Antarctica

Melanie,Cassidee and Ryleigh

We are learning about the Antarctic habitat. In Antarctica the weather is cold all the time. It is beautiful. In summer the ocean melts, but only very edges of the land are free of ice.

Antarctica is located at the bottom of the Earth . Antarctica is south of the equator. The Southern Ocean is around Antarctica. The Weddell Sea is also around Antarctica.

Some plants grow in Antarctica. A kind of algae grows in Antarctica. It is pink and it is called Watermelon snow. Antarctica hair grass grows on rocks during the short summer. Pearlwort is a kind of flower that grows in Antarctica during the summer.

Some animals live in Antarctica. Penguins live in Antarctica but do not live by the North Pole in the Arctic . Leopard seals eat penguins. Killer whales can eat squid and penguins. They are at the top of the Antarctic food chain. Many animals eat krill and the krill eat tiny plants in the sea. The elephant seal eats fish and squid.

Barnacles are clam –like animals that get a ride on whales. They ride on them and get food in the water. They can’t move but the whales can move for them.

We learned that Antarctica is a cold desert . It is just the same snow that blows all around the year. We also learned that zooplankton is a very small animal that eat phytoplankton. It was very interesting to learn about theAntarctic habitat.