Our Living World: Earth's Biomes - Volume 2: Tundra
Transcript of Our Living World: Earth's Biomes - Volume 2: Tundra
Tundra
T R A D I T I O N B O O K S ® , M A P L E P L A I N , M I N N E S O T A
A N E W T R A D I T I O N I N C H I L D R E N ’ S P U B L I S H I N G TM
2volume
OUR LIVING WORLD: EARTH’S BIOMES
Tundra B a r b a r a A .S o m e r v i l l
�
In gratitude to George R. Peterson Sr. for introducing me to the beauty of creation—George R. Peterson Jr., Publisher, Tradition Books®
Published in the United States of America by Tradition Books® and distributed to the schooland library market by The Child’s World®
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]For Editorial Directions, Inc.: E. Russell Primm, Editorial Director; Dana Meachen Rau, LineEditor; Katie Marsico, Associate Editor; Judi Shiffer, Associate Editor and Library MediaSpecialist; Matthew Messbarger, Editorial Assistant; Susan Hindman, Copy Editor; LuciaRaatma, Proofreaders; Ann Grau Duvall, Peter Garnham, Deborah Grahame, KatieMarsico, Elizabeth K. Martin, and Kathy Stevenson, Fact Checkers; Tim Griffin/IndexServ,Indexer; Cian Loughlin O’Day, Photo Researcher; Linda S. Koutris, Photo Selector
For The Design Lab: Kathleen Petelinsek, design, art direction, and cartography;Kari Thornborough, page production
[PHOTOS]Cover/frontispiece: Corbis.Interior: Animals Animals/Earth Scenes: 16 (Bradley W. Stahl), 38 (Studio Carlo Dani), 62(Erwin & Peggy Bauer), 67 (Maria Zorn), 73 (McDonald Wildlife Photography), 81 (BreckP. Kent), 88 (OSF/Doug Allan); W. Perry Conway/Corbis: 41, 57; Corbis: 8 (Liz Hymans), 12(Andrew Brown; Ecoscene), 15 (Wolfgang Kaehler), 20 (Dave G. Houser), 30 (ArthurMorris), 32 (Steve Kaufman), 33 (Eric and David Hosking), 42 (Charles Mauzy), 47 (TomBrakefield), 54 (Lowell Georgia), 55 (Scott T. Smith), 59 (Kevin Schafer), 60 (HubertStadler), 64 (Joe McDonald), 84 (John Noble); Michael DeFreitas: 75; Dembinsky PhotoAssociates: 21 (Pekka Parvianinen), 46 (Darrell Gulin), 53 (Dominique Braud); DigitalVision: 28, 50, 83; Patrick Endres/Alaskaphotographics.com: 51, 52, 58, 69, 76, 78; FrankLane Picture Agency/Corbis: 22 (Philip Perry), 80 (Roger Wilmhurst); D. Robert & LorriFranz/Corbis: 35, 37; Getty Images/Brand X Pictures: 9; Darrell Gulin/Corbis: 48, 91;Wolfgang Kaehler: 27; A. Kuznetsov/Art Directors & TRIP Photo Library: 7; Photodisc: 18,24, 26, 36, 39, 43, 61, 68, 70, 77, 90; Robert Pickett/Corbis: 66, 82; Crii Rad/ConstantinBlanc/Corbis Sygma: 86; Galen Rowell/Corbis: 5, 11; Gary Schultz: 17, 44, 89; KennanWard/Corbis: 23, 34, 49; Peter Weimann/Animals Animals/Earth Scenes: 4, 29.
[L IBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA]CIP data available
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Barbara A. Somervill is the author
of many books for children. She loves
learning and sees every writing
project as a chance to learn new
information or gain a new under-
standing. Ms. Somervill grew up in
New York State, but has also lived in
Toronto, Canada; Canberra, Australia;
California; and South Carolina. She
currently lives with her husband in
Simpsonville, South Carolina.
�
CONTENT ADVISER
Susan Woodward, Professor of
Geography, Radford University,
Radford, Virginia
�
Table of Contents
�
Table of Contents[ C h a p t e r O n e ]
4 Defining Arctic and Alpine Tundra[ C h a p t e r T w o ]
22 Focus on Key Species[ C h a p t e r T h r e e ]
32 Predators[ C h a p t e r F o u r ]
43 Prey[ C h a p t e r F i v e ]
51 Flora[ C h a p t e r S i x ]
59 Herbivores[ C h a p t e r S e v e n ]
69 A Cycle of Life[ C h a p t e r E i g h t ]
74 The Breeding Season[ C h a p t e r N i n e ]
82 The Human Touch
9 2 [ C h a r t o f S p e c i e s ]
9 3 [ I n d e x ]
� A snow leopard leaps over
snowdrifts in the Himalaya
Mountains. Her thick fur keeps
her warm in winter. Like most
snow leopards, this female
cat lives alone. She is 4 feet
(1.2 meters) long and weighs
80 pounds (36 kilograms),
DefiningArctic andAlpineTundra
1D
efin
ing
Arct
ic a
nd A
lpin
e Tu
ndra
4
[ C h a p t e r O n e ]
about the size of a big dog.
She hunts with skill and cun-
ning. She can bring down
Himalayan tahrs and ibexes
equal to her own weight.
Today, her hunt leads her
into a valley. The leopard
crouches down against the
snow. Her gray-spotted white
fur blends in against snow-
capped rocks.
A herd of Hima-
layan blue sheep
paws the ground
nearby. The leopard
keeps downwind of
the sheep. The
sheep neither hear
nor smell her approach. She
slinks forward, then leaps. The
herd scatters. They bound onto
sheer, rocky cliffs to escape.
5� A snow leopard prowls the alpine tundra of Asia’s Himalaya Mountains.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
ibexes (EYE-beks-ez) a large
variety of wild goats
tahrs (TARZ) long-haired mem-
bers of the wild Asian goat fam-
ily found only in the Himalayas
?
� A herd of Tibetan blue sheep keeps a watchful eye out for hungry snow leopards.
The leopard’s
search for food has
failed. She’ll try
again, but next time,
a hare becomes the
target. Hares are
easier to catch than
sheep. They also
make a decent meal.
Snow leopards can’t
be choosy about
what they eat. There
is too little prey available high
in the Himalayas of Asia.
Two Types of Tundra
� Tundra comes from the
Lapp word tundar. It means
“treeless plain”—an accurate
description. Only short, stunt-
ed trees survive the rugged
tundra climate. Those trees are
hard to find.
Tundra supports fewer
types of plants and animals
than most other biomes. It
seems like a barren, heartless
land. Yet it is filled with life.
About 1,700 different plants
grow in arctic and subarctic
ecosystems. These include
grasses, sedges, lichens, wild-
flowers, and shrubs. The plant
varieties growing within each
region depend on soil quali-
ty, weather, and water supply.
There are far fewer animal
species than plants. The
number of animals depends
on available food. The ability
to adapt to harsh weather
also limits the variety of
tundra animals.
Tundra exists in two
forms, alpine and Arctic.
Alpine tundra covers
6
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
biomes (BYE-ohmz) large
ecosystems in which the
plants and animals are adapted
to a particular climate or physi-
cal environment
ecosystems (EE-koh-siss-tuhmz)
communities of plants and
animals and their relationships
with the surrounding environ-
ments
?
A tree like this one is a rarity on Siberian tundra. �Most tundra trees hug close to the ground.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
mountain areas above
the tree line. Arctic tundra
occurs within or near
the Arctic Circle. Both
feature cold climates, little
rainfall, and short
growing seasons.
Few humans live
in tundra environ-
ments.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
tree line (TREE LINE) the maxi-
mum elevation at which trees
will grow
?
Alpine Tundra
� Alpine tundra is found in
Africa, Asia, Europe, South
America, and North America.
Tundra begins at
different altitudes
in every alpine sys-
tem, depending on
where trees stop
growing. It starts above the
tree line. In the Himalaya
Mountains, tundra begins at
about 14,750 feet (4,500 m).
Rocky Mountain tundra to the
north may begin at lower alti-
tudes—about 8,500 feet
(2,700 m). Usually, alpine
tundra starts between 10,000
and 11,000 feet (3,050 and
3,350 m) in altitude.
At high altitudes, tempera-
tures drop and high winds
whip the landscape. High alti-
tudes also have thinner air.
Animals have less oxygen to
breathe. Plants make do with
lower levels of carbon dioxide,
the gas they need to live.
Many animals and plants
cannot adjust to thinner air
or harsh weather.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
altitudes (AL-ti-toodz) eleva-
tions above sea level
?
All alpine tundra ecosys-
tems endure odd weather
patterns. Summer mornings
might start sunny and warm.
Yet the day could end with a
snowstorm. Sometimes, the
snow falls so thick it creates a
whiteout. People cannot see
more than a few feet in front
of them in a whiteout.
Average alpine tundra
temperatures range from –2°
to 50° Fahrenheit (–19° to 10°
Celsius). Temperatures on
exposed cliffs and rocky land
drop much lower in winter.
Snowfall may be heavy, though
the region is usually dry.
Alpine tundra animals find
ways to cope with the cold.
9� Pikes Peak, Colorado, is one of the most frequently climbed mountains in
North America.
� In winter, alpine tundra can present a rather bleak landscape.
