Kate's+Ecosystem+Project

= = toc = = = = = = = = = = =__Arctic Tundra __=

A biome is a large geographical region that contains similar ecosystems. Biomes can be defined by the types of plants that grow in them, the average temperature, the amount of rainfall and the animals that live in that region. The Arctic tundra biome is located in the northern hemisphere, encircling the North Pole and extending south to the coniferous forests of the taiga. The arctic is known for its cold, desert-like conditions. The word tundra is believed to come from the Finnish word "tunturia," which refers to a treeless plain.

In summer, the sun remains in the sky during the day and night. The average winter temperature is -34° C, but the average summer temperature is 3-12° C which lets this biome sustain life. Rainfall may vary in different regions of the arctic, but yearly precipitation is 15 to 25 cm. The tundra is a very windy area, with winds often blowing upwards of 48–97 km/h.

There are no deep root systems in the vegetation of the arctic tundra; it is impossible for trees to grow. However, there are still a wide variety of plants that are able to resist the cold climate. There are about 1,700 kinds of plants in the arctic and subarctic and these include low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, and grasses along with hundreds of varieties of flowers. All of the plants are adapted to strong winds and disturbances of the soil. The fauna in the arctic is also very diverse, as it can sustain herbivorous mammals, like caribou, carnivorous mammals like arctic foxes, migratory birds, like the snowy owl, insects like grasshoppers and various fish.

Animals are adapted to handle long, cold winters and to breed and raise young quickly in the summer, although some hibernate during the winter as there is not much food. Animals also have additional insulation from fat.

=Threats to the Tundra =
 * The melting of the permafrost as a result of global warming could radically change the landscape and what species are able to live there because of carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere.
 * Habitat fragmentation and physical disturbances can be brought on by the exploitation of oil, gas, and minerals and the construction of pipelines and roads
 * Oil spills can kill wildlife and damage tundra ecosystems.
 * Buildings and roads put heat and pressure on the permafrost, causing it to melt.
 * Invasive species push aside native vegetation and reduce diversity of plant cover.

 **Solutions**

- Switch to alternative energy uses to minimize human-made global warming is key to protecting the ecosystems.

- Make protected areas and parks to restrict human influence.

- Limit road construction, the building of pipelines and mining activities.

- Respect local cultures and limit tourism

**__Wetlands__** Wetlands are transitions between different habitats, and have attributes of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Wetlands can store many different habitats including ponds, marshes, swamps, and peatlands.

They are areas where land and water meet and can be wet for a large part of the year. Wetlands can be temporally flooded each day as with tidal marshes, or be filled in the spring or summer with water from melting snow. Plants and animals present in wetlands are from land and water habitats, making them highly productive environments. Wetlands are found along the shorelines of oceans, lakes, rivers and in local depressions. The water in natural wetlands is from tidal flows, lakes, flooding rivers, or connections to groundwater.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Wetlands have been referred to as the kidneys of the landscape because of the job they play in water and chemical cycles. Wetlands filter out sediment and pollution from the surrounding environment so that the water they discharge is cleaner that what entered the wetland. Wetlands store and pass on vital resources to their local environment.

Canada has one fourth of the world's wetlands. Fourteen percent of Canada is covered by wetlands, although lots of the original wetland areas have been converted or drained. Ontario, Manitoba and the Northwest Territories contain the biggest amount of wetlands.

These wetland floodplains provided water and fertile soils which in turn provided food and transportation routes for the developing culture. Many urban civilizations have developed along these rich areas of land. Today, river basins and their associated floodplains support over 90% of the world's population. Wetlands are also crucial habitats for many plants and animals.

The main reason for why Canada is rich in wetlands is because Canada has had many ice ages in its history. Glaciers weighed so heavily on the land that they compressed it. When they melted, they left low places behind in the landscape where water could collect. Wetlands are considered to be one of the most productive and diverse ecosystems on Earth. Wetlands have an abundance of food and plant cover for shelter and water. They are rich in wildlife species and are a unique habitat for many different types of plants and animals. Marshes give breeding, nesting and wintering habitat for thousands of migratory birds and shorebirds like ducks, geese, swans, cranes, gulls and sandpipers. Predators such as kingfishers, owls and ospreys also feed in wetlands.

**Oak Hammock Marsh** = = There are many different types of wetlands, but the type of wetland that I'm going to focus on in this presentation is the marsh, and more specifically, the Oak Hammock Marsh. Marshes are regions of shallow water, about 15 to 90 cm deep with grassy vegetation. Marshes are considered to be one of the most productive ecosystems on Earth. Marshes have an abundance of food and plant cover for shelter. They are rich in wildlife species and are a unique habitat for many different types of plants and animal, such as amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals and reptiles. Some examples of animals you could typically see in the marsh are white-tailed deer, frogs, coyotes, snapping turtles, otters, bald eagles and badgers. Plants found in the marsh are typically grasses, sedges and rushes but can include trees as well.



