Symbiosis:
A common example in the tundra of mutualism involves lichen. The moss-like Lichen, but it actually represents a symbiotic relationship between a fungus and an algae. The fungus is "fed" sugars by the photosynthetic alga and the alga receives protection from the fungus. Another common symbiosis relationship, parasitism is displayed in the relationship between the liver tapeworm cysts parasites with moose, caribou and wolves. The worm infests itself in it’s prey and feeds off of it and in some cases lays its egg inside/ on it.
Major Plants:Lichens are one of the major plants in the tundra biome, it is a keystone species to the secondary consumers. They are a type of algae that is able to adapt to the climate in the tundra they come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Saxifrage also are a pivitol to the survival of of multiple herbivores and omnivores. They are the largest in their genius, they have about 400 types dispersed over most of the biomes. Arctic cotton is one of the most wide spread in the tundra biome, they are consumed by a lot of of the secondary consumers. Every plant has a small white fruit type of seed that gets eaten, or blows away.
Trophic Levels:
In the tundra all of the producers have to be plants that are able to produce rapidly also to live and adapt to the constant cold climate. The primary consumers are predominantly smaller living thing, with the exception of larger herbivores including, Caribou Reindeer… A vast majority of secondary consumers eat only the smaller primary consumers, like the fish, squirrels… Although there are few tertiary consumers they are some of the most fierce. The Arctic wolf and I need to eat several time our body weight to survive the winter. The arctic wolf needs to build up a strong outer coat to withstand the cold climate. I need to weigh up to double or triple my normal body weight to survive the winter in hibernation.
Population Growth:
The patterns in the Arctic animals population varies from year to year. Primarily because every year the climate changes, and the ratio of predator to prey varies. But some of the factors that affect it are climate are, food supply, predators and prey… In the past there was more of the tundra biome for the biotic factors, but as time went on the tundra biome decreased in size due to climate change, resulting in a decrease of producers and consumers.
Hibernation:
The only time polar bears do something resembling hibernation is when a female polar bear makes a den in which to give birth and then take care of her cubs. Other than this polar bears remain active throughout the whole year. During the winter however polar bear center a state which is known as walking hibernation. Most Polar Bears do not hibernate, however most pregnant females will in order to give birth to her young, and feed them till they are able to venture out in the snow. It's part of their annual migration back to Hudson Bay, where sea ice is reforming after months of summer melt. To get to the ice each autumn, they traverse Churchill, Manitoba—the "polar bear capital of the world." These animals are the most studied group of polar bears on Earth.
Competition:
The main competition would be against The tertiary organisms, such as the birds like hawks, and the regular polar bears, wolf packs, and foxes. These all compete for the limited resources available in the tundra like seals, fish and other secondary consumers. Out of these the polar bear is the main tertiary consumer. These are the biggest mammals in the tundra and most of the times will compete against each other for land and mating.
Human Impact: The polar bears are being influenced by the humans because of climate change. This climate change melts ice, which polar bears rely on to hunt for prey. When polar bears don’t get enough food intake, they get diseases. When the polar bears have diseases, it reduces the amount of cubs they can have.
Renewable and Non-Renewable Resources:
Renewable- Wind, water, solar and plants.
Non-Renewable- Oil, natural gas, coal, fossil fuels.
A majority of all of the extensively utilized nonrenewable resources are found in the tundra biome. Resulting in countries building factories in the biome and polluting in the process destroying not only the biome but the biotic creature in it.