Bears hibernate. This means
that they fill up on food in the
fall and sleep through the worst
winter weather. Wolves and
mountain lions move to forests
at lower altitudes. They must
hunt food through the winter.
Most alpine birds, including
birds of prey, migrate south.
They head for warmer weather.
10
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
Atlantic Ocean
IndianOcean
PacificOcean
PacificOcean
ArcticOcean
ArcticOcean
ArcticOcean
0˚
15˚N
30˚N
45˚N
60˚N
75˚N
15˚S
30˚S
45˚S
60˚S
0˚15˚W30˚W45˚W60˚W90˚W 75˚W105˚W120˚W135˚W150˚W165˚W 15˚E 30˚E 45˚E 60˚E 90˚E75˚E 105˚E 120˚E 135˚E 150˚E 165˚E
N O R T HA M E R I C A
S O U T HA M E R I C A
A F R I C A
E U R O P E
A S I A
A U S T R A L I A
G R E E N L A N D
Alpine Tundra
N
� Alpine tundra regions of the world
Alpine Tundra around the World
� In Asia, alpine tundra
is found in the Himalaya
Mountains, the Plateau of
Tibet, and on Fuji, the highest
mountain in Japan. The
Himalayas include Mount
Everest and dozens of other
peaks rising more than 20,000
feet (6,100 m).
The Himalayan alpine
tundra provides homes for
several unusual animal species,
including tahrs, yaks, and
snow leopards. Himalayan
alpine shrubs include juniper
and rhododendron. Mosses,
sedges, and lichens also grow
at tundra heights.
European alpine tundra
exists in the Alps (which
stretch through Italy, Switzer-
land, Lichtenstein, Austria,
and France). In most regions
of the Alps, the tree line lies
from about 5,000 to 9,000
feet (1,500 to 2,740 m). The
tree line can lie at different
altitudes on parts of the same
11
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
0˚
� Pink rhododendrons splatter color acrossthe Kama Valley near Mount Everest.
mountain. Lush meadows
fill high valleys in the Alps.
Clusters of edelweiss sprinkle
white blooms among meadow
grasses. Few large predators
remain in the Alps. Most have
been overhunted or forced out
of the region. Golden eagles
12
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
� The Swiss Alps are famous for ski resorts and stunning mountain landscapes.
WORLD WILDLIFE FUND IN
THE NEWS
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is
returning bears, wolves, wolverines,
and lynx to Europe’s Alps. For many
years, the Alps had no large predators.
The WWF blames this on bad rumors.
People in European communities grew
up on stories of evil wolves and dan-
gerous bears. Europeans believed that
it was good to kill these predators.
So far, the WWF has reintroduced
two predator groups in Europe. Lynx
now live in the Swiss mountains. A
new group of bears prowls the
Austrian Alps.
patrol the skies above alpine
meadows. They hunt for
rodents and small birds.
Loss of predators in a
region such as the Alps de-
stroys nature’s balance. With-
out predators, plant-eater
populations grow out of con-
trol. Deer, for example, pro-
duce young every year. Too
many deer eat too many plants
and damage forests. The Alps
need predators, such as bears
and wolves, to reduce the
number of plant eaters.
Only a few places in
Africa have alpine tundra.
One of these is Mount
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.
Kilimanjaro’s alpine zones
contain stumpy scrub trees
and giant-sized plants, such
as senecios and lobelias.
13
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
cover the land. The most
common grass-eating animals
found in the altiplano are
South American relatives of
camels: vicuña, llama, alpaca,
and guanaco.
In North America, alpine
tundra occurs in the northern
Appalachian Mountains and in
the Rocky Mountains. Most
Appalachian mountains lie too
low to have alpine tundra
zones. Tundra is limited to
small patches on the higher
peaks of New England. Mount
Katahdin, Maine, which rises
5,268 feet (1,606 m), supports
tundra lichens, sedges, and
mosses above the treeline.
The Rockies stretch from
Canada to the southwestern
United States. Rocky Mountain
tundra supports bumblebees
14
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
Crowned eagles and
lammergeiers circle
the air looking for
prey. Elands and
klipspringers,
types of antelopes,
browse on clumps
of tundra grass.
South Amer-
ica’s Andes Moun-
tains spread more
than 4,500 miles
(7,240 kilometers)
down the western
side of South
America. They fea-
ture the altiplano,
which is Spanish for
“high plains.” The
altiplano is alpine
tundra of a slightly
different kind. There are no
trees, but prairielike grasses
READ IT!
The Rocky Mountains by Larry
Bograd (Benchmark Books,
2001) presents a full picture of
the Rockies. The author explains
the different ecosystems found
in the mountain range.
�
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
The earth’s largest herb grows
in the Andes at 13,000 feet
(3,965 m) above sea level. The
herb is the Puya raimondii.
When the plant is about 100
years old, it flowers for the
first time—then dies. The
puya plant can reach 35 feet
(10.7 m) tall, and the flowers
can have a diameter of up to
8 feet (2.4 m).
!
Strong winds mold snow into drifts on the tundra in Manitoba, Canada. �
and butterflies, grizzly bears,
mountain sheep and mountain
goats, marmots, pikas, and
rosy finches. Each summer,
wildflowers sprinkle alpine
meadows with color. Winters
find the same landscape blan-
keted by several feet of snow.
Arctic Tundra
� Nothing is as bleak as
Arctic tundra in January.
By then, winter has gripped
the land for several months.
Sunlight casts a faint
glow that lasts barely
an hour each day.
Wind whips the land
day and night.
Arctic tundra
ranges from 55° to
70° north latitude.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
latitude (LAA-tih-tood) the
distance a point is north or
south of the equator; lines
of latitude run parallel to
the equator
?
Tundra lies in Russia, Alaska,
Canada, and Greenland. It is
also found in Iceland, Norway,
and Sweden.
Arctic tundra has two dis-
tinct animal popula-
tions: summer-only
visitors and perma-
nent residents.
Summers see the
arrival of millions of migrat-
ing birds, such as tundra
swans, snow geese, ducks, and
plovers. Migrating birds come
to lay their eggs and raise
their young on the tundra.
Insects breed in huge
swarms. They plague musk
oxen and caribou with con-
stant buzzing and biting.
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Refrigerator temperatures run
between 32°F and 40°F (0°C to
4°C ). Freezers range from 0°F
to 10°F (–18°C to –12°C ). Arctic
tundra temperatures can drop
to –60°F (–51°C ). That’s cold!
!
However, the billions of
insects feed millions of nest-
ing birds.
About 1,700 different
kinds of plants live in Arctic
tundra regions. Most are
sedges, mosses, and lichens.
Thick clusters of grasses
sprout up near icy streams.
About 400 types of wild-
flowers huddle close to the
ground. Their short height
protects them from strong
winds and cold temperatures.
Summer plants reproduce
in a hurry. Flowers must
bloom and produce seeds
during the six- to nine-week
growing season. Ever-present
winds and helpful plant eaters
carry the seeds across the
land. Of the millions of seeds
17� This Arctic tundra is located in Greenland.
� Midnight sun makes an eerie appearance over Alaska.
produced, only
a few actually
become plants.
Winter comes
early in the Arctic,
usually by Septem-
ber. Migrating birds
have already fled
south. Bears and Arctic
ground squirrels glut them-
selves with food. Then they
sleep in their dens until
spring. Rodents nestle in
underground holes called
burrows to keep warm.
Insects and their eggs lie
18
� An Arctic fox’s fur turns white in winter. It helps the fox blend in with its surroundingsso that prey cannot see the fox approaching.
WATCH IT!
National Geographic’s White
Wolf [ASIN: 6304475993] allows
viewers an inside look at life in
a wolf pack. Learn about the
trials and challenges of tundra
wolves in their natural habitat.
�
PROFILE: PERMAFROST
Plant roots struggle to find space in the
thin layer of tundra soil. The roots can-
not reach deep into the soil. A solid
layer of permafrost blocks their path.
Permafrost is permanently frozen
rock or soil. Even when summer tem-
peratures climb higher, permafrost
remains below 32°F (0°C). Permafrost
lies under about one-fourth of earth’s
land. Permafrost in the Siberian region
of Russia reaches as deep as 5,250
feet (1,600 m).
Wolves and foxes grow
extra-thick winter coats.
The fur has two layers. The
short fur close to the skin
keeps the animals warm.
Arctic foxes’ white coats blend
with the snow to help them
hide from the prey they
are hunting.
Many rodents live in
underground burrows.
But they can dig only a
short way. Soil deeper than
20
2 or 3 feet (.6 or .9 m) is
frozen solid. Rodents line
their dens with fur or
plants to add warmth.
Insects head under-
ground for the winter,
too. Some insects have a
special chemical in their
blood. The chemical works
like antifreeze in a car. It
allows the insects to survive
intense cold.
When spring approaches
on the Arctic tundra, snow-
drifts melt and icy streams
rush against their banks.
The aurora borealis fills
the sky with dancing lights.
Summer welcomes millions of
butterflies, bees, mosquitoes,
and flies. Vast flocks of tundra
swans, Canada geese, and
ducks feed their hungry
chicks. Life races
against the coming
winter, when sting-
ing cold will again
grip the land.
