Jump to content

Arctic coastal tundra

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arctic coastal tundra
Tundra vegetation on Yukon's coastal plain
at the Firth River delta
109. Arctic Coastal Tundra
Ecology
RealmNearctic
BiomeTundra
Borders
Animalscaribou, bear, wolf, muskox, snow goose, brant goose, polar bear, fox, lemming, ermine, seal, fish
Bird species74[1]
Mammal species31[1]
Geography
Area98,200 km2 (37,900 sq mi)
Countries
States
Elevation0–150 metres (0–492 ft)
Geologycoastal plain
Riversthe Mackenzie River delta
Climate typeTundra (ET)
Conservation
Conservation statusRelatively Stable/Intact
Global 200Yes
Habitat loss0%[1]
Protected49.8%[1]

The Arctic coastal tundra is an ecoregion of the far north of North America, an important breeding ground for a great deal of wildlife.

Setting

[edit]

This ecoregion is located on the north coast of Alaska, and includes the east coast plain of Banks Island, as well as the Anderson River and Horton River plains, and the Tuktoyaktuk coast in the Northwest Territories. This is an area of low, flat, boggy coastal plains. The underlying soil of this damp Arctic coast is thick, solid permafrost, covered in summer with thermokarst "thaw lakes" of melted ice. Ice features such as ice wedges and pingo mounds of soil and ice can be found. This coast has an arctic climate warm enough to allow plant growth in late-June, July and August only, and even then frosts may occur. On the whole this is a damper, wetter area than the Low Arctic tundra ecoregion that continues along the coast west of here to Quebec.[2]

Flora

[edit]

This area supports wetland plants especially sedges and grasses, mosses and lichens, and right on the coast there are peat bogs. Trees such as dwarf birch, willows, northern Labrador tea (Dryas) and alders grow in the warmer areas of the region, the Mackenzie River delta and the Yukon coast.

Fauna

[edit]

This region provides calving habitat for four herds of caribou, the Western Arctic, Teshekpuk, Central Arctic, and Porcupine caribou herds. Another key species is the muskox of Banks Island and the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coast. Other mammals include lemmings, polar bear, walrus, beluga whale, snowshoe hare and Arctic hare, red fox, grey wolf, Arctic ground squirrel and seals. The coast is also home to many breeding waterbirds including snow goose, spectacled eider, Steller's eider, king eider, red-throated loon,[3] pacific loon,[4] and yellow-billed loon. Important bird areas include the Colville River delta, Teshekpuk Lake (which is within the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska), and Kasegaluk Lagoon a breeding area for brant goose. Predatory birds include the snowy owls that hunt waterbirds and lemmings. Fish of the waters here include the Arctic char.

Threats and preservation

[edit]

90% of natural habitat remains intact, except for the vicinity of Utqiaġvik, Alaska and the oil fields of Prudhoe Bay, Alaska and Kuparuk which are expanding along the coast and may in future spread into the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, which is the only major protected area on this coast (see Arctic Refuge drilling controversy), and on and around the Dalton Highway and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline. The area is one of the "most productive"[5] in the United States for petroleum extraction including a 9 million hectare area reserved for this activity.[6] As Arctic seas warm and ice recedes, it is believed that these areas contained within the Arctic coastal tundra may reveal some of the largest petroleum reserves in the world.[7][8][9]

See also

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c d Hoekstra, J. M.; Molnar, J. L.; Jennings, M.; Revenga, C.; Spalding, M. D.; Boucher, T. M.; Robertson, J. C.; Heibel, T. J.; Ellison, K. (2010). Molnar, J. L. (ed.). The Atlas of Global Conservation: Changes, Challenges, and Opportunities to Make a Difference. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-26256-0.
  2. ^ "Arctic coastal tundra". Terrestrial Ecoregions. World Wildlife Fund.
  3. ^ McCloskey, Sarah E.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Fondell, Thomas F. (2018-01-10). "International migration patterns of Red-throated Loons (Gavia stellata) from four breeding populations in Alaska". PLOS ONE. 13 (1): e0189954. Bibcode:2018PLoSO..1389954M. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0189954. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 5761837. PMID 29320572.
  4. ^ Poessel, Sharon A.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Pearce, John M.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Douglas, David C.; von Biela, Vanessa R.; Katzner, Todd E. (2020-06-01). "Movements and habitat use of loons for assessment of conservation buffer zones in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska". Global Ecology and Conservation. 22: e00980. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00980. ISSN 2351-9894.
  5. ^ Poessel, Sharon A.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Pearce, John M.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Douglas, David C.; von Biela, Vanessa R.; Katzner, Todd E. (2020-06-01). "Movements and habitat use of loons for assessment of conservation buffer zones in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska". Global Ecology and Conservation. 22: e00980. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00980. ISSN 2351-9894.
  6. ^ "Oil and Gas Resources of the Arctic Alaska Petroleum Province". pubs.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-21.
  7. ^ Harsem, Øistein; Heen, Knut; Rodrigues, J. M. P.; Vassdal, Terje (2013-10-08). "Oil exploration and sea ice projections in the Arctic". Polar Record. 51 (1): 91–106. doi:10.1017/S0032247413000624. ISSN 0032-2474. S2CID 130708571.
  8. ^ Poessel, Sharon A.; Uher-Koch, Brian D.; Pearce, John M.; Schmutz, Joel A.; Harrison, Autumn-Lynn; Douglas, David C.; von Biela, Vanessa R.; Katzner, Todd E. (2020-06-01). "Movements and habitat use of loons for assessment of conservation buffer zones in the Arctic Coastal Plain of northern Alaska". Global Ecology and Conservation. 22: e00980. doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e00980. ISSN 2351-9894.
  9. ^ Circum-Arctic Resource Appraisal: Estimates of Undiscovered Oil and Gas North of the Arctic Circle By (in alphabetical order) Kenneth J. Bird, Ronald R. Charpentier, Donald L. Gautier (CARA Project Chief), David W. Houseknecht, Timothy R. Klett, Janet K. Pitman, Thomas E. Moore, Christopher J. Schenk, Marilyn E. Tennyson, and Craig J. Wandrey 2008 https://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2008/3049/
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arctic_coastal_tundra&oldid=1225824482"