The Antarctic Circle Biome of Arctic Tundra

Introduction

Whenever you think about the Antarctic circle many of us think that it is barren ice chunks floating together some with penguins and seals others with polar bears floating around usually not inhabited by humans. But this is wrong since we often get confused with its polar opposite, the Antarctic. The Artic is surrounded by oceans and lands of masses which are teeming with life including humans, plants, and animals. Also, in the summer the arctic experiences summer along with 24hours of daylight. It’s for these reasons and so much more that I was intrigued to investigate about the food security in this region and I hope you're intrigued to read more into my report as well.

Description About the arctic circle

The Antarctic circle is considered as the biome of Arctic tundra since tundra are treeless regions found in the Arctic, where the climate is cold and windy, and rainfall is scant. Tundra lands are covered with snow for much of the year, but summer brings burst of wildflowers.

About the biome

Fauna

Although, when we think of animals living in the artic our mind wanders to thinking about polar bears and penguins at maximum a seal but there is actually over 5,500 species of animals that live in the artic This includes narwhales, beluga whales, harp seals, Walrus the list goes on and on. This is why I will not be going through or listing each animal since that would take over a page instead I will be giving information on an animal either that I didn’t know lived in my biome or interesting facts on them in general.

In the artic circle, not all the 5,500 mammals are marine there are actually many animals that either can’t swim at all or don’t eat fish which might in fact herbivores have adapted to be able to eat lichen, a moss which grows on plants in the tundra such as the Artic hair, Muskox, Reindeer and so many more . Carnivores, however, have a much wider diet, ranging from rodents such as lemmings, birds, and even caribou. When food sources are more scarce, carnivorous animals will also eat berries and eggs just like the Canada lynx, Arctic fox.

Due to the extreme temperature, many of the animals living in this biome have special adaptations to adjust accordingly. Such as the polar bear one of the most famous inhabitants which are found in Alaska, northern Canada, and Greenland. Not only do they have thick layers of fat and thick fur but have black skin, since they are able to absorb the heat. At the same time during the summer the pole would have extreme sunlight this is why their oil coating acts like a sunscreen to protect them from the UV ray radiation. Yes indeed, the polar bear is a fine specimen to understand the different features needed to adapt in his harsh environment.

But they aren’t the only animals that uses these techniques nor are these the only adaptation. Animals like seals and penguins huddle together in large groups to preserve body heat. Along with hunting together and living together as there is safety in number.

Though many animals in the Arctic circle are being hunted for their meat and oils, are experiencing habitat loss due to the increase in global warming over the past few years has increased in global and the increase in pollution in the arctic waters. This has led to an exponential increase in the number of endangered animals near the Arctic Circle such as the narwhal, polar bear and so many more.

Flora

Although, most of us associate the arctic circle as being a barren treeless ice-land. There is more that meets the eye many herbs and shrubs around 1700 species of plant live here in the Arctic tundra. The tundra is characterized by permafrost, a layer of soil and particularly decomposed organic matter that is frozen year-round. Only a thin layer of soil called the active layer, thaws and refreezes each layer this provides nutrients and allows shallow root systems allowing these plants to thrive.

However, due to the extreme many non-vascular plants can also be found in the arctic region. In fact, plants like lichens that grow in mats on the ground are a major food source in the Arctic Circle. There are over 150 species of lichens in the artic since they are one of the fewer majority of plants that can sustain here. The lack of water and cold doesn’t bother these nonvascular plants since they live in the cervixes and crack between the rocks. Making them widely available and a major source of protein in this region. Just like the 300 types of moss found in colonies, over 300 nonmarine algae species which have similar adaptations and purposes.

Vascular plants live close to the ground this helps them to resist the cold and reduce damage caused by harsh winds blown like the purple saxifrage and the arctic willows just to name a few. Many plants also have a fuzzy covering on stems, leaves, bulbs, and woolly seed covers which provide extra protection against the wind such as the Cottongrass, Pasque flowers, and the bearberry.

All-most all the plants in the region are able to photosynthesis in the cold temperatures including those that grow underground or the ones grown under layers of snow. During the polar summers is when these plants reproduce by creating seeds and flowers. The flowers are usually cup-shaped to absorb the sun’s rays directly. The dark color of the plants means they are able to absorb more heat like the arctic poppies.

Many plants as well die in the winter and then regrow using previous roots stronger. Indeed, there are many techniques used by the plants such as leaf sizes to grow underground.

Location/latitude

Arctic Circle has a latitude at approximately 66°30′ N. due to the Earth’s inclination at 23 1/2° to the vertical, it marks the southern limit of the area within which, for one day or more each year, the Sun does not set (about June 21) meaning they have continuous daylight for 6 months or (about December 21) they have a night for those 6 months. The Earth’s axial tilt changes 2 degrees. As a result, the Arctic Circle is slowly drifting northwards at about 49ft (15m) every year. The Arctic circle is in the north pole of the earth making it opposite to the Antarctic Circle is the southern counterpart so their daylight and darkness are exactly opposite.