21
[ D e f i n i n g A r c t i c a n d A l p i n e T u n d r a ]
� The aurora borealis lights up Norway’s nightswith nature’s most beautiful light show.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
aurora borealis (uh-ROR-uh
bor-ee-AL-iss) lights that
appear in the northern sky
near the Arctic; the aurora is
the result of flares on the sun
?
� It is early June. A female
caribou arrives at the spring
birthing grounds. She is one of
thousands that will give birth
this June.
Snow still covers the hill-
sides, but the doe finds a patch
of bare ground. She gives birth
to twins—a rare occasion. Most
caribou births produce only
one calf.
Focus onKey Species
2Fo
cus
on K
ey S
peci
es
22
[ C h a p t e r T w o ]
Within minutes, the twin
calves rise on shaky legs. After
just hours, they walk. By the
next day, they have enough
strength to travel with the
herd. Young caribou must
keep up with the adults.
Wolves and grizzly bears look
for stragglers. Even golden
eagles have been known to
take caribou calves.
The herd’s size offers the
calves some protection. They
are among thousands of calves
born to the George River herd
in Quebec and Labrador,
Canada. The herd numbers
about 500,000 animals and
is one of the three largest
caribou herds in the world.
Predators will not attack
when so many adults surround
23� Caribou calves must be able to move with the herd when they are only a few hours old.
� Caribou herds migrate along the same paths their ancestors used hundreds ofyears ago.
the calves. Caribou antlers
are too dangerous, even for
hungry wolves.
Keystone Species of the Arctic
� Caribou, or wild rein-
deer, are keystone species of
the Arctic tundra. They play
a major role in the tundra
biome. Without caribou,
many other animals would
not survive.
Wolves and bears hunt
young, old, and injured cari-
bou. Predators must eat to
live. Caribou provide their
food. Predators also keep the
herd healthy by weeding out
weak animals.
Two other predators
attack caribou—mosquitoes
and flies. As many as 2,000
� A male caribou sports huge antlers thatbecome serious weapons in a fight.
flies have been counted
on one buck. Flies and
mosquitoes suck blood. It
is their food.
Once wolves or bears
eat their fill, the dead cari-
bou’s carcass supports other
animals. Blowflies lay live
larvae on dead flesh.
Carrion feeders, such as
gulls, jaegers, and Arctic
foxes, pick at the remaining
meat. No part of a dead cari-
bou goes unused. Even dis-
carded antlers provide food
for porcupines.
As caribou travel, they
deposit feces along their
paths. This waste carries
seeds and spores of plants
the caribou ate. The caribou
help spread plant life across
the tundra.
Keystone Speciesin Alpine Tundra
� A keystone
species in alpine
tundra is the pika.
Pikas belong to the
rabbit family. They
live in the Himala-
yas, the Rockies,
and in most alpine
locations. Pikas pro-
vide wolves with
about half their food
supply. Snow leop-
ards, brown bears,
steppe eagles, and
goshawks also
stalk pikas.
Pika burrows
provide homes for
small birds, such as
ground jays and
25
[ F o c u s o n K e y S p e c i e s ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
carcass (KAR-kuhss) the body
of a dead animal
carrion (CAH-ree-uhn) dead or
rotting flesh
feces (FEE-seez) solid waste of
an animal or human
larvae (LAR-vee) insects at the
stage of development between
eggs and pupae when they
look like worms
?
LOOK IT UP!
Caribou travel 800 miles (1,290
km) a year through an incredi-
bly demanding ecosystem.
Learn more about caribou at
these Web sites: http://www.
environmentyukon.gov.yk.ca/
fishwild/caribou.shtml and
http://idahoes.fws.gov/Fact/
Caribou.html.
�
snowfinches. Lizards like
pika burrows, as well. These
animals don’t bother pikas.
The pika’s sharp claws
scratch away soil. This action
keeps soil fresh and increases
plant growth. Pikas eat
plants. They collect and
store leaves and grasses
in small haystacks. Like
caribou waste, pika waste
spreads plant seeds through
the ecosystem.
Pocket gophers are a key-
stone species of the Rocky
Mountain alpine tundra.
They provide the same serv-
ices to an alpine biome as
Asian pikas. They dig bur-
rows almost continuously.
Pocket gophers turn soil and
spread seeds through feces.
Like squirrels and mice,
gophers are rodents. They’re
not much of a meal, but hun-
gry predators do eat them.
26
� The pika is a favorite food of manytundra predators.
A grizzly bear mother must teach her cubs how to find edible berries, nuts, and roots �in the tundra.
Umbrella Species
� Governments pass laws
to protect endangered or
threatened species. Legal
protection may outlaw hunt-
ing an animal or digging up
a plant. It may limit roads
that run through a territory.
Laws may punish people for
killing endangered animals.
An umbrella species is
a protected animal or plant
that spreads its legal protec-
tion over other
creatures. For
example, a grizzly
bear’s home area
ranges from 70 to
400 square miles
(181 to 1,036 sq
km). Protecting a
grizzly bear from hunting or
loss of habitat covers its
entire range. Many other ani-
mals and plants live within
that territory. When the
bear’s territory is protected,
[ F o c u s o n K e y S p e c i e s ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
endangered (en-DAYN-jurd) on
the edge being completely
wiped out; few members of a
species still surviving
threatened (THRET-uhnd) at
risk of becoming endangered
?
[ F o c u s o n K e y S p e c i e s ]
umbrella species. So do
wolves and caribou. Bears and
wolves roam large territories.
Laws protect these predators.
That protection spreads out
like an umbrella over the
tundra biome.
Flagship Species
� Flagship species star in
television specials. They have
those plants and
animals share in
that protection.
Grizzly bears
are not the only
umbrella species of
the tundra. Other
tundra bears, such
as Asiatic black
bears and polar
bears, also serve as
READ IT!
Discover everything you need to
know about grizzly bears. Read
Grizzly Bear by Alvin and
Virginia Silverstein (Millbrook
Press, 1998).
��
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Most bears are omnivores. That
means they eat both meat and
plants. A hungry grizzly can get
into a feeding frenzy. It may eat
200,000 berries in one day!
!
Web sites dedicated to them.
They create interest, emotion,
and money. In the tundra,
flagship species include
wolves, polar bears, lynx,
and grizzly bears.
Saving a flagship species
interests people in several
ways. People form organiza-
tions to save polar bears and
caribou. They “adopt” wolves
that live in protected habitats.
Governments pass laws to
protect these popular species.
Flagship species help
preserve an ecosystem. Like
an umbrella species, their
protection spreads over a
region. Their problems
become “news.” The more
people who understand issues
facing an ecosystem, the
more likely those problems
will end.
29� A polar bear and her cub hunt ring seals on the pack ice in Manitoba. They find the
seal by scent and then pounce a hole in the ice to catch their prey.
� A lone male wolf crosses open ground. He will live alone until he finds a mate, andthe pair will then start a pack of their own.
Indicator Species
� An indicator species mea-
sures the overall health of an
ecosystem. Scientists believe
that polar bears are an indica-
tor species of the Arctic tun-
dra. Polar bears live on land
but hunt and travel in the seas.
They pursue ringed seals by
walking out on solid ocean
ice. They find the seals living
under the ice.
Scientists see a trend
toward smaller, thinner, hun-
grier polar bears. They believe
this trend results from warmer
earth temperatures. Warmer
seas mean that solid ice forms
later. Polar bears cannot hunt
seals until solid ice forms. Less
ice means shorter hunting sea-
sons for polar bears. The thin-
ner bears are showing scien-
tists how warmer earth temper-
atures affect the tundra.
Plants make excellent
indicator species for both
Arctic and alpine tundra.
Some lichens and sedges will
grow only under certain condi-
tions. They need the right
amount of water and sunlight,
and a specific environment to
grow. These plants react to
reduced or excess rainfall or
snowfall. They do not grow
in polluted environments.
Less plant growth shows
problems in an ecosystem.
Most tundra plant eaters sur-
vive on sedges and lichens.
If ecosystem problems are
not fixed, the plants will not
grow. Animal species that
eat the plants will suffer.
31
[ F o c u s o n K e y S p e c i e s ]
� Lichens cling to tundra rocks like rust to an old car.
� Tundra life spins in an
ever-widening cycle. Five extra
warm days in Siberia, Russia,
lengthen the growing season
one year. Plentiful grasses and
wildflowers fatten voles and
lemmings. In turn, these
plump rodent mothers give
Predators3 [ C h a p t e r T h r e e ]
birth to larger, healthier
babies.
A breeding pair of snowy
owls protects its nest in a hol-
low. This year, the female laid
seven eggs. All hatched into
healthy, squawking owlets.
Seven hungry owlets demand
constant food. Luckily, the
healthy vole and lemming
populations provide food for
Pred
ator
s
32
PROFILE: GYRFALCONS
Gyrfalcons are the largest falcons. These
aggressive hunters may be white, light
gray, or brown-gray in color. They live
along rocky Arctic coasts, but they catch
their prey on open tundra. Gyrfalcons
hunt gulls, snow geese, ptarmigans,
and ducks.
Today, 1,650 to 2,650 breeding pairs
of gyrfalcons live in northern Europe.
Laws protect gyrfalcons in the wild.
However, poachers, or illegal hunters,
still capture and sell the birds. Live adult
gyrfalcons are sold illegally at prices
ranging from $10,000 to $100,000.
the owl family. Without
Siberia’s five extra warm days,
it would normally take a
breeding pair of snowy owls
two years to produce and raise
seven healthy fledgling owlets.
