Why Animals Survive The Winter Research Paper

In which mosses, lichens, and other shrubs thrive on hills and valleys in the tundra (National Geographic). Permafrost, which acts a layer of snow on the land, remains frozen year round, with the exception of summer, when the top layers thaw, while the bottom layers remain frozen (National Geographic). These soil conditions greatly hinder soil development. Despite the short growing season, plants in the tundra have learned to adapt through various ways such as, a) grouping together to resist the strong winds of the tundra, b) learning to photosynthesize in low temperatures and light intensities, while using the minimum amounts of energy and c) reproducing by less energy dependent ways (Kids Do Ecology). Like plants, animals who call the tundra home, such as caribou, arctic hares, squirrels, wolves, and polar bears, ravens etc. have also learned to adapt to life in the tundra. They have developed the ability to breed and raise their young during the summer, accumulate fat that serves as insulation, hibernate when food sources are limited, and/or migrate to other areas during the winter months (University of California Museum of Paleontology). In spite of the tundra’s frigid climate, the frozen desert still manages to have a thriving food chain from beginning to end, with producers, herbivores, omnivores and

The Arctic fox is compareble in size to the domestic cat. It inhabits the so-called kingdom of the polar bear the area midway between Norway and the North Pole. This canine predator changes to extreme weather conditions. During the winter months, it’s white coat is ideal camouflage in these rough northern climates. The Arctic fox can roam all winter without hibernating its fur is the thickest of all Arctic mammals. Its insulation permits it to grow even though winter temperatures normally fall to -50 degrees Celsius. When nutrition becomes scarce, the Arctic fox may follow polar bears as they pursue seals on the perilous sea ice. This strategy is hazardous not only because of the possibility of falling into freezing water, but also because

Global temperature increases and associated increases in precipitation in northern Nova Scotia will likely have detrimental impacts on already threatened species. The Canadian Lynx population is decreasing quickly due to human hunting for its fur and its habitats being destroyed forcing them to continuously migrate north. They have evolved to thrive in snow cover and cold temperatures with their large snowshoe-like paws and thick fur, which gives them an advantage to capture prey compared to other predators such as coyotes or bobcats ("Threats To Lynx" 2012, Hoving et al. 2003). The lynx is a specialist predator focusing on the snowshoe hare as its primary source of food. The hare and the lynx have a very interconnected population cycle that lasts roughly 10 years (Yan et al. 2013). Hares experience large fluctuations in their population cycle based on a number of factors that influence the ecosystem. When hare populations are in decline, in periods where nature must regenerate, the lynx population is also shown to decrease, and vice versa with an approximate two year lag period for the lynx (("Lynx-Snowshoe Hare Cycle | Environment And Natural

Environmental changes due to our climate warming is causing terrible effects on the Marten population in the northern reaches of Wisconsin. What climate change is doing to the habit in which the Marten is living in is changing the amount of snowfall the regions in which the Martens are living in are acquiring. Looking at figure 3 you can see that the total snowfall in the two regions where Martens were reintroduced showed significantly less snowfall accumulation in present day compared to the 1980’s. This is extremely important to note because this change in snowfall can deteriorate the critical zone called the subnivium. The subnivium is the seasonal microenvironment underneath the snow (Pauli et al., 2013). This is a small zone where plants and small mammals thrive during the winter. It should be stated that the subnivium insulates the ground creating a pocket of warmth that allows these organisms to survive the harsh Wisconsin winters. The way a subnivium is formed is based on snow duration, density and depth (Pauli et al., 2013). But this is where climate change comes into play. It is causing snowfall to decrease, the time snow is present is decreased and the density of the snow is lower (Pauli et al., 2013). Having these three factor decline is getting rid of the refuge of the subnivium and killing organisms that thrive there. One such organism is the American Marten. These mammals are small enough to crawl down tree trunks where the snow is melted to gain access to the subnivium. This is where the Marten hunts mice and other small mammals to its heart's content. But with the loss of the subnivium Martens can’t hunt in their little paradise. They will have to find other places to hunt and find prey to satisfy their caloric needs. This is where the Fisher has the advantage, since they are too large to access the subnivium. The Fisher

Lenarz, M. S., Nelson, M. E., Schrage, M. W., & Edwards, A. J. (2009). Temperature Mediated Moose Survival in Northeastern Minnesota. Journal of Wildlife Management, 73(4), 503-510.

