Arctic Ecosystem

CLIMATIC HISTORY:

Before the last Ice Age, the Arctic was as lush a continent as any other. Its winters were harsh, but the summers cool and temperate. Many plants and animals lived in what we nowdays call a 'barren wasteland'. Many of these species went extinct due to natural climate change, or Global Warming. The end of the Ice Age literally means the end of the ice; even at the Poles. Today, the Arctic is so cold all year round, that only the toughest animals and plants can survive. The Sun doesn't rise all winter, and doesn't set all summer, making the weather very temperamental. Global Warming has been enhanced by greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere by humans, and many of these rare species ar beginning to die out.

NATURAL ECOSYSTEM:

The Arctic has a richer abundance in wildlife than Antarctica, but is still, for the most part, devoid of life. Some of the plant and animals species that do survive there are listed below.

PLANTS: few plants can survive the harsh climate of the Arctic because, unlike animals, they cannot migrate or shelter from the cold. However, the few that do grow there are perfectly well adapted th their environment. Some grow only in deep crevices or under decaying animal matter, and this protects them from the cold. Others bloom and grow only during the short summer months, their seeds hibernating all through winter or grow flowers that are cup-shaped, to conserve the heat of the Sun. Still others are covered in thick fuzz to protect them from the wind, or grow close to the ground so as not to freeze. These plants are the basis of the Artcic land ecosystem.
THE BASICS: like in Antarctica, the basic food of all marine life is plankton, and then krill.
LEMMING: lemmings are small, round rodents who live in burrows under the earth in summer, and tunnels under the snow and ice in winter. They are herbivores and the main food of most Artcic predators. They go through two moults evey year, turning greyish brown for summer and pure white for winter. They are shy and secretive; good at avoiding predators.
ARCTIC HARE: the Arctic hare is fast and attentive, and very hardto catch. They can make sharp turns when running from a predator, and their winter white coat is great camouflage, as is their summer brown one. They are herbivores and live in deep burrowss in the earth. They live in huge colonies and burrow together to conserve body heat. Arctic hares live further North than any other hare.
ERMINE: the ermine is a very small predator of the mustelidae family: it's only thirty centimetres long, tail included. Ermines go through a moult, just like the lemming and the hare, so that in winter they are white, in summer brown. The diet of the ermine consists mainly of lemmings, who present no problem as the tiny ermine can easily squeeze into small burrows, but they will also eat the occasional hare, and even the rare fox. Ermines, like all others in the mustalidae family, are renowned for their bravery and arrogance. They will take on wolves to protect their cubs.
ARCITC FOX: a small, skinny brown fox in summer, a small, fluffy white fox in winter. It hunts hares and lemmings, and doesn't turn its nose up at carrion. Arctic foxes are very skilled hunters, but also quite shy and secretive, which means they are rearely seen.
WOLVERINE: the wolverine is the largest member of the mustalidae family, and retains the fierce, dangerous temper of its relatives. It's brown in colour, with darker markings. Due to its incredible bravery, it, like ermines, weaseals and other musteloids, can kill prey much, much larger than itself. Some wolverines have been known to kill moose, they themselves only about as big as bulldogs.
SNOWY OWL: the snowy owl is a white speckled bird of prey, and the ultimate aeral hunter. An owls wings can muffle any sound, and snowy owls are particularly good at surprising unsuspecting prey. They live off mainly lemmings, but also the occasional hare, ermine or fox. Snowly owls are completely covered in feathers and thick down, to insulate them against the cold.
ARCTIC WOLF: Arctic wolves are small and slender, with thick white pelts. They live in family packs and hunt pretty much anything they can get their teeth into, though they have a special liking for caribou. Within the wolf pack, only the alpha male and female are allowed to mate and have pups and anyone who breaks that rule is instantly sent away. The dominant couple are usually the parents of all the younger wolves in the pack, and often the founders.
CARIBOU: caribou are related to deer. They have thick coats with insulative, hollow hairs. They are herbivores ans live off moss, lichen and other plantlife. Their main enemy is the Arctic wolf. every winter, huge caribou herds migrate South to more temperate forests, where they are protected from fierce winds and biting cold.
MUSK OXEN: musk oxen are closely related to buffalo. They have sharp horns and hooves and a shaggy coat or coarse hair that reaches nearly to the ground. They are constantly on the lookout for wolves and, to protect their young, will fight the predators with their sharp horns and circle the calves.
HARP SEALS: harp seal pups are renowned for their beautiful white coats, which change to adult gray in only two weeks. A harp seal mother will take care of her pup alone, feeding it on milk high in fat and proteins. When the pup has grown its impermeable fur, both of them will follow schools of fish northwards, where food is more plentiful. The polar bear is the harp seals main predator, but seals are carnivores, too. They feed on fish, and sometimes crustaceans.
WALRUS: walruses are closely related to seals, but they are generally much bigger and are equipped with a pair of enormous tusks. These are used mainly for defense, but also for fights over females and the right to mate. Walruses have a language all their own that they use to communicate. It is made up of grunts, barks, bellows and the occasional growl. They ar very efficient at making their presence known to others, and they do so often. Walrus pups are born without tusks, and these grown in only much later. The pup wil drink its mothers milk when still young, and then move on to its normal diet: krill and shellfish. Walruses are protected from the cold by a thick layer of blubber.
POLAR BEAR: polar bears are the top predators of the Arctic. They are equipped with all the right material to make them efficient killers: a powerful set of jaws lined with long, sharp teeth, extemely long claws and nimble, webbed paws which allow them to grasp prey. They are strong swimmers, but spend most of their life on land. The female raises her cubs alone, and gives birth to them during the winter, in an underground den. For the whole winter, she doesn't eat anything, and counts on next spring to bring her food. To protect them from the cold, polar bears have a thick layer of blubber under their skin, and thick white fur. Thir main diet consists of seals.
WHALES: only three types of whale live in the frigid Arctic oceans: the beluga, the bowhead and the narwhal. Belugas are small and white and have very thick layers of blubber, so they look quite fat. They, like walruses, make noises to communicate. Their language is made up of a series of squeaks, chirrups, whistles, trills and clicks. The young belugas are gray, camouflaged against deadly killer whales, who are a constant threat to them. Belugas feed on fish, squid, octopus and other marine animals. They are toothed whales, which means they bite their food. Narwhals are also small whales, and their food is mainly shrimp and other small crustaceans and fish. They are speckled in colour, and their most surprising feature is their long tusk. They are the only species of tusked whale, and only the males have a tusk, which they use for fighting. The narwhals main predator is the killer whale. Bowhead whales are the largest of the three and baleen whales, which means they catch enormous amounts of krill in their mouths each day and swallow them whole. Bowheads are bluish black in colour, but their young are greyish blue, as camouflage. Killer whales are their natural enemies.