Arctic - Physcial Conditions Of The Environment Flashcards
Where is mussel farming which is rich in vitamins
Wakenham Bay, North Canada
Arctic land cover
14.5km2
What is a high source of vitamin c
Narwhals
Why cant the Inuits walk to capture seals and fish
Slushy ice
What are the polar bears forced to eat
Berries and mosses which lower body mass which means less food for indigenous people
What happens in early spring
Early birth of reindeers but it wont last long
What has happened to the quality of the resources
Declined
How many Inuit children are suffering malnutrition
30%
High salt,sugar and unhealthy fats
Decline in health
Contamination of water spreads to the fish
Have to buy store brought fish instead
What are the dominant plant species
Low shrubs, moss and lichens
Lack of nitrogen fixing plants ( cold and wet)
Limited fertility and inhibited breakdown of plant material
High food prices
Remoteness
Meat is prepared
Kept in caves
Main farming techniques
Hunting,fishing and herding
Disease brought to the north by southerly animals
Meningeal brain work - lethal to caribe
Sea ice, snowfall and permafrost
Diminished due to climate change
Where does it cover
Arctic Ocean, northern Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia and Russia
Makes it an extreme environment
Thick ice and snow cover bitter cold
Angle of the sun
Too low that temps do not rise above freezing - short growing season
Low organic productivity a net primary productivity
140g/m2
Second lowest
Land biome
Plants are adapted to moisture -deficient conditions
Most water is stored as ice
Plants
Compact, short growing( avoid the permafrost and make the summer surface thaw) slow growing to avoid the wind
Wakenham Bay, Quebec N Canada
Ocean food
Mussels
Tide changes 2x a day
Mussels are a rich source of mineral and vitamins
Harvested in caves created by blocks of ice leaning together when the ice hits the sea bed
Qaanaaq, N Greenland
Inuit people
Hunters of marine animals ( narwhal)
Rich source of vitamin c
Summer months = hunters camp on the edge of the sea ice and travel in kayaks to catch their prey using harpoons
Maktaqq - vitamin c
Barrow, Alaska
Whale hunting - important aspect of life for Inuit people despite access to food shops
Bowhead whales - pass the coast 2 x a year
Whale meat is an essential part of their diet most people eat it 2 x a week
Whale oil is added to caribou
Extreme environmental conditions support
Low species diversity and delicate food webs
Ecosystems are vulnerable to change
Future of food being harvested from their is declining due to diminishing ice
With indigenous people largely dependent on it, there food security is threatened
Hunting terrain, migration patterns, quantity and quality of traditional food sources
Affected by cc
Slushy ice - cannot hunt on
Travel routes are made longer, more dangerous and unpredictable
Polar bears and walrus eating moss on land - disrupts the food supply
Fish stocks decreased and are invaded by warm water species
Herding is delayed as the lake they cross is not freezing
Caribou born - missed peak foliage availability - many do not survive
Wild resources declining
Pollution and contamination
Contaminations are showing up in animals, fish and waters of the Arctic
People are turning to store brought food, increasing social problems of increased prices ( remoteness and low budgets and low income with limited Job opps , obesity, malnutrition, health issues
