1-B Cold Environments

Question 1

What are the characteristics of a polar environment?

Answer 1

Climate

• long cold winters with annual temp. below freezing
• windy with low precipitation

Soil
- soil covered by ice throughout the year

Plants

• hundreds of species of moss, algae and lichen survive.
• few other plants can survive

Animals

• polar bears live in the Arctic and penguins live in the Antarctic
• whales, seals and snowy owls are found in polar regions

Question 2

What are the characteristics of a tundra environment?

Answer 2

Climate

• cold, windy and little rainfall
• average temperature is -12 to -6 degrees

Permafrost
- in high latitudes, the ground remains frozen all year round and in the souther parts of the Arctic, the surface layer of the permafrost melts in the summer

Soil
- high in organic material as it is too cold for organisms to decompose

Plants

• trees do not grow
• small plants may flower when the snow melts

Animals

• arctic foxes, polar bears, gray wolves and more live here
• in the summer, when shallow lakes and bogs appear, insects, birds and other wildlife are attracted

Question 3

Describe the interdependent ecosystem within cold environments

Answer 3

The bionics and abiotic components are closely related

1. Plants gain nutrients from soil and provide nutrients for animals. In return, animals spread the seeds of plants
2. Herbivores (e.g. reindeers) survive by migration. They migrate to areas where plants are able to grow. Carnivores follow the migration of herbivores
3. Humans can impact the ecosystem. Like, when vehicles damage plant cover, the permafrost melts. The melted permafrost can flood land and prevent plants from growing.

Question 4

How have plants adapted to cold environments?

Answer 4

1. Most plants become dormant to survive the cold, dark winters
2. Plants are small and round-shaped to provide protection from the wind
3. Most plants have shallow roots due to the layer of permafrost beneath the soil layer
4. Most plants have a growing season of just 50-60 days due to the very short growing season

Question 5

How have animals adapted to cold environments?

Answer 5

1. They are well insulated - they might have a thick fur coat like polar bears or a layer of blubber like seals. This reduces energy loss
2. Some animals hibernate to conserve energy and survive the winter. E.g. Arctic ground squirrels hibernate for 7-8 months of the year
3. Animals that don’t hibernate have adapted to survive on limited food. For example, reindeer have adapted to eat lichens in winter

Question 6

What are the issues related to biodiversity?

Answer 6

Biodiversity is low in cold environments, so changing one will impact another. (E.g. changing the number of lemmings will change the number of Arctic foxes)

Climate Change
- As the average temperature increases, animals will move towards the poles to become cooler. Animals that live in the poles are in risk of extinction as they have no where else to go.

Tourism
- Litter and waste disposal damages habitats and can harm wildlife, especially because decomposition rates are so slow.

Fishing
- Over-fhsing threatens many species (e.g. in Antarctica the Patogonian Toothfish has been fished to near extinction)

Question 7

What are the development opportunities of Alaska?

Answer 7

1. Oil and Gas - 1/2 of Alaska’s income comes from the industry. Most of the oil is from Prudhoe Bay
2. Mineral Resources - gold, silver, iron ore and copper are mined. it contributed $2.2 billion to Alaska’s GDP in 2013
3. Fishing - salmon, crab and pollock are fished. It employs 79,000 people and contributes over $5bn to Alaska’s economy
4. Tourism - tourists are attracted by the wilderness scenery. Around 2 million tourists visit a year, bringing in money and opportunity for employment

Question 8

What are the challenges of developing in cold environments?

Answer 8

1. Extreme Temperature - in Prudhoe Bay, the mean temperature is around -9C. Exposure can cause injury or death and healthcare may be a long distance away
2. Inaccessibility - the remote areas can be expensive and difficult to access. In winter, some towns are accessed by air or ice roads, and in summer, roads cannot be used as the ground is too soft
3. Buildings and Infrastructure - providing buildings that can cope is expensive and difficult. Most construction work can only take place in the summer.

Question 9

Why is the wilderness of Alaska worth protecting?

Answer 9

1. They provide habitats for organisms, so help to protect biodiversity
2. Scientists can study wild plants and animals in their natural habitats
3. They are natural ecosystems that are useful to compare to managed ecosystems
4. they are last remaining areas that haven’t been altered by human activity

Question 10

Why is the wilderness of Alaska fragile?

Answer 10

They are fragile as if interfered with, they can take a long time to return to their original state.

1. Plant growth is slow
2. Species are highly specialised so find it difficult to adapt to change - e.g. polar bears are adapted to hunt on ice and their numbers are decreasing as sea ice melts earlier each year

Question 11

What strategies are used to balance economic development with conservation?

Answer 11

1. Use of Technology - development can cause problems that can be solved by modern technology (e.g. buildings that reduce heat escaping, which contributes to permafrost melting, by elevating buildings on piles or building on gravel beds).
2. Role of Governments - governments can make laws to protect cold environments (e.g. 1964 Wilderness Act designated wilderness areas and protected them from development)
3. International Agreements - the Antarctica Treaty aims to protect the Antarctic ecosystem - 53 countries have signed it
4. Conservation Groups - they pressure govs. to protect cold environments (e.g. the WWF for Nature and Greenpeace encourage sustainable management)