Snowy owls are birds of
prey. They eat animals. Unlike
most other owls, snowy owls
hunt in daylight. Successful
hunts at dawn and dusk feed
hungry mouths.
The owlets grow quickly.
By early fall, they have a full
set of feathers and can hunt
for themselves. Mild weather
and plentiful food allow snowy
owls to stay on the tundra all
winter. This year’s success
came from five extra warm
days.
Other birds of prey
also live in alpine and Arctic
33
[ P r e d a t o r s ]
� Snowy owls find plenty to eat in thetundra, including lemmings, groundsquirrels, mice, and hares.
tundra. Hawks, eagles, fal-
cons, jaegers, and merlins fare
well in the tundra ecosystem.
There are plenty of small
rodents and birds for them
to eat.
Food Supply
� The success of a predator
species depends on what the
animal eats. Predators that eat
a variety of foods have a better
chance of survival. Snowy owls
prefer voles and lemmings,
but also eat ducks, ptarmi-
gans, hares, and geese. Bears
fish for salmon in icy tundra
rivers but will eat berries,
nuts, flower bulbs, insects,
rodents, and lizards.
34
� A bald eagle fishes for salmon in an icy Alaskan river.
Some predators hunt for
food but will also eat carrion
if they find it. Foxes and
wolverines dine on the left-
overs of other predators.
Polar bears hunt ringed seals,
but they eat only the blubber.
An Arctic fox happily eats the
remaining meat.
Eating rotting meat seems
disgusting. However, nature
does not waste food. Every
part of a carcass feeds some-
thing, whether it is fly larvae,
foxes, or voles that gnaw on
bones.
Top of the Food Chain
� At the top of the food
chain are large predators.
Other than humans, large
predators have few enemies.
The tundra provides enough
food for large cats, bears,
wolves, and foxes.
Big cats from
alpine tundra
regions include
snow leopards,
mountain lions, and
lynx. Big cats hunt
by stealth. They
sneak up on their
prey. When in
range, they leap on
35
[ P r e d a t o r s ]
� A wolverine digs a storage pantry for itsleftovers. If today’s hunt fails, it will eatlast week’s caribou.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Most predators kill only what
they can eat right then. This is
not true of wolverines. They
hunt with future meals in mind.
Wolverines store extra meat
underground. When prey is
scarce, they choose a meal from
their underground “freezer.”
!
their targets. Big
cats use lightning
quickness to catch
prey. Sharp claws
and powerful teeth
bring the prey to
the ground.
Cougars, also called
mountain lions or pumas, live
in many different biomes.
They are the largest preda-
tors in the Andes alpine
tundra. In North America,
cougars roam the Rocky
Mountains. Cougars eat
rodents, but they prefer wild
sheep or deer.
The smallest tundra
“big” cat is the lynx. Lynx
weigh between 15 and 25
pounds (7 and 11 kg). At one
time, lynx lived in 21 of the
lower 48 states. Today, fewer
than one thousand lynx live
in only four states: Washing-
ton, Montana, Colorado, and
Maine. Other types of lynx
exist in Siberia, Spain,
Europe, and Central Asia.
Lynx do well in both Arctic
36
� A cougar takes a refreshing dip in an alpinetundra pool. Cougars, unlike house cats, donot mind a dip in a spring.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Cougars can spring 18 feet
(5.5 m) from the ground to a
cliff. Along the ground, they
can cover 40 feet (12 m) in
one long jump.
!
and alpine tundra ecosys-
tems. They eat mostly
hares, rabbits, and rodents.
Bears, Wolves, and Foxes
� Bears come in large, larg-
er, and largest. Polar bears are
the biggest land carnivores.
Males average 1,200 pounds
(544 kg), and females are
about half that weight. Polar
bears hunt ringed seals and
bearded seals by smell. They
pound on the ice
above a seal’s home
to break the ice.
Polar bears do not
drink water. They
get water from seal
blubber. At times,
37
[ P r e d a t o r s ]
� This lynx is at full stretch as it prepares to pounce on its prey.
LOOK IT UP!
Learn more about lynx around
the world. Access lynx links
at http://lynx.uio.no/jon/lynx/.
��
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
carnivores (KAR-nuh-vorz)
animals that eat meat
?
polar bears also eat
young walruses,
grass, seaweed, and
carrion.
Himalayan, or
Tibetan, black bears are tiny
compared to polar bears.
Adult males usually weigh less
than 400 pounds (181 kg).
Females weigh from 110 to
275 pounds (50 to 125 kg).
Himalayan black bears are
omnivores. They eat fruit,
bees’ nests, insects, rodents,
and carrion. They travel
across alpine tundra only dur-
ing the summer. Then berries
are plentiful, and bees’ nests
are filled with honey. In win-
ter months, they live at lower
altitudes.
Brown bears live in North
America, Europe, and Asia.
Grizzlies are brown bears.
In the Arctic, male brown
bears weigh between 500 and
1,320 pounds (227 and 600
kg). In alpine regions, brown
38
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
omnivores (OM-nuh-vorz)
animals that eat both plants
and meat
?
� Himalayan black bears are a rare sight.These shy bears live well away fromtowns and villages in Tibet and Nepal.
These grizzly cubs must learn how to fish for salmon. Grizzlies glut on salmon to �
add body fat for a long Arctic winter’s sleep.
bears weigh about 200 pounds
(91 kg) less.
Grizzlies fishing for
salmon are popular images
on tourist posters. However,
most grizzlies eat the carrion
of moose, elk, deer, or cari-
bou. They will also hunt the
young of those species.
Wolves live and hunt in
groups called packs. Wolves
inhabit both types of tundra.
The pack moves toward a
herd of prey. They single out
[ P r e d a t o r s ]
young, injured, or very old
animals to attack. Wolves
may also hunt alone when
the prey is small, such as
hares, marmots, or voles.
Arctic foxes spend sum-
mer months alone, but they
collect in packs during the
winter. They hunt small
mammals, such as
hares and lem-
mings. Arctic foxes
also eat dead fish
and carrion. They
often eat leftovers after bears
finish with a carcass.
Bloodsuckers
� The hungriest and
peskiest tundra predators
are swarms of insects. They
make a serious impact on
the ecosystem during their
summer-only lives. Midges,
flies, and mosquitoes attack
wild animals and humans
alike. Some tundra insects,
such as wasps and dragon-
flies, prey on other insects.
At one level, insects are
fierce predators. At another
level, they are primary prey
for birds and rodents. Many
wading birds and songbirds
are insectivores.
Among horseflies and
mosquitoes, only the females
suck blood. Males drink
plant juices or eat pollen.
Mosquitoes and flies have
sharp mouths that cut easily
through animal hides. In the
Arctic, flies and mosquitoes
plague caribou.
Many flies and beetles
eat carrion. They get rid of
40
[ P r e d a t o r s ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
insectivores (in-SEKT-uh-vorz)
animals that eat insects
?
41
[ P r e d a t o r s ]
� While this scene seems brutal, wolf packs actually keep deer populations healthy.They fell old, sick, or weak deer from the herd.
rotting carcasses, dung (ani-
mal feces), and other animal
waste from the tundra.
Blowflies, for example, lay
their eggs on carrion. The
young, called maggots, eat
rotting flesh until they
become adult flies.
42
� Mosquitoes swarm around this moose, caught taking a dip to get rid of thepesky insects.
� A small colony of
hoary marmots munches
on grasses in an alpine
meadow. The colony male
heads the group. He stands
on a boulder overlooking
the meadow. The other mar-
mots do not go far. Their
main protection from
[ C h a p t e r F o u r ] 4Prey
43
Prey
� Marmots, like pikas, are important members of the tundra community. They providefood for prey and distribute plant seeds.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
colony male (KOL-uh-nee
MALE) the head or leading
male of a group of marmots
?
predators is a quick exit into
their burrow.
Marmots live where
alpine meadows provide food
and rocky slopes offer protec-
tion. Where food is plentiful,
marmots live in colonies of
a dozen or so animals. If
food is scarce, they live in
small families that consist
of a male, female, and recent
young. Marmots hibernate
during the winter. They begin
sleeping in September or
44
� Hoary marmots in Denali National Park, Alaska, form part of the complex cycle of lifein tundra environments.
October and emerge from
their dens in early May.
Overhead, a golden eagle
circles. The colony male spots
the eagle. He lets out a shrill
whistle. Suddenly, the other
marmots stop eating and dash
for the burrow. They know by
the male’s call that the preda-
tor is a golden eagle. Each call
identifies a different enemy.
The colony male takes
his watchdog role seriously.
He shrieks when any other
animal comes near, even if
there is no danger. For mar-
mots, danger comes from
eagles, coyotes, lynx, bears,
and wolverines.
Limited Fare
� Neither alpine nor Arctic
tundra offers much variety in
prey. Most birds and insects are
summer residents. That leaves
the few birds that live perma-
nently on the tundra—along
with rodents, hares, and pikas—
as prey.
Ptarmigans live comfort-
ably in tundra ecosystems all
year. Their feathers
change color with
the seasons. Winter
white coloring
makes them nearly
invisible against the
snow. In the sum-
mer, they are speck-
led brown. If they don’t move,
they can’t be seen. Camou-
flage is the ptarmigan’s only
protection from predators.
