Arctic/ Antarctic Communities Flashcards
the arctic is ___ surrounded by ___, while the Antarctic is ____ surrounded by ____
arctic: ocean surrounded by land
antarctic: continent (land) surrounded by ocean
the arctic marine ecosystem is ___-__ million years old, while the antarctic ecosystem is __-__ million years old
arctic: 1-2mill
antarctic: 20-40 mill
epontic=
subice communities
In the Antarctic, there is __% ice cover change with seasons!
90
Bowhead whales have no ___ fin. What’s the advantage?
dorsal
they can use their backs to break the ice if they need to breath
- this allows them to live where killer whales cannot (escape predation)
locations of many marine mammas are determined by ____
polynyas
The antarctic has no ___ predators (the arctic does)
terrestrial
What are the key species in the food chain in the arctic? Antarctic?
arctic: zooplankton and cod
antarctic: krill
What’s the preferred food of polar bears?
ring seals (high fat content, they eat the fat and leave the rest)
Why can seals in the Antarctic have just 1 breathing hole and leave their feces on the ice, while arctic seals can’t?
no terrestrial predators in the antarctic, so no risk!
Most crabeater seals have scars from ___ seal attacks
leopard
Give an example of how penguins predator swamp
they all jump into the water together (confuses & overwhelms predators)
Ross seals in the Antarctic have tiny teeth for eating ___. Is there an ecological equivalent in the arctic?
squid
no equivalent
