How Plants And Animals Surivive In The Tundra
Introduction
Lichens can survive in the tundra because they do not need soil to grow. They grow on rocks. Lichens help breaks the rock into soil. Not all lichens can grow on rocks, but the Orange Lichen (to the right) can. Caribou eat lichen.
The Dwarf Willow is a small tundra shrub. It is also able to live in the tundra. It grows fast during the summer so it can be grown and last throughout the rest of the next season or so. Some of these plants grow close to the ground and in small bunches to be protected by the cold weather.
Some plants do not survive in the tundra because of air pollution. Air pollution is caused by factories from Russia, Europe, and Eastern United States. Pollution contaminates the lichens which cause it to become bad to eat for the caribou and possibility of decaying.
Polar bears survive in the tundra biome because their fur is thick and keeps them warm. They also have a lot of fat on them which can withstand the cold. The hooves of the polar bear and Musk oxen help keep their feet from feeling the coldness of he ground. The polar bear fishes out fish from the ice cold water underneath the ice or Ringed seals. The Musk oxen survives for about the same reason of havin thick fur for protection to not freeze. Their tusks help them push through the snow and pick lichen from the rocks to eat. Lichen is what they survive on to eat. The Artic fox is able to survive because it is small and does not need as much food as other animals. It also has thick fur, not as thick as the polar bear and oxen, but pretty thick. The foxes eat lemmings, birds, dead fish, and marine animals that wash to shore. They also follow follow polar bears to eat left over scraps. They live in dens, or in debris piles.