Rodents make up the
largest year-round prey group.
Rodents range from small
45
[ P r e y ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
camouflage (KAM-uh-flahzh)
coloring that blends in with
the surroundings
ptarmigans (TAHR-mih-ganz)
game birds similar to grouse
?
voles to large muskrats and
porcupines. Most rodents dig
burrows with several entries,
rooms, and escape hatches.
Arctic ground squirrels such
as marmots live in colonies.
Their burrows may have as
many as 50 tunnels and
dozens of rooms.
Lemmings are tundra
rodents that produce many
young. A female has her first
litter in March. From then on,
she produces five or six more
46
� An Arctic ground squirrel will pass the tundra winter in a warm, underground burrow.
litters before the next winter.
An average litter has four to
eight young. Before female
lemmings are a month old,
they can produce litters.
Within one summer, a male
lemming may be a father,
grandfather, and great grand-
father—several times over!
Most tundra predators eat
lemmings. Because lemmings
usually weigh only about 2
ounces (57 grams), it takes
several lemmings to make a
meal. An adult snowy owl eats
a dozen lemmings a day.
Snowshoe hares, Arctic
hares, and pikas are slightly
larger prey. Hawks, foxes, lynx,
wolves, and coyotes all hunt
hares. Hares evade predators
by running, hopping, and
ducking down their holes.
Snowshoe hares run 27 miles
(43 km) per hour in short
bursts. They can cover 10
feet (3 m) in one jump. Like
Arctic foxes, snowshoe hares
wear white coats in winter
and brown for the
summer. Their col-
oring helps the
hares “hide” on
open ground.
47
[ P r e y ]
� A snowshoe rabbit’s white coat blends in withthe surrounding snow. A quick getaway savesthis bunny from becoming breakfast.
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
A pair of lemmings and three
generations with six females per
litter may produce as many as
4,000 young in one year.
!
A SummerBuffet
� Few predators
willingly face an
angry mother swan
or goose. They’ll get
honks, hisses, and serious nips
for their trouble. However, eggs
or hatchlings are a different
story. Weasels and mink are
nest thieves. They steal eggs
and young birds while parent
birds are away hunting for food.
48
� An elegant tundra swan stretches its wings on a Canadian tundra pond.
WATCH IT!
Living Planet: The Frozen Earth
with David Attenborough
(BBC/Time Life Videos, 2001)
takes viewers from the peaks
of the Andes to the Arctic.
The video explains how plants
and animals can survive such
extreme weather conditions.
�
Weasels and mink have
plenty of company in hunting
young birds. Birds of prey
often hunt chicks and song-
birds for food. The Arctic pere-
grine falcon plucks songbirds
out of the sky. Falcons can fly
at speeds of 60 miles (97 km)
per hour. They dive at speeds
of 230 miles (370 km) per
hour. Few songbirds can escape
a hunting peregrine falcon.
A type of jaeger lets other
birds do its hunting. When
another bird of prey has
caught a meal, the jaeger
49
[ P r e y ]
� Can you find the two eggs that belong to these long-tailed jaegers? They arethe same color as the ground, which protects them from predators.
grabs it from him in midair
and eats it. Jaegers are not
the only feathered food
thieves. Pushy gulls and
skuas regularly rob prey
from shy puffins and
skittish kittiwakes.
Billions of insects buzz,
click, and hum through the
tundra summer. Insects pro-
vide food as eggs, larvae, and
adults. Jaegers, plovers,
buntings, and snow geese
feed on insects.
The role of prey seems
brutal. Prey produce thou-
sands, millions, perhaps
billions of young, only to
have their offspring eaten.
The number of prey avail-
able limits the number of
predators in an ecosystem.
Less prey equals fewer
predators. On the other
hand, predators keep
prey populations from
exploding. Without this
natural balance, the tundra
would be knee-high in lem-
mings or grasshoppers.
50
� Black-backed gulls hover near a cliff, readyto steal fish from shy puffins.
� A caribou bends to
browse on low-lying lichens.
The lichens cover a rock the
size of a dinner plate. One
type of lichen that caribou
find delicious is called rein-
deer moss. It is one of nearly
2,500 different varieties of
lichen that grow in the Arctic.
Lichens have no roots and
grow very slowly.
[ C h a p t e r F i v e ] 5Flora
� Male caribou move through tussocks of tundra grasses on their annual migration.
Flora
51
Lichens are
neither alga nor
fungus, but are
instead a strange
combination of
both plant species.
Alga, the green
slime found on
ponds, produces
food for lichens.
The fungus, related
to mushrooms, gives lichens
strength. Lichen colors range
from orange-brown to gray-
green to off-white.
Plants of the ArcticTundra
� Arctic tundra plants face
serious challenges. Some-
times, there are fewer than
six or seven weeks in a grow-
[ F l o r a ]
READ IT!
Arctic Tundra and Polar Deserts
by Chris Woodford (Raintree/
Steck Vaughn, 2002) presents
a thorough picture of the dry,
barren tundra region.
��
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
alga (AL-juh) a simple one-
celled plant
fungus (FUHN-guhss) a flower-
less, leafless type of plant
?
ing period. Soil is shallow
and poor. Tundra climate
will not support many types
of plants. There is too much
cold and wind, and too little
rainfall for most plants.
Almost all Arctic tundra
plants grow close to the
ground. Their low height
protects them from bitter
winds. It also allows snow
cover to protect the plants
during winter. Dwarf willows
grow wide rather than tall.
They may reach only 4 inches
(10 centimeters) tall, but their
branches spread 15 feet (4.6
m) along the ground. The wil-
low’s roots stretch out an equal
distance underground.
53� Low-lying tundra plants hug the ground near this pond.
� Stunning saxifrage must bloom and produce seeds during the short Arctic summer.
Leaf color and shape are
key factors in plant survival.
Many Arctic plants have dark
green, red, or purple leaves.
Dark leaves absorb
heat and light bet-
ter than pale green
or yellow leaves.
Leaves tend to be
thick and grow
54
close together on many Arctic
plants. Saxifrage, for example,
traps a cushion of air within
its leaves and stems. The dif-
ference between the air tem-
perature outside and the tem-
perature inside the cushion
may be as great as 27°F (12°C).
Leaves may also be leath-
ery or hairy. Leathery saxifrage
leaves retain water. The Arctic
climate is very dry. Holding
water inside the plant may
mean the difference between
living and dying.
Wildflowers paint the
tundra with color during the
short, sunlit summer. Yellow
Arctic poppies and butter-
cups, vivid blue lupines, and
rich, purplish red fireweed
brighten the bare landscape.
Wildflowers are perennials
� Arctic wildflowers cling to soil caught betweenrocks. They paint the landscape with yellows,reds, and pinks.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
perennials (puh-REN-ee-uhlz)
plants that have lifespans of
longer than two years
?
with many small blooms. They
produce seeds by the millions.
The seeds are carried by birds
and insects or by the wind.
Bearberry, crowberry, and
nagoonberry shrubs sprout
near streams and ponds. Their
fruit feeds birds, bears, and
hares. Animals spread berry
seeds in their feces.
The most common tun-
dra plants are moss-
es, sedges, and
lichens. All three
grow close to the
ground. Spongy,
green moss grows
in wet areas, such
as bogs or marshes.
Sedges look like
wild grass. They grow in thick
clumps, which protect fragile
55
� Bears go wild for delicious cloudberries. They can eat thousands in oneday’s feeding frenzy.
DO IT!
Plant a tundra garden. If you
live where snow falls, tundra
wildflowers should grow in
your local soil. Most seed
catalogs have sections of
wildflower seeds. Next spring,
you could have Arctic poppies,
lupines, or fireweed growing
right outside your door.
��
roots from the cold. Lichens
grow extremely slowly, but
there are plenty of them.
Lichens can be crusty or
leafy. Caribou and musk oxen
feed on sedges and lichens.
Plants of the Alpine Tundra
� Alpine tundra plants adapt
to cold and wind much like
Arctic tundra plants. They
grow close to the ground with
wide-spreading roots. They
often have dark green, red,
or purple leaves to absorb heat
and sun. Hairy, leathery, and
woolly plants are found in
many alpine regions. As in the
Arctic, wildflowers sprinkle
alpine meadows with yellows,
pinks, and purples.
Alpine plants range from
gnarly, dwarfed trees to bril-
liant wildflowers and dusty
lichens. Like Arctic plants,
alpine flora faces challenging
conditions. Surprisingly, there
are far more Arctic tundra
plants than alpine plants. The
Colorado alpine tundra sup-
ports just more than 300 types
of plants. Alaskan Arctic tundra
supports 1,400 plant varieties.
A region of stunted,
dwarf trees often lies above
the tree line. This region is
called krummholz, which is
German for “crooked wood.”
Krummholz trees endure
strong winds and bleak
weather conditions. The wind
and weather twist and bend
the trees until they look like
hunched-over skeletons.
Meadows lie in many
56
[ F l o r a ]
alpine tundra valleys. The
meadows have lush growths
of grasses, shrubs, and wild-
flowers. Rhododendron, an
evergreen with clusters of
pink, yellow, or white flowers,
is a common alpine shrub. It
grows in Sweden, Norway, the
Himalayas, and parts of North
America. The European
Alps are home to soft pink
alpen-roses and pure white
edelweiss. Africa’s Mount
Kilimanjaro has supersized
wildflowers—giant senecio and
giant lobelia.
