Emily

Emily van den Akker biome- Aritc Tundra, ecosystem- Ontario wetland marsh

Artic Tundra
﻿﻿ The Tundra is the coldest of all the biomes. It is known to have frost-molded landscapes, extremely low temperatures, little precipitation, poor nutrients, and short growing seasons. Dead organic material functions as a nutrient pool. The two most important nutrients are nitrogen and phosphorus. Nitrogen is made by biological fixation, and phosphorus is made by precipitation.  []

There are about 1,700 kinds of plants in the tundra.

Vegetation
 * low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, and grasses
 * 400 varieties of flowers
 * crustose and foliose lichen

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all of the plants are well adapted to the climate in the tundra and can deal with disturbance of the soil and strong winds. Plants are short and group together to resist the cold temperatures and are protected by the snow during the winter. They can carry out photosynthesis at low temperatures and low light levels. The growing seasons are very short. animals []
 * Herbivorous mammals: lemmings, voles, caribou, arctic hares and squirrels
 * Carnivorous mammals: arctic foxes, wolves, and polar bears
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Migratory birds: ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons, sandpipers, terns, snow birds, and various species of gulls
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Insects: mosquitoes, flies, moths, grasshoppers, blackflies and arctic bumble bees
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">Fish: cod, flatfish, salmon, and trout
 * <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">marine creatures: narwhals, beluga whales, seals, and walruses.

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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 9.5pt; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Animals are adapted to handle long, cold winters and to breed and raise young quickly in the summer. mammals and birds also have additional insulation from fat. Many animals hibernate during the winter because food is not very available. Another alternative is to migrate south in the winter, like birds do. Reptiles and amphibians are few or absent because of the extremely cold temperatures. because of constant immagration and emmigration the populations are constantly changing.

=Ontario wetland= <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">wetlands in Canada can be found in the following biomes: deciduous forest, boreal forest, tundra, grasslands and temperate coniferous forests.There are a couple types of wetlands in Ontario such as bogs, fens, marshes, swamps, and ponds. Plants and animals that live in these ecosystems come from both land and water habitats. These types of wetlands are classifeid into smaller descriptions such as surface conditions, area drainage, nearness to water bodies, and area vegetation.

[] <span style="color: #2a2a2a; display: block; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; text-align: center; textunderline: thick;">__ Marshes __

<span style="color: #2a2a2a; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; textunderline: thick;">General <span style="background: white; color: #2a2a2a; font-family: 'Corbel','sans-serif'; margin: 0cm 0cm 16.2pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"> - <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">marshes are wetlands that are completely covered in water. There are many different types of marshes but all marshes receive water from surface water, some marshes also receive water from ground water. Emergent plants have their roots in the soil and their leaves above the water. Marshes are shallow, they are within 15 to 90 cm in depth. Marshes have fluctuating water levels, particularly when they are isolated from large water bodies. There are many nutrients in marshes and the ph level is normally neutral which leads to a large animal and plant population. Large areas of open water are very uncommon. Marshes give water to streams, this is vital in times like drought. Marshes help reduce damage caused by flood water by slowing and storing the flood water. Wetlands filter out sediment and pollution from the surrounding environment so that the water they discharge is cleaner then the water that entered the wetland.”Wetlands act as both a sink and a source, storing and passing on vital resources.”- Wikipedia. Because of their high levels of nutrients, freshwater marshes are one of the most productive ecosystems on earth. Marshes sustain a diversity of life that is way larger than to the proportion to its size. []

habitat <span style="font-family: 'Corbel','sans-serif'; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 19.8pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">- <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">habitats are areas which provide living things, and the combination of food, water, shelter, and space in the amounts needed to live. A marsh is a wet area that is characterized by vegetation such as cattails. Water flows through the vegetation. The soils are normally high in organic matter, especially in shallow areas. The soils usually have a significant mineral component. This creates a good habitat for many plants and animals. The plants and animals that live in marshes have done so by adapting to the soil, water, nutrient supply, and other conditions found there.