The Arctic circle expands to about 7,700,000 square miles, about 4% of the earth’s surface. The Arctic Circle is made up of 8 countries which are Norway, Sweden, Finland, Russia, the United States (Alaska), Canada, Denmark (Greenland), and Iceland.

About my biome

Climate

The Arctic circle has a lot to offer including its cold temperature being -50 degrees in the winters and 30 degrees in the summer. The hottest temperature being at 38.6 degrees Celsius which was recorded in June 2020 in Siberia which is thought to be a new record for the arctic circle. This raises concerns around global warming and other such factors. Rising in temperature affects the sea level as well as the flora and fauna that live there which could ruin their delicate ecosystem there. The Arctic circle has about 150 to150ml of rain each year their soils are Gleisoil’s since they contain permafrost and only two meters of soil.

People/history

In a word, the arctic circle can be describe as cold for those who live they’re however this hasn’t stopped humans from inhabiting this area.

• 30,000- 10,000 years ago: It is believed humans have inhabited the artic since 30,000 years ago. It is believed that cave men’s, hunter-gathers but no evidence of civilization;
• 15th Century: The first European colonization began to settle. Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Russia started moving towards the north. Further into this century;
• 16th Century: European expansion begins in the Americas( King Henry III of England had a polar bear as a pet). Gold and riches lured the British and French to explore. European traders exported furs to Europe;
• 19’s century: the 1890 gold rush brought thousands of settlers at the same time Russia discovered that it shares of the artic had many gold, coals, and other resources. Countless riches were made from selling walruses to whales to polar bears resulting in a considerable depletion in wildlife;
• 1867: Russian empire sells Alaska to America;
• 20th century: during this time the economy of the Artic circle boomed with whaling and other sport increasing profit and attention oil production increased with the discovery of the Prudhoe Bay Oil Field in 1968 bringing a new wave of migrants in the region. During world war 2 Alaska became a major military hub with many bases and resources found here;
• today: The Arctic Circle has about 4 million people along with polar stations and meteorological centers, large and modern cities, large industrial enterprises, and sea and land transport routes. climate change has given the Arctic Circle renewed importance in global politics, as melting sea ice a global issue within itself is allowing ships to be traversed. Canada and Russia started developing sea shipping lanes using the Arctic, and conflicts over Arctic territory have strained relations among the countries who control lands bordering it;

About my biome

Food security status

Food security has always been a concern in places with extreme weather conditions or remote locations. In the case of the arctic circle (which can be considered as both). Additionally, climate change has a complex involvement on human food and health both locally and globally. With the world becoming closer and closer new trends are emerging to include exotic animals to include a variety of options in our diet than the normal chicken, pork and beef staples this has not only increased the amount of wildlife available on the menu(such as shark fin soups to more traditional food in the arctic circle polar bear meat). This has increased global demands around the world but has decreased the supply in fact most animals in the arctic circle due to the fact that there are not globally available such as the chicken are endangered like the polar bear and many types of penguins.

This is a problem since living in the arctic circle you don’t have fertile soil and aren’t available to grow nutritious foods such as vegetables; like tomatoes, lettuce and etc. Along with global warming, it is just to the extreme to grow lush crops. This is why people in the arctic circle are heavily reliant on the consumption of wildlife as this is readily available to them and is a goods source of protein the wide selection on fish and animals living here is the only source of nutrients over here.

Additionally, as I have mentioned above the arctic circle has plants with shorts roots this would encourage erosion in the summer when the ice has partially melted as well as would allow many nutritious fruits and vegetables such as apples and onions that aren’t apart of the native diet. In fact, the staple diet in my region is meat. This is also influenced by the cultural importance of the society as well. Even for babies, they are cooked meat to suck on then transition to chewed meat until they are able to eat small portions. In fact, meat provides people with a lot of carbohydrates and instant energy which is needed to survive the cold.

Sources

I have used a plethora of resources in my report including the use of articles, newspaper as seen in figure 8. Primary resources such as google maps to make my own BOLTS map and website with facts and those that were for commercial such as tours. To validate my information form one site I would explore multiple sites to seek validation. One of my most helpful websites was ‘Alaska tours’ since I was able to get bibliographical evidence from this site as well as snipes of what to research on the arctic circle since I was unsure in the start. I had also validated this website to prevent bias opinions from the country in my report by cross-referencing the website. Due to the extremity of my region I was able to find many scientists' reports who have researched my region. Hence was able to prevent to the intervention of biased opinions. This really helped me to get into the dept of my report to include all possible aspects and anomalies during my investigation to find out about food security of my region.