North America’s Rocky
Mountains have spectacular
57
� Wind, cold, and dryness stunt the growth of tundra trees. These trees are calledkrummholz, which is German for “crooked wood.”
meadows. Yellow buttercups
and dandelions, blue lupines,
and bright pink shooting stars
dance among tall grasses. In
late summer, ripe bilberries,
blueberries, and thimbleber-
ries weigh down branches.
Most alpine tundra has
grasses, sedges, mosses, and
lichens. The grasses grow in
meadows and in clusters
called tussocks. Grasslike
sedges feature tiny green,
brown, or blackish flowers.
Mosses carpet stream banks
and grow up tree trunks.
And lichens, as in the Arctic,
grip tightly to rocks. While
not as beautiful as wildflow-
ers, these plants provide
food for alpine plant eaters
throughout the year.
58
� Ripe Alaskan blueberries dangle from a branch.
� A bitter wind sweeps
across the Andes Mountains
of South America. On a high
plateau, a herd of vicuñas
browses on stunted grasses.
Vicuñas look like camels with
no humps.
This region is the puna—
Andes plains found at about
13,000 feet (4,000 m) above
sea level. There is little
oxygen at this height.
Vicuñas have adapted to
survive in these conditions.
Their extra-large hearts
and lungs distribute oxygen
to their blood.
6H
erbivores[ C h a p t e r S i x ]
Herbivores
� These camel-like creatures are vicuñas. They live in the high plains of the Andes.
59
Vicuñas move in small
herds with a male leader, sever-
al females, and young. The
herd feeds on grasses and
low-lying plants. Vicuñas
have sharp front teeth, used
to rip tough grass from its
roots. Their top front teeth
wear down, but their bottom
front teeth continue to grow.
From Guanacos to Grasshoppers
� Herbivores eat plants.
The term comes from the
Latin words herb (“plant”)
and vore (“eater”). Tundra
plant eaters usually munch
on any plants they can
find. There is not enough
60
� Vicuñas graze on sedges in the Andes tundra.
This Dall ram has quite a rack of horns. Despite its size, Dall sheep are agile climbers �on alpine slopes.
plant life for herbivores to be
fussy eaters.
Large herbivores roam
both alpine and Arctic ecosys-
tems. Most are types of cattle,
sheep, goats, or camels. Alpine
plant eaters often have cleft
hooves. That means their
hooves are split in the middle.
Split hooves help the animals
climb rocky cliffs and moun-
tains. Regardless of their size,
cleft-hooved animals walk easi-
ly on the narrowest paths. This
feature helps them avoid preda-
tors, such as cougars, wolves,
or bears.
Musk oxen and caribou are
the Arctic’s biggest herbivores.
Caribou travel in vast herds
along routes carved by their
ancestors hundreds of years
[ H e r b i v o r e s ]
ago. Caribou browse
on sedges and lich-
ens. Their favorite
meal is reindeer
moss, which is
actually a form of lichen.
Musk oxen physically
resemble small bison. They are
broad chested and have long
hair. They prefer eating grass
but will graze on most plants.
Musk oxen were once plentiful
in the Arctic. Their herds
nearly fell to extinction in
North America. In 1930, the
United States Fish and Wildlife
Service bought 34 musk oxen
from Greenland. These beasts
formed a core herd and lived
on Nunivak Island, Alaska.
By 1980, the musk oxen had
divided themselves into three
separate herds. Their popula-
tion reached 400 animals.
Today, musk oxen live in
Alaska, Canada, Greenland,
and Siberia. They thrive
because their herds have legal
[ H e r b i v o r e s ]
� Musk oxen nearly became extinct, butcurrent conservation programs aresaving this hairy Arctic dweller.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
extinction (ek-STINGKT-shuhn)
the state of having no more liv-
ing members of a species
?
PROFILE: YAKS
Shaggy, scruffy yaks live high on the
Plateau of Tibet in Asia. They have
short, thick bodies and even shorter
legs. Their bodies are shaped to with-
stand brutal winters at altitudes up to
20,000 feet (6,100 m). Split hooves give
yaks traction on steep, icy ground. They
are surprisingly graceful when climbing
rocky cliffs.
About 3,000 years ago, Tibetans
caught yaks and tamed them. They
started herds of domesticated, or
tamed, yaks. The herds provided meat
and skins for clothing. People milked
yak cows and made cheese and butter.
Domestic yaks are as different from
wild yaks as pet dogs are from wolves.
Humans have overhunted wild yaks
and have taken away their natural
habitats. Fewer than 500 wild yaks
remain. Although laws protect yaks
from hunters, poachers still kill them.
protection from hunters.
Alpine tundra herbivores
differ by location. The Himala-
yas have yaks, blue sheep, and
ibex. Alpine ibex and chamois
live in Europe’s Alps. The
Andes provide homes for
vicuñas and guanacos. Rocky
Mountain tundra has Dall
sheep, bighorn sheep, and
mountain goats.
63
[ H e r b i v o r e s ]
DO IT!
Your family, scout troop, or class
can adopt a musk ox calf from
The Musk Ox Farm in Palmer,
Alaska. The calves live on the
farm and are raised by volun-
teers. Visit the Musk Ox Farm
Web site (http://www.musk
oxfarm.org) to find out about
adopting a musk ox.
�
64
[ H e r b i v o r e s ]
� A delicate rosy finch provides a sweet song amid the tundra’s summer wildflowers.
Smaller herbivores on the
tundra include birds, rodents,
rabbits and hares, and insects.
These animals eat whatever
they find: grasses, flowers,
mosses, lichens, sedges, and
seeds. Many store dried grass
and seeds for the long winter.
Tundra songbirds have
names as lovely as their songs:
rosy finches, white-crowned
sparrows, and snow buntings.
Songbirds prefer seeds and
plants but also eat insects.
Most songbirds migrate south
before snow falls.
Rabbits, hares, and pikas
belong to the lagomorph fami-
ly. Snowshoe and Arctic hares
eat grasses during the summer.
In winter months, they chew
on twigs, buds, or bark. Pikas
prefer to store food. They col-
lect leaves, grass,
and seeds through-
out the summer.
They dry plant
matter in cracks
between rocks.
Pikas eat heartily
all winter long.
Rodents make
up much of the
mammal population
on the tundra. Lem-
mings, ground
squirrels, and voles
dig passages
through the shallow
Arctic soil. Their
relatives—pocket
gophers—do the
same in alpine
meadows. Pocket
gophers stuff their
cheeks with roots
65
[ H e r b i v o r e s ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
lagomorph (LAHG-uh-morf) a
mammal that gnaws plant food
?
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Arctic ground squirrels sleep
through seven months of tun-
dra winter. During warm
months, they gorge themselves
on seeds, leaves, flowers,
berries, roots, and mushrooms.
Arctic ground squirrels collect
food nearly 18 hours a day.
They usually eat at around
lunchtime. The squirrels need a
thick layer of fat on their bod-
ies by August if they are to sur-
vive hibernation. Many ground
squirrels do not survive. Some
die because they did not have
enough body fat. Others are
uncovered and eaten by bears.
!
and scurry into their burrows
to eat. Voles are not as partic-
ular. They eat grass, leaves,
bark, or seeds.
Individual insects do not
eat much food. However,
there are so many insects that
tons of plants wind up being
devoured. Grasshoppers, may-
flies, and several types of bee-
tles feast on grasses and
leaves. Rotting plant matter
feeds some insects. Others
prefer young sprouts, bloom-
ing flowers, or plant liquids.
Some flies lay eggs on rotting
wood or plant matter. Just as
with animal carcasses, no
usable plant matter goes to
waste. Plants are also used to
build nests.
Butterflies and moths
deposit their eggs on leaves
or plant stems. The eggs grow
66
� Even the coldest, bleakest habitat has it share of hairy, crawling creatures, like thiscommon tundra insect called a springtail.
A sulfur butterfly lands on a curled tendril from a low-lying vine. �
into caterpillars. The cater-
pillars eat the plant until they
spin cocoons. Weeks later,
butterflies or moths emerge
from the cocoons. The cycle
begins again.
Bees drink nectar. They
fulfill an important job on the
tundra. They carry pollen
from one flower to another.
The delivered pollen fertilizes
wildflowers. Without pollen,
plants could not produce
fruit or seeds. Without bees,
wildflowers might not grow
in the tundra.
[ H e r b i v o r e s ]
Herbivores play an
important role in tundra
ecosystems. They eat seeds
and spread them across the
land through their feces.
They clear rotting plants and
allow new plants to grow.
They carry pollen from plant
to plant. Herbivores also pro-
vide predators with prey.
This, too, is part of life on
the tundra.
68
� The bobcat seems to be winning the race against this snowshoe hare.
� Tundra wolves are top
predators. In a pack, they can
bring down a caribou with
[ C h a p t e r S e v e n ] 7A Cycle of Life
� Hunting must be good for this lone wolf. Its coat is thick and its body is well formed.
ease. On their own, they must
find smaller and easier prey.