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<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Plants and animals <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> – Marshes are dominated by rushes, sedges, and low-lying grasses. Typical plants of Canadian marshes are cattails, reeds, bulrushes, and saw-grass. Marshes can support rather large populations of birds and certain mammals such as muskrats. The borders of these marshy areas, called potholes, have always provided major breeding areas for surface-feeding ducks such as mallards, pintails, and blue-winged teals. The live stock of marshes are invertebrates, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. all of these animals use the marsh for feeding and breeding.

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threats on wetlands- <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">﻿ southern ontario has the highest concentrated human population in canada. this causes large impacts on the wild life. things like habitat destruction, fragmentation, environmental polution and climate change, all effect the biological biodiversity of ecosystems. global warming is a huge cause of the many factors destroying ecosystems. 12 million people live in Ontario, 10 million people live in the canadian great lakes area, 40% of species at risk in canada live in Ontario, and 70% of Ontario's wetlands have been lost! this is very alarming because this is all caused by humans. hydrology(dynamic of water abundance and flow) is the most importing factor that effects marshes. it affects all live stock and vegetation in the ecosystem. urbanization can affect ecosystems because of humans wanting to use the land for industrial buildings.things like toxic discharge and bacterial contamination are two factors that destroy the living conditions of ecosystems. these things are mostly caused by us. when humans boat in lakes it contaminates the water. when this happens the water travels through run-off streams that lead to wetlands.this then contaminates the water in the wetland ruening the the living conditions of the ecosystem. when an ecosystem is not healthy it is not able to support the carrying capacity of all the species because of a lack of resources. acid rain greatly contaminates freshwater sources. it is predicted that we will lose fish, mollusk and amphibian populations in thousands of lakes because these animals will not be able to survive in acidified conditions. when farmers put pesticides on their crops these chemicals get into streams that lead to freshwater areas with a highly populated amount of life. this contaminates the water of which many animals in the ecosystem rely on. when we fish we also take away large amounts of fish which restricts the ammount of resources for other species living in the ecosystem and alters the balance of the ecosystems food web. the threats on marshes are not only human caused. deseases can spread through different species killing many animals. things like storms, harsh seasonal weather, erosion and invasive species can also disturb the way the ecosystems work. <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">[]

things that help wetland marsh- <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">as i had mentioned earlier Wetlands filter out sediment and pollution from the surrounding environment so that the water they discharge is cleaner then the water that entered the wetland.there are many organizations designed to analyze, preserve, and recover wetland marshes. for an example conservation efforts by various programs and organizations have protected and enhanced many marshes. These efforts identify and restore marsh functions that have been damaged or lost. the things that we do to preserve these ecosystems are valuable for the health of birds, other wildlife, and the many people who rely on the resources neccesary for life. The status of marsh bird populations is an important indicator of Great Lakes ecosystem health. the effects we make now to restore damaged wetlands is very important for the future of the ecosystems. The marsh monitoring program(MMP) is one of many organizations trying to sustain and recover our ecosystems. they have over 600 volunteers trying to help save or fellow animals. []

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">conclusion- <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;"> i hope that this information has made you aware of the damage on our ecosystem and the importance of their function in our lives. ecosystems help us in many ways, which means we need to help them in return. many of the animals within a threatened ecosystem have the same needs as the rest in the ecosystem in order to recover. hepling just one species will benefit all of the species in the habitat. this explains how much ecosystems rely on the relationships between the organisms. small additions to marsh areas and their functions will help regain the major historical losses that these important ecosystems have injured. we must look forward in order to restore these ecosystems to ensure that a sustainable and healthy future lies ahead.

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Bibliography

<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">science clarified-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">andy's northern ontario wild flowers-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">toronto hiking-[] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">university of california museum of paleontology- [] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">environment canada,ontario region- [] <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif;">conservation issues- []