Because the biodiversity in the tundra is quite low, fluctuations in one animal population will affect another species.

PLANTS 

The Tundra displays species diversity because even though it's known to have low biodiversity, the tundra contains many species.

The tundra contains over 100 species of birds

45+ species of mammals 

1,700 plant species

7 species of amphibians

over 2000 species of insects

and over 20 species of fish

SPECIES RELATIONS

Interspecific Competition

when species of the same kind compete for the same resources

POLAR BEARS USUALLY LIVE ALONE EXCEPT FOR MATING PURPOSES, IF ONE COMES ACROSS ANOTHER THEY WILL FIGHT FOR FOOD, DENS, AND FEMALE POLAR BEARS.

Predation

when another species of a higher level preys on a smaller animal

Parasitism 

the relationship between one animal and another while one benefits from or lives off the other animal

Mutualism 

a relationship where both animals involved are benefited

Commensalism 

an association between two species where one benefits and the other is neither harmed nor benefited

Resource Partioning 

when species divide a niche to avoid competition for resources

r-selected species is a species that can live in an unstable environment, produces many offspring although the size is small, can only produce once, and has a short life expectancy

K-selected species are species that need a stable environment, density dependent interactions in order to survive. They are large in size, but few offspring are reproduced. Their life expectancy is long and individuals can reproduce more than once.

THE POLAR BEAR IS AN EXAMPLE OF AN R-SELECTED SPECIES

CARRYING CAPACITY STORY

Canadian geese don't have many predators. They can live in any broad range of habitats, which includes cohabitation with humans. Canada geese are highly fecund and lacking in amount of predators. Population growth of this species over the past years has caused problems in many different areas including environmental and human health. Canada geese can either be migratory or resident, which enables them to occupy a large geographical range. This species has created issues not only in areas where it has been introduced, but also in its native locations due to the population explosion of the species. Although this species has created problems, it also has been of economic use as well as being, at times, an enjoyable aspect of wildlife.

HUGE POPULATIONS OF CANADIAN GEESE

PRIMARY SUCCESSION

Primary succession is the development of biotic communities in a previously uninhabited or barren habitat with little or no soil (topsoil).

WHEN EARTH WARMS, THE GLACIERS LEAVE BEHIND LAND THAT IS LIFELESS AND ROCKY. IT TAKES A LONG TIME SO THAT PLANTS LIKE THE LICHEN (shown above) CAN GROW AGAIN, WITH THE HELP OF WIND IT CREATES SMALL CRACKS IN ROCKS WHERE MOSS AND OTHER SMALL PLANTS CAN GROW. SOON MORE MOSS FORMS AND DECAYING MOSS MIXES WITH THE GLACIERS AND ROCKS TO FORM MORE SOIL, AS THE SOIL BECOMES MORE PLENTIFUL, MORE AND MORE PLANTS BEGIN TO GROW.

SECONDARY SUCCESSION 

Secondary Succession is when changes occur after a natural disaster to the ecosystem; soil is still present after a disturbance.

A MUDSLIDE IN THE TUNDRA IS AN EXAMPLE OF SECONDARY SUCCESION BECAUSE WHEN THIS NATURAL DISASTER HAPPENS THERE IS STILL LAND FOR NEW PLANTS AND ANIMALS TO RECOVER FROM.

Secondary Succession occurs much faster than Primary Succession because the soil is already there.

CLIMATOGRAM

The Arctic is part of the Tundra biome.

The Tundra has extreme harsh climates with dry weather and fast drying winds.

The tundra appears to be wet and soggy in some places due to unbalanced precipitation that evaporates slowly and drains poorly which creates more permafrost.

The average annual temperature in the tundra is 16° F. The highest temperature in the tundra is 45°, the lowest can be up to more than 10° below zero. The tundra only has two seasons summer and winter. Summer in the tundra is a very short season, lasting only 6-8 weeks. During winter, the average temperature is -20° to -30°F.

WATER BODIES

Although the tundra does not receive much precipitation, during its short summer season, the tundra gets lots of surface water.

When snow melts, the water percolates through the active layer of snow but is unable to penetrate the permafrost. Since the water has nowhere to go, the active layer becomes saturated and pools of water form on the surface.

WHEN SNOW MELTS BOGS LIKE THESE ARE FORMED

SMALL PONDS

POPULATION

Because of the harsh climate in the tundra biome, it is scarcely populated. About 4 million people live in the tundra.

OVERPOPULATED SPECIES

GEOLOGICAL STRUCTURE 

When the snow above the soil layer melts, the water stays on top because it can't sink past the permafrost layer. Complete evaporation of water is impossible, since the tundra's dry air does not allow evaporation.

There are five different types of land formation in the tundra that are formed by the freezing water: pingos, frost boils, bumpy work, polygons, and stripes.

Pingos

Pingos are hills which are formed by ponds of water that were trapped under the permafrost. Each year as the ponds thaw and freeze, the hills above the ground continue to grow. These hills can grow up to 150 feet (50 meters) tall.

PINGOS ARE HILLS FORMED BY PONDS OF WATER THAT WERE TRAPPED UNDER THE FROZEN LAYER.

Frost Boils

Frost boils are widening circles of stones caused by the thawing and freezing of water. As the water beings to freeze, large rocks are pushed out and form rock circles on the soil layer of the tundra.

FROST BOILS ARE UPWELLINGS OF MUD THAT OCCUR THROUGH FROST HEAVE

Bumpy ground

When the ground thaws and freezes, because of the plants, rocks, and other sediments in the snow a bumpy ground is formed. As all these different sections of the ground form, they push and pull against each other producing bumps, along with tiny valleys, slopes, porous regions and hills that can form in the ground.