A three-year-old male
tundra wolf travels alone. He
left his pack nearly one year
ago in search of a mate. It
is September. Soft snow fills
the skies. The wolf’s coat
A Cycle of Life
69
thickens. He needs the extra
warmth for the long winter
ahead. The male settles for
a meal of lemmings. He
weighs nearly 125 pounds
(57 kg), which is large even
for a male. Lemmings pro-
vide little food, and the wolf
hunts daily.
As the male wolf trots
over a ridge, he spies two
adult wolves and three pups
drinking at a nearly frozen
stream. He approaches with
[ A C y c l e o f L i f e ]
care. Male pack leaders do
not welcome strange males.
Both adult wolves are
female! They whimper as the
male crawls toward them.
The pups belong to the
alpha, or dominant, female.
She and her mate began
their pack only a year ago.
During the past summer, a
caribou’s kick broke her
mate’s jaw. He died from the
wound. The alpha female
welcomes a new mate.
The pack roams the
tundra looking for prey. Six-
month-old pups are too small
for pursuing caribou or musk
oxen. They begin hunting
lessons with lemmings and
snowshoe hares.
A female pup chases a
hare through the snow. The
hare leaps, zigzags, and scur-
ries to escape. The pup is
too inexperienced to deal
with such active prey. After
fifteen minutes, she returns
to her mother and flops
down exhausted.
In midwinter, the pack
comes upon a small herd
of musk oxen.
Working together,
they single out an
elderly bull. The
bull is already
weak from age
and illness. The
wolves attack.
Wolves use only
their teeth against
prey. It takes all
their strength and
effort to bring
down the bull.
71
[ A C y c l e o f L i f e ]
� Two young wolf cubs dig in the Arctic snow.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
dominant (DOM-uh-nuhnt)
leading or head
?
WATCH IT!
Following the Tundra Wolf
[ASIN: 6302775418] is a remark-
able video, worth seeing more
than once. It presents a full pic-
ture of the challenges and
struggles tundra wolves face in
their daily fight to survive.
�
Wolves play an important
role in keeping musk oxen
and caribou herds healthy
and strong. The wolves prey
only on the sick, elderly, or
injured. In that way, healthy
herd animals survive to mate
and produce healthy young.
The musk ox provides a
feast for the pack. However,
wolves eat in a specific order.
The alpha male eats first.
His mate eats next. A pup
tries to muscle in on the
carcass. He gets a warning
growl from the alpha male.
Wolf parents teach their
children good table manners.
March arrives. It is
breeding time for wolves.
Only the alpha male and
female produce young. The
new pups are born in late
May or early June. The moth-
er nurses the litter in the
den. Her mate and other
pack members hunt for food
and bring meals to her. The
pups are never left alone.
72
[ A C y c l e o f L i f e ]
The new pack is secure.
It has three adults, three
juveniles, and four new pups.
Next year, the juveniles will
be old enough to leave and
start packs of their own. They
will find mates and
teach their pups
to hunt lemmings
and hares. That is
the cycle of life for
tundra wolves.
73
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
juveniles (JOO-vuh-nilez)
young, not yet having reached
adulthood
?
� A cave between the rocks serves as a den for members of this wolf pack.
� Spring comes late to the
Arctic tundra. At the end of
June, wildflowers sprinkle the
land with bursts of color.
Insects swarm by the millions.
And 15 percent of the world’s
bird population
arrives to breed.
Arctic tundra pro-
vides ideal nesting
grounds for
waterfowl, shore-
birds, and song-
birds. The area
has plenty of
lichens, mosses,
wildflowers, and clumps of dry
land on which to nest. As sum-
mer approaches, longspurs
sing their enchanting tunes
across the open spaces.
Nesting loons, swans, and
TheBreedingSeason
8Th
e B
reed
ing
Seas
on
74
[ C h a p t e r E i g h t ]
Snow geese take flight on their way to their Arctic breeding grounds. �
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
shorebirds (SHOR-burdz) birds
that live at the water’s edge,
such as sandpipers, snipes,
or plovers
waterfowl (WAW-tur-foul)
swimming birds, such as ducks,
geese, or swans
?
snow geese add their hoots
and honks to the chorus.
Tiny snow buntings and
plovers brave the rugged tun-
dra for the breeding season.
Snow buntings raise their
TUNDRA SWANS IN THE NEWS
Cornell University researchers and scien-
tists from Virginia, Maryland, Pennsyl-
vania, and North Carolina are studying
the migration routes of tundra swans.
Scientists want to know where the
swans breed and what flight paths they
travel. They also want to know where
tundra swans spend winter months.
Scientists captured and marked tun-
dra swans. The swans now wear leg
bands, neck collars, and radios. Daily
locations of different swans are record-
ed by the scientists.
The study will help scientists preserve
tundra swans and other birds that
migrate along the same routes. Human
understanding of how swans live holds
the key to their survival.
75
young farther north
than any other land
bird. They prefer
rocky, rugged
northern coasts,
where fewer preda-
tors will attack their
young. Plovers lay
their eggs in the
open. However,
they have excellent
camouflage. Few predators
can spot plovers or their eggs
from the sky.
More than 180 bird
species breed in the Arctic.
They arrive for the spring
thaw. Building nests and
laying eggs requires urgent
attention. Eggs usually hatch
within three weeks.
Then the race is on.
Parent birds gorge their
young with insects, worms,
and fish. The young must be
able to fly before winter
snows begin to fall. Migration
south may start only three or
[ T h e B r e e d i n g S e a s o n ]
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Golden plovers are excellent
actors. When a parent plover
spots danger approaching, it
draws predators away from the
nest. The plover pretends to
have a broken wing. The preda-
tor follows the parent but then
is disappointed. As the predator
pounces, the plover flies away.
!
four weeks after chicks hatch.
Snow geese are regular
summer residents of the tun-
dra. Their black-tipped wings
stand out against snowy white
bodies. They nest in huge
colonies with as many as
200,000 breeding pairs. Snow
geese mate for life. When they
arrive in the tundra,
the mates quickly
build grassy nests.
Female geese
lay four or five eggs.
Females sit on the
eggs until they are
hatched in 22 or
23 days. Snow
77� A lesser golden plover migrates thousands of miles each year to reach its favorite
nesting area.
WATCH IT!
Discover the remarkable Arctic
in Arctic Refuge: A Vanishing
Wilderness (Audubon, 1991).
This film presents the lives
of tundra animals and the
effect humans have on
wilderness regions.
�
� A black-browed albatross grooms her young on the Falkland Islands. Albatrossesonly come on land when breeding.
78
[ T h e B r e e d i n g S e a s o n ]
� An Arctic tern chick waits with a gaping mouth for dad to bring home dinner.
geese parents take turns pro-
tecting and feeding their
young. Within a month, the
baby goslings take wing along
with the rest of the snow
geese. The goslings must fly
several thousand miles to
their winter homes.
Arctic terns travel
yearly from one end of the
earth to the other. That’s
amazing for a bird that
weighs only 4 ounces (113 g).
They nest and breed in the
Arctic in winter, and they
spend summer on islands
near Antarctica.
Breeding season finds
male Arctic terns zigzagging
through the skies to attract
mates. Tern nests are not
quite as comfortable as
grassy snow goose nests. The
mates dig shallow
holes in the
ground. They line
the nests with grass
and leaves. The
time from egg lay-
ing to migration is
about 45 days.
Many birds of
prey also breed on
the tundra. Arctic
peregrine falcons,
merlins, jaegers,
rough-legged hawks, and
several types of owls nest on
grassy mounds. Long-tailed
jaegers lead double lives.
During the winter, they live
at sea, but summers find
them nesting happily on
land.
Swans, ducks, and geese
find ample food to support
79
[ T h e B r e e d i n g S e a s o n ]
WOULD YOU BELIEVE?
Arctic terns migrate farther
each year than any other bird.
Their annual round trip is about
21,750 miles (35,000 km).
!
LOOK IT UP!
The Arctic has an amazingly
large bird population. Learn
more about Arctic birds at
www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/
birds.html.
�
both parents and chicks. This
is not always true for birds of
prey. Hawks, jaegers, and owls
depend on voles and lemmings
for food. If the lemming popu-
lation is low one summer,
these birds may not breed
during that season. They
do not bear young if there is
not enough food to feed the
baby birds.
By late August, migrating
birds head south. Some adults
leave their chicks. As soon as
they can, the young birds fol-
low their parents south. Flocks
of birds fill the skies in neatly
formed V-shapes. Only a few
80
� A long-tailed jaeger guards its eggs from potential predators. Eggs and chicks are easyprey for weasels, foxes, and wolverines.
Winter approaches. The snow geese form a classic “V” formation as they head south �
in the early autumn.
birds, such as the snowy owl
and the gyrfalcon, winter in
the Arctic. Then again, if lem-
mings are few and winters are
harsh, even the snowy owl
heads south for better hunting.
81
[ T h e B r e e d i n g S e a s o n ]
� A light spring rain drifts
across the European Alps. But
The HumanTouch
9Th
e H
uman
Tou
ch
82
[ C h a p t e r N i n e ]
this is no ordinary rain. It does
not bring forth delicate white
edelweiss or soft pink alpenros-
es. It does not encourage
alpine meadows to grow lush
and green. This rain carries
sulfuric acid and nitric acid.
