1. TUNDRA Alexis, Michael, and Caleb

2. WHERE IS ECOSYSTEM LOCATED?  Located from the Arctic Circle to the North Pole  Three continents; North America, Europe, and Asia

3. DESCRIBE THE ABIOTIC FACTORS OF YOUR ECOSYSTEM  Cold soil is frozen all year/permafrost  The Tundra is always covered in snow  Winter temperatures - 35 degrees Celsius, - 50 degrees Fahrenheit  Winter last 7 to 8 months

4. PRODUCER: LICHEN. HOW DOES YOUR PRODUCER RELY ON OTHER ORGANISMS IN THE TUNDRA TO SURVIVE?  Needs rocks to grow on  Fungi gives lichen a place to live  Fungi also collects water and minerals  Lichen protects algae from getting too hot

5. HOW DO OTHER ORGANISMS OF YOUR ECOSYSTEM RELY ON YOUR PRODUCER TO SURVIVE?  Lichen breaks down rocks - other plants can grow  People use lichen for medicine  Lichen is food for reindeer and caribou  Lichen provides camouflage for grizzled mantid (tiny insect)  Musk oxen and lemmings eat lichen

6. HOW DO HUMANS AFFECT YOUR ECOSYSTEM?  Coal and oil kill lichen  Wind blows smoke and other bad things toward lichen  Gasses kill all polar plants  Some polar plants are endangered

7. CHOOSE ONE BIOTIC OR ABIOTIC FACTOR IN YOUR ECOSYSTEM & DESCRIBE HOW A CHANGE IN ONE OF THESE COULD YOUR ECOSYSTEM. Change – temperature - gets hot  Too hot polar bears die - heat stroke  Seals go to colder places - polar bears get nothing to eat  Polar bears stay on land because ice melting  If polar bears do not eat the seals, seals will overwhelm fish population will decrease  Musk Ox overheat

8. OTHER INTERESTING FACTS:  Lichen have no roots. They attach to rocks with strands called rhizomes  Lichen can grow for over 4,000 years.  15,000 kinds of lichen.

9. SOURCES USED Owen, Ruth. Polar Bear Cubs. New York: BearPort, 2011. Print. Slade, Suzanne. What if There Were No Lemmings? North Mankato, MN: Picture Window Books, 2004. Print. Welch, Catherine A. Polar Plants. Mankato, MN: Capstone Press, 2004. Print. Created using MLA Citation Maker on www.oslis.org.