The Oak Hammock Marsh is about 20 minutes North of Winnipeg, Manitoba. The marsh was designated as a Wildlife Management Area (WMA). The WMA is approximately 9,000 acres in size. However, the original marsh that existed at this location was called St. Andrews Bog, which covered about 116,000 acres. Most of the bog was lost to urban and agricultural development.

= = = = = = = = =Example of an Oak Hammock Marsh Food Web= As you can see, these are all plants and animals which live in the marsh, whose relationships are interconnected to make a food web.



= Threats to the Oak Hammock Marsh = Some of the threats to the Oak Hammock Marsh include fragmentation and pesticide use in the surrounding region.

The Oak Hammock Marsh is threatened by agricultural practices outside the protected area, which continue to result in the loss of perennial cover as some landowners convert pastureland into annual crops. Areas that were formerly used as pasture land created great habitats for migrating shorebirds. It is rumored that many of these close by land parcels are in fact being bought by non-residents for hunting waterfowl. The declines of grassland birds in the mid 1960s can be explained in part by disappearing and the fragmentation of grasslands.

The lands surrounding the marsh are mostly used for agriculture. Pesticide use on farmlands has reduced the amount of safe habitat available for birds that already have to make do with fragmented habitat. In forested habitats, herbicide use can cause ground-dwelling birds to lose the leafy cover that protects them from predators and bad weather. Pesticide use in Canada has been on the rise since the Second World War, with a 500 per cent increase in treated land from 1971 to 1991. Pesticides are transported into water bodies by direct over <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">spray by:
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Aerial drift of pesticide droplets
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Wind drift of particles with absorbed pesticides,
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The dissolving of pesticides in surface runoff, snowmelt or groundwater, or
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Accidental spills.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Studies of pesticide residues in wetlands across North America have reported moderate to high concentration levels.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Pesticides harm wetlands directly by causing immediate deaths of plants and fish. Because of all the dead organic matter, the bacteria levels increase and this robs water resources of dissolved oxygen. Eventually, the wetlands are incapable of supporting any life, plants or animals. As well as hurting ecosystems, pesticides are also endangering humans! A study has been published that linked pesticides to ADHD in children.

**What Humans Are Doing to Help** The main contributor and supporter of the marsh is Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC). DUC is a conservation group geared towards helping out marshes in Canada. To date, they have raised and spent $168 million on marshes in Manitoba alone and have secured 552,000 acres of wetlands. DUC and other conservation groups along with volunteers are the key to the survival of the Oak Hammock Marsh and other wetlands across Canada. Another program called the North American Waterfowl Management Plan has been restoring waterfowl population in North America since 1986 and has since invested $681 million to secure and has positively influenced over 64 million acres of wetland-related ecosystems, thus helping to conserve North America’s rich biodiversity.

<span style="font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">We have learned about integrated pest management in class. Integrated pest management involves studying a pest’s biology and habits so that we can control, but not eliminate the pests. Wiping out an entire pest population is time-consuming and very expensive. Using integrated pest management is an eco-friendly way to control pests. If pesticides are really needed, farmers could use natural or eco-friendly pesticides when needed, and also concentrating on matching fertilizer application with the needs of the crops so that run-off is avoided. <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">A way that we humans can help is by buying local and organic food and produce. When we buy organic food, we know that no pesticides or fertilizers have been used; therefore the crops have not had as much of an impact on the environment. When we buy local food, we are supporting not only our community, but we are also reducing the costs related with shipping the food. Both of these are sustainable options that should be considered.

=Conclusion= Wetland ecosystems, such as the Oak Hammock Marsh, are the most productive ecosystems in the world. It is important to conserve these marshes because they are home to hundreds of endangered and threatened species. Wetlands are also important to us because they filter our water and help to reduce the impact of drought and flooding. As well, marshes are great educational tools and can teach us all a bit about conservation. We humans have destroyed these ecosystems, so it is our responsibility to take care of them. If we learn how to take care of our marshes, we can preserve them for generations to come. = = =Sources= [] [] <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">[] <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">[] [] [| http://www.ec.gc.ca/default.asp?lang=En&n=540B1882-1] <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">[] <span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt; line-height: 115%; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;">[] [] @http://www.ducks.ca/ [] @http://wetlandsalberta.ca/wetland-management/ []