This is acid rain. It burns
grasses, lichens, mosses, and
wildflowers of the tundra.
Acid raid comes from
burning fossil fuels, such as
oil, gas, or coal. Humans use
fossil fuels to power cars and
trucks, heat homes, and run
factories. Burned fuel pro-
duces emissions.
Emissions can be
smoke or clear
gases. Fossil fuel
emissions contain
sulfur and nitrogen.
These are basic chemical
83� What could destroy a pine tree like this? The answer is acid rain, a plague on forests
and alpine tundra.
� Coal burning stations like this one pour pollution into the air.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
emissions (i-MISH-uhnz) things
that are sent off or out, such
as gases
?
elements found in
nature.
When amounts
of sulfur and nitro-
gen combine with
elements in the air,
they form acid. The
acids exist with
water vapor in our
atmosphere. When rain falls,
so does the acid.
Acid rain is only one
form of pollution damaging
alpine and Arctic tundra.
Factories create pollution
by the bucketful. Chemical
pollution, air pollution, and
radioactive pollution take
84
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
atmosphere (AT-muhss-fihr)
the layer of gases that sur-
rounds the earth
radioactive (ray-dee-oh-AK-tiv)
giving off rays from atoms;
high levels of radioactivity kill
humans, plants, and animals
?
� This mine at Longyearbyen on Spitbergen Island, Norway, is in the heart of polarbear country.
their toll on this surprisingly
fragile environment.
In Norway’s Svalbard
Islands, polar bears face seri-
ous chemical pollution from
PCBs. Scientists think that
PCBs from European factories
got into river water and even-
tually into European seas. Fish
living in water with PCBs
carry the chemicals in their
bodies. Polar bears eat large
amounts of fish. The PCBs
collect in polar bear fat.
Scientists believe PCBs may
cause strange changes in polar
bear bodies. Eventually, they
can cause death. During the
1980s, most nations outlawed
the production of PCBs.
The air carries chemical
and radioactive pollution. One
of the worst polluting events
to affect the tundra
happened in 1986.
A nuclear power
plant at Chernobyl,
Ukraine, in the for-
mer USSR, released
radioactive particles into the
air. Wind carried the radioac-
tive particles to the Russian
tundra. This is where the
Saami people live.
Saami homeland covers
parts of Russia, Sweden,
Finland, and Norway. The
Saami depend on reindeer for
food and use their hides for
clothing and shoes. Radio-
activity from Chernobyl poi-
soned the plant life on the
Kola Peninsula in Siberia.
Reindeer eating the plants
became poisoned. The Saami
people could not risk eating
85
[ T h e H u m a n T o u c h ]
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
PCBs chemicals called poly-
chlorinated biphenyls, which
are poisonous to animals and
humans
?
lution lasts hundreds of years.
This event has changed the
ecosystem for many more years
to come.
86
reindeer—even though it was
their main source of food.
The government tried to
help. However, radioactive pol-
� This alpine landscape has been polluted by the radioactive spill at Chernobyl, Russia.
Oil, Gas, and the Arctic Tundra
� Humans use oil and gas
in huge amounts. Oil and gas
provide power for cars, boats,
and lawn mowers. They fuel
airplanes and trains. They
run power plants and facto-
ries. The need for oil and
gas makes oil companies
look in many places for fos-
sil fuel sources. One such
place is the North Slope of
Alaska. The drilling spot is
Prudhoe Bay.
Every oil well produces
dirty water, sludge, and a dis-
charge called mud. All of that
gets poured over the tundra.
The land cannot absorb the
huge amounts of muck that
is dumped there.
Efforts to
reseed Prudhoe
Bay’s tundra with
plants have failed.
It takes hundreds
of years for lichens
to grow to the size
of a softball. Deli-
cate tundra plants
cannot rebound
from pollution with-
in only a few years.
Oil companies
now want to drill in
the Alaska National
Wildlife Reserve
(ANWR). The
ANWR contains 19
million acres (7.7 million
hectares) of clean, natural
wilderness. It does not have
electricity, cars, or garbage.
ANWR does have 300,000
87
[ T h e H u m a n T o u c h ]
DO IT!
Write letters to your U.S. repre-
sentatives and senators. Ask
them to keep the Alaska
National Wildlife Refuge safe
from oil drilling. You’ll find their
names and addresses in the gov-
ernment section of your tele-
phone book.
��
READ IT!
Land of Dark, Land of Light: The
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
by Karen Pandell (Penguin
Books, 1993) takes readers to
one of the last truly wild
regions in the world.
�
snow geese that nest there
each summer. Herds of cari-
bou and musk oxen browse
on Arctic plant life and try to
avoid local bears and wolves.
Snowy owls and eagles soar
overhead. Lemmings, voles,
and Arctic ground squirrels
burrow into the shallow soil.
This region cannot survive
drilling and the mess that
comes with it.
GLOBAL WARMING IN THE NEWS
Global warming is a by-product of rising
earth temperatures over long periods.
Car and truck emissions, home and facto-
ry heating, and large cattle farms are
partly to blame for global warming.
Scientists believe that global warming
is changing Arctic ice. Arctic ice sheets
are melting, and shrubs are spreading on
the tundra. Data shows that the area of
melting ice has grown by 16 percent in
the past 20 years.
“Shrubs are pushing farther north-
ward, growing in areas of tundra that
were void of trees as little as 50 years
ago,” says F. Stuart Chapin III of the
University of Alaska, Fairbanks.
88
Saving the Tundra
� Governments realize that
tundra environments teem
with life. Several huge national
preserves have been set aside
for tundra regions. In the
Rocky Mountains, Glacier
National Park (United States)
and Banff National Park
(Canada) are two large pre-
serves. Similar parks exist in
Asia’s Himalayas, the
European Alps, and South
America’s Andes Mountains.
Beringia International
Heritage Park is a preserve
run by both Russia and the
United States. The park pro-
tects land and marine animals
in Alaska and Russia. Musk
oxen, caribou, and polar bears
are among the animals roam-
ing the park.
89
� One spill at this Colville River ARCO plant could damage the surrounding tundrafor decades.
International efforts to
save flagship species have pre-
served many Arctic and alpine
species. Canada, Greenland,
Russia, and the United States
worked together to rebuild
musk oxen herds. Today, that
species is no longer endan-
gered in the wild. Several
nations protect polar bears
from hunters. By their actions,
governments are reducing
pollution and habitat loss that
affects these species.
Overhunting of snow leop-
ards, vicuñas, and yaks drastical-
ly reduced the numbers of those
animals. Today, governments
provide protected land for these
species. They keep a sharp look-
out for poachers who kill those
animals for their skins.
Native tribes work hard
to protect species on their
tribal lands. Wolves and musk
oxen benefit from attentive
[ T h e H u m a n T o u c h ]
not bounce back
from human abuse.
When polar bears,
snow leopards, and
mountain goats no
longer trek the tun-
dra, the loss will be
ours. Extinction is
a problem with no
solution.
native keepers. Native people
still kill some animals for
meat and skins. They do so
for subsistence living. Hunt-
ing for subsistence living is
allowed by law.
Tundra is fragile. It can-
not withstand oil and gas
drilling, overhunting, or pollu-
tion. Tundra ecosystems can-
91� A musk ox grazes on wildflowers in Alaska.
� The U.S. Park Service protects this regal landscape, which is found in Denali NationalPark, Alaska.
WORDS TO KNOW . . .
subsistence living (suhb-SIS-
tents LIV-ing) humans using
local plants and animals in
order to live; when people rely
on what they are able to pro-
duce themselves instead of a
cash economy
?
Char
t of S
peci
es
92
[ T u n d r a ]
� The above chart gives a starting point for identifying key species. Each tundra environment has its ownkey species. The above chart lists some of those species.
Note: Caribou and reindeer are the same species. In North America, the wild species are called caribou. InEurope, they are caribou or reindeer, depending upon the location. In Siberia (Asia), they are called reindeer.
[Bold-faced entries are the ones discussed in the text.]
CONTINENTKEYSTONESPECIES
FLAGSHIPSPECIES
UMBRELLASPECIES
INDICATORSPECIES
AFRICA(MT. KILIMANJAROONLY)
bees, beetles lammergeiers,giant lobelias
lammergeiers lichens, sedges,tussocks, insects
ASIA pikas, bees,beetles, reindeer,gray wolves
Siberian cranes,marmots, snowleopards, muskoxen
Asiatic black bears,snow leopards,wild yaks, muskoxen
lichens, sedges,tussocks, insects
EUROPE reindeer, pikas,bees, beetles, graywolves, chamois,caribou (reindeer),lemmings
polar bears,wolves, chamois,lynx
polar bears, arcticwolves
polar bears,lichens, sedges,tussocks, insects
NORTHAMERICA
caribou, pikas,pocket gophers,bees, beetles, graywolves, snowgeese, lemmings
wolves, polar bears,caribou, grizzlybears, peregrinefalcons, musk oxen,Rocky Mountainbighorn sheep
grizzly bears, polarbears, Arcticwolves, RockyMountain bighornsheep
polar bears,lichens, sedges,tussocks, RockyMountain bighornsheep, white-crowned sparrows,insects
SOUTHAMERICA
bees, beetles guanacos, vicuñas guanacos, vicuñas lichens, sedges,tussocks, insects