Often in the lessons of natural history, the following task is given: "Make a diagram of the food chain." School knowledge allows this to be done by elementary school students. This type of work helps to check how well the student knows about the animals and plants of a certain area. Since you need to have enough comprehensive information, this task does not belong to the category of easy ones. The article will provide a diagram of the food chain characteristic of the Arctic desert, we will also give a definition of the concept and talk about the principles of construction.
The food chain: what is it?
What is a food chain? It is no secret that life on the planet moves in a circle: some organisms are born to give organic matter for the development and growth of others. Many living beings are herbivores, others (including humans) are carnivores.
At the beginning of any chain are plants (or plankton, if we are talking about the aquatic environment), then - herbivorous insects or animals. At the very top is a predator. Interestingly, if at least one element of the chain disappears, the rest also die out,because the connection is broken. Let's look at a specific example.
How to draw up a diagram of the food chain characteristic of the steppe zone? To begin with, it is worth deciding which plants and animals inhabit this area. Drought-resistant herbs and flowers predominate here, such as feather grass or grasses. Rodents predominate among animals in the steppe. Predators - arctic foxes or eagles, owls. Here are examples of chains: grass - grasshopper - frog - steppe eagle. Or this: cereals - vole mouse - arctic fox.
Arctic desert: climate features
Before talking about what the food chain pattern is typical for the Arctic desert, it is worth characterizing this climatic zone. This region of harsh climate is very poor in flora and fauna.
The earth is covered with a layer of permafrost, so there is practically no vegetation: only rare grasses, mosses and lichens. The situation is approximately the same with terrestrial animals: only lemmings, polar bears and arctic foxes. Bird bazaars can also be classified as terrestrial - in the summer months, birds arrange nests on the rocks.
Walruses and seals live in the waters of the Arctic Ocean, as well as some species of Arctic fish.
Plankton - fish - seal - polar bear
Let's analyze how living organisms eat in this area. The first diagram of the food chain characteristic of the Arctic desert begins with plankton. These are microorganisms that live in water. They cannot resist the current, so they swim freely in the water column. In the given areathere are two hundred species of phytoplankton (it is capable of photosynthesis) and the same number of zooplankton (unicellular protozoa and crustaceans).
The next link is the fish. More than 150 species live in the Arctic Ocean. Among them there are representatives of cod, salmon, flounder, herring. All of them are adapted to the harsh conditions of the north.
Seals feed on fish. These mammals have flippers-limbs, thanks to which they move well under water. There are claws on the front.
This food chain in the Arctic desert zone ends with a polar bear.
This is the largest predator not only in the Arctic, but throughout the world. The maximum mass of an animal is a ton, individuals reach three meters in length. They feed on seals. They do it in the following way: they lie in wait for the victim, hit him on the head with a powerful paw (stun) and drag him ashore.
Sedge - lemming - arctic fox
Another food chain pattern typical of the Arctic desert starts with sedge. It is the only herb that grows in the area. Although the plant is unpretentious, the area covered by it is very small.
Rodents feed on sedge. In the Arctic, their class is represented by lemmings. These small animals, the closest relatives of hamsters, are able to eat several times their weight. A small body, ears pressed to the head and short legs - these are the characteristics of this rodent. The color of the lemming's fur varies depending on the season, from gray-brown in summer to light, almostwhite, winter.
At the top of the chain is a polar fox - arctic fox.
The predator differs from its relative in class - the common fox - by a more squat body, a rounded muzzle and non-sharp auricles, they are almost invisible from under the rich fluffy fur. In general, the arctic fox does not disdain either plants or animals. It can eat both, for example, cloudberries, and rodents. The arctic fox does not disdain fish, for some reason thrown ashore.