“Black bears are not true hibernators” according to Nation Geographic. Black bears have several reasons they may leave their den during the winter months, mainly if they do not have enough food to last the winter, they will leave and search for more. If the weather is warmer like down in Florida and Louisiana, they don’t necessarily have a winter. They will remain in their dens if they give birth, presumably for the safety of the cubs.

The snowshoe hare is an important consumer in the ANWR food chain. Without it, top predators such as the brown bear would lack an important food source. The snowshoe hare is an herbivore. Like all herbivores, it eats only plants. Some plants that the snowshoe hare eats are the reindeer lichen, the arctic willow, and the arctic sedge. In the ANWR, it is important that the snowshoe hare has useful adaptations since it lives in the tundra, one of the world’s toughest biomes to survive in. Its signature adaptation is its ability to change color. During the winter, its coat is white as snow, which helps it blend in with its tundra habitat. During the spring and summer, its fur changes reddish-brown, which helps it blend with the dirt and mud that is common in the tundra during and after the period

One animal that prepares for the arrival of winter is the Rana Sylvatica, it is a species of wood frog’s that freezes it self through winter and then comes back to life. The tiny amphibians can survive for weeks with an incredible two-thirds of their body water completely frozen to the point where they are essentially solid frog sicles . Even more incredible is the fact that the wood frogs stop breathing and their hearts stop beating entirely for days to weeks at a time. In fact, during its period of frozen winter hibernation, the frogs physical processes from metabolic activity to waste production grind to a near halt. What’s more the frogs are likely to endure multiple freeze or thaw episodes over the course of a winter.The frogs have

"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words” (Anna Sewell). There is undeniable evidence that animals are being affected by climate change. Even though the effects are difficult to measure, there are many different ways animals are being affected. With the loss of predator and prey species it affects the life cycles in the food chain. The earth’s climate change causes habitats such as snow, ice, or forest areas to alter, resulting in loss of habitat and food accessibility as well as causing extinction.

First of all, plants and animals experience inconveniences when living in places where the creatures receive heavy amounts of snow, consequently proceeding disturbances in the cycle of food chain. For example, the text states, “Unlike animals, which can often leave, hibernate, or otherwise escape a harsh environment, plants cannot”(Source #3). This piece of information illustrates

Animals of the tundra have had to adapt to the long cold winters and to having to raise their young quickly in the summer. Some other adaptations of animals include thick insulating cover of feathers or fur; large, compact bodies; pelage and plumage that turns white in the winter and brown in the summer; the ability to accumulate thick deposits of fat during the short growing season; hibernation; and migration. Some of the animals that are found living in the tundra are lemmings, voles, caribou, artic hares, squirrels, artic foxes, wolves, polar bear, ravens, snow buntings, falcons, loons, ravens, sandpipers, terns, snow birds, mosquitoes, flies, moths, grasshoppers, black flies, artic bumble bees, cod, flatfish, salmon, and trout. Some of these animals are shared with other neighboring biomes but some are only home to the tundra. The tundra is the simplest biome in terms of species composition and food chain. The neighboring biome of the tundra is the boreal forest (taiga).

Not all animals migrate during the winter; such as: birds,fish, whales and sea turtles. On the other hand, most mammals, and some reptiles like the tortoise prefer to sleep during the whole winter, which will usually last up to five to seven months. These months vary from animal to animal; this is called hibernation. Ubeda claims in his article that, hibernation is a deep sleep in which an animal's body temperature drops to just above the temperature of the outside world to conserve as much energy as possible (Ubeda). Hibernation by larger animals, such as, the bear or mountain lion usually occurs during the winter in large dens. On the other hand, if the animal is smaller like a squirrel or a rabbit, hibernation will take place in a small hole or a tree. One reason why hibernation occurs is because food is scarce and harder to achieve, so animals need to conserve all their energy. In Grabianowski’s article, he claims that an animal starts hibernation by slowing their heart rate down (which allows their body temperature to drop) (Grabianowski).

Put simply, the study was intended to reinforce or eviscerate the notion that polar bears may be capable of resisting the malheurs of food displacement or reduction throughout the summer months by some innate physiological mechanism.

Another adaptation is growing sharper nails to have more traction with the icy ground. And with shaper nails they could be more agile than the predators like the polar bear that could chase the dog. And the dogs with not sharp nails will slip and have no traction and

This is how the wooly rhino did things they are not cold animals they actually migrate like other animals.