the arctic ecosystem

BY ALEX , MARCOS AND XAN

INDEX OF THE ARCTIC ECOSYSTEMWhere the ecosystem are ?Weather condictions?HabitatTypes of plantsTypes of animalsNon-living thingsExamples of food chain and food webConclusion

WHERE THE ECOSYSTEM ARE?The Arctic is a polar region located at the

northernmost part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Alaska (United States), Canada, Finland, Greenland (Denmark), Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden.

Weather condictions

The Arctic's climate is characterized by cold winters and cool summers. Precipitation mostly comes in the form of snow. The Arctic's annual precipitation is low, with most of the area receiving less than 50 cm (20 in). High winds often stir up snow, creating the illusion of continuous snowfall. Average winter temperatures can be as low as −40 °C (−40 °F), and the coldest recorded temperature is approximately −68 °C (−90 °F).

HabitatThe Arctic isn’t just cool, it’s cold! The Arctic is an

area that includes parts of Canada, Greenland, Russia, Iceland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, and the United States (Alaska).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=Zci5znnIkXM

Types of plants

Types of animals

Arctic vegetation is composed of plants such as dwarf shrubs, graminoids, herbs, lichens and mosses, which all grow relatively close to the ground, forming tundra.

Colder summer temperatures cause the size, abundance, productivity and variety of plants to decrease.

Herbivores on the tundra include the Arctic hare, lemming, muskox, and caribou. They are preyed on by the Snowy owl, Arctic fox and wolf. The polar bear is also a predator, though it prefers to hunt for marine life from the ice. There are also many birds and marine species endemic to the colder regions. Other land animals include wolverines, ermines, and Arctic ground squirrels.

Non-living thingsThe Arctic includes sizable natural resources (oil, gas,

minerals, fresh water) to which modern technology and the economic opening up of Russia have given significant new opportunities.

The interest of the tourism industry is also on the increase.

What is a food chain?Food chains show how plants and animals get their food (energy). It shows how energy is passed from one organism to another, with the arrows representing the direction of energy flows.

What is a food web?A food web is a lot of food chains all put together to show how the plants and animals in an entire ecosystem rely on each other. Figure 2 shows a basic food web for an arctic ecosystem.

ConclusionIn our country, Spain, at the end of the century, the

beaches of Benidorm, Marbella and San Sebastian will be submerged under floods of water, as most of the infrastructure situated in coastal areas. The rising temperatures and melting ice caps will be the main cause.

Then, the Arctic is also a matter of Spain