 4
So this is my fourth day here in the tundra biome. Today, I'm talking about the environmental dangers and solutions of this biome.
One of the most controversial threats to this biome (and the rest of the world) is global warming. Global warming will probably impact the tundra biome the most. Scientist believe that it will cause the whole artic regionc including tundras, to be wiped off this planet forever.
One of the most controversial threats to this biome (and the rest of the world) is global warming. Global warming will probably impact the tundra biome the most. Scientist believe that it will cause the whole artic regionc including tundras, to be wiped off this planet forever.
As frozen soil begins to freeze, the organic contents begins to decay. This results in the releasing of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Another threat to the biome is that oil spills are very hazardous to the wildlife in it. It can kill animals and destroy its habitat.
Some of the ways we can help preserve this biome and its wildlife is to limit the road construction, mining activities, and the building of pipelines in the habitat. We can reduce global warming by switching to alternative energy to minimize human-made global warming.
Day 3
Today is day number three of my exciting trip to the tundra. Today, I'm thinking about studying the weather of this biome. Some basic info is that the main seasons are Winter and Summer. Spring and Fall are short periods between the main seasons. The average annual temperature of this area is -18*(F) or -28*(C). The tundra is also one of the world's most coldest and driest biomes, dispite all the snow. Winters can get cold as -94*(F) or -70*(C). Summers get as hot as 54*(F) or 12*(C). This is also a very windy place, with winds ranging from 30-60 mph winds. Luckily, I'm currently here in the middle of July, which means that the temeperature isn't too extreme. When I thought i making a climatogram, I realized that in only going to be here for FIVE days. So, here's one from the net:
Well, today wasn't a very productive day. I was hoping to get out and explore some more. I still look forward to my next day here.
Day 2
Today is my second day in the Anaktuvak Pass in Alaska. Today I decided to look for examples of symbiosis in the area. The three types of symbiosis are mutualism, commenalism, and parasitism.
Mutualism -a symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species in each member benefits
An example I found on this type of symbiosis is between the lichen and algae. From the previous day, I took a picture of some lichen, if you wish to see it. What I studied was that the lichen is provided the sugar to grow from the algae, while the lichen is used as a physical substrate for the algae to thrive on.
Commenalism -a symbiotic relationship between two oraganisms of different species in which one denies benefit without harming the other
An example I found for this type is between a polar bear and a flock of gulls. While examining a polar bear, it kills a caribou. After carefully examining the bear after eating the caribou (not getting too close to it) I noticed a flock of gulls came in and scavenged the rest of the caribou's meat. I unfortunately was not able to get any photos of this because it seemed too dangerous to even get that close to get a good enough shot. :(
Parasitism -a symbiotic relationship between two oraganisms of different soecies in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
An example I found is when I noticed a tape worm going inside of a caribou. From my knowledge, tapeworms go into warm-blooded animals to use a host to lay eggs in and live in. Here is a picture of a tapeworm:
Mutualism -a symbiotic relationship between two organisms of different species in each member benefits
An example I found on this type of symbiosis is between the lichen and algae. From the previous day, I took a picture of some lichen, if you wish to see it. What I studied was that the lichen is provided the sugar to grow from the algae, while the lichen is used as a physical substrate for the algae to thrive on.
Commenalism -a symbiotic relationship between two oraganisms of different species in which one denies benefit without harming the other
An example I found for this type is between a polar bear and a flock of gulls. While examining a polar bear, it kills a caribou. After carefully examining the bear after eating the caribou (not getting too close to it) I noticed a flock of gulls came in and scavenged the rest of the caribou's meat. I unfortunately was not able to get any photos of this because it seemed too dangerous to even get that close to get a good enough shot. :(
Parasitism -a symbiotic relationship between two oraganisms of different soecies in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed.
An example I found is when I noticed a tape worm going inside of a caribou. From my knowledge, tapeworms go into warm-blooded animals to use a host to lay eggs in and live in. Here is a picture of a tapeworm:
After a day of examining some plants, a dangerous polar bear, and a nasty tapeworm, I called it a day. Again, I'm excited to my next day in the Anaktuvak Pass.
Day 1
Today is my very first day in the Anaktuvuk Pass, Alaska. If you are wondering why I'm here, I'm here because I am want to further increase my knowledge on this specific biome. I want to collect information on the climate and species of the tundra biome. I am staying here for a total of 5 days. Below is a map of where I'm currently at.
As soon as I step foot on this land, I see a diverse number of plants, including mosses, lichens, sedges, and short grasses. Here is a picture i took of a sedge fruit (which I didn't eat) after wiping of much of the snow was on it:
And here is a picture of some lichen I found:
After I fnished examining these plants, I decided to crreat a food web, incluuding all the animals I've seen so far...
I created this web after examining the wild life:
This is a web of every single animal I've seen, and after examining each's habits, it took me about an hour or two to gather up information put this together. After this, I decided I might as well create a energy pyramid.
After another few hours of close examination, I managed to put together this:
I couldn't distinguish the exact type of animals I saw when I created this sadly. But, it's clear enough to see what type of animals are.
After many hours of studying and creating these graphs, I decided to call it a day. I set up my camp site, and went to sleep, excited for the next day.
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