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Alaska Peninsula Montane Taiga
The Alaska Peninsula montane taiga is a taiga and boreal forests ecoregion, located in Alaska, and defined by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) categorization system. Setting This ecoregion is a mountainous area of ridges up to 1200m between peaks up to 2500m, located on the southern, Pacific Ocean side of the Alaska Peninsula from Cook Inlet west through the Kodiak Archipelago to Unimak Island at the beginning of the Aleutian Islands chain, while the area around Cook Inlet at the head of the peninsula is the neighboring Cook Inlet taiga ecoregion. The area has a freezing climate of snow (up to 4000mm) and cold temperatures. Flora The mountainsides are covered with scrubby vegetation, the higher slopes by low scrub such as black crowberry (''Empetrum nigrum'') and other ericas (''Vaccinium'')s, the tiny Arctic willow (''Salix arctica'') and white mountain avens (''Dryas octopetala'') while the lower slopes have various evergreen trees among the shrubs and the low coastal plains hav ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge
The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge is a United States National Wildlife Refuge in the Kodiak Archipelago in southwestern Alaska, United States. Description The Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge includes the southwestern two-thirds of Kodiak Island, Uganik Island, the Red Peaks area of Afognak Island and all of Ban Island in the archipelago. It encompasses . The refuge is administered from offices in Kodiak. The refuge contains seven major rivers and about 100 streams. It is a spawning ground for all five species of Pacific Ocean salmon, steelhead, Dolly Varden, and several other fish species; as well as a nesting ground for 250 species of bird, many of which feed on salmon. The refuge has only six native species of mammals: Kodiak bear, red fox, river otter, ermine, little brown bat and tundra vole. The non-native mammals Sitka black-tailed deer, mountain goat, Roosevelt elk, caribou, marten, red squirrel, snowshoe hare, and beaver were introduced to the archipelago between ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cook Inlet Taiga
The Cook Inlet taiga is a taiga and boreal forests ecoregion in Alaska. Setting This ecoregion is located around the upper Cook Inlet on the south-central coast of Alaska, sheltered by mountains on all sides. This coast has a gentle landscape and a relatively mild climate for Alaska with 380–680 mm of rainfall per year. Flora The plant life here is varied for Alaska, composted of a mixture of conifers and other trees, shrubs, and herbs. The dominant trees in this region are black spruce ''(Picea mariana)'', white spruce ''(Picea glauca)'', the large Sitka spruce ''(Picea sitchensis)'', quaking aspen ''(Populus tremuloides)'', balsam poplar ''(Populus balsamifera)'', black cottonwood ''(Populus trichocarpa)'' and paper birch ''(Betula papyrifera)''. The spruce forest is regularly renewed following severe damage by spruce bark beetle infestations. Fauna This area is rich in wildlife including grey wolves, bears and Canada lynx. The Kenai River is home to five species of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic Ground Squirrel
The Arctic ground squirrel (''Urocitellus parryii'') (Inuktitut: ''ᓯᒃᓯᒃ, siksik'') is a species of ground squirrel native to the Arctic and Subarctic of North America and Asia. People in Alaska, particularly around the Aleutians, refer to them as "parka" squirrels, most likely because their pelt is good for the ruff on parkas and for clothing. Taxonomy Subspecies listed alphabetically. *''U. p. ablusus'' Osgood, 1903 *''U. p. kennicottii'' Ross, 1861 – Barrow ground squirrel (northern Alaska, northern Yukon, and northern Northwest Territories) *''U. p. kodiacensis'' Ross, 1861 *''U. p. leucostictus'' Brandt, 1844 *''U. p. lyratus'' Hall and Gilmore, 1932 *''U. p. nebulicola'' Osgood, 1903 *''U. p. osgoodi'' Merriam, 1900 *''U. p. parryii'' Richardson, 1825 *''U. p. plesius'' Osgood, 1900 *''U. p. stejnegeri'' J. A. Allen, 1903 Description The Arctic ground squirrel has a beige and tan coat with a white-spotted back. This squirrel has a short face, small ears, a dark tai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Moose
The moose (in North America) or elk (in Eurasia) (''Alces alces'') is a member of the New World deer subfamily and is the only species in the genus ''Alces''. It is the largest and heaviest extant species in the deer family. Most adult male moose have distinctive broad, palmate ("open-hand shaped") antlers; most other members of the deer family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal forests and temperate broadleaf and mixed forests of the Northern Hemisphere The Northern Hemisphere is the half of Earth that is north of the Equator. For other planets in the Solar System, north is defined as being in the same celestial hemisphere relative to the invariable plane of the solar system as Earth's Nort ... in temperate to subarctic climates. Hunting and other human activities have caused a reduction in the size of the moose's range over time. It has been reintroduced to some of its former habitats. Currently, most moose occ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Caribou
Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspecies. A 2022 revision of the genus elevated five of the subspecies to species (see Taxonomy below). They have a circumpolar distribution and are native to the Arctic, sub-Arctic, tundra, boreal forest, and mountainous regions of northern Europe, Siberia, and North America. Reindeer occur in both migratory and sedentary populations, and their herd sizes vary greatly in different regions. The tundra subspecies are adapted for extreme cold, and some are adapted for long-distance migration. Reindeer vary greatly in size and color from the smallest species, the Svalbard reindeer (''R. t. platyrhynchus''), to the largest subspecies, Osborn's caribou (''R. t. osborni''). Although reindeer are quite numerous, some species and subspecies are in d ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kodiak Island
Kodiak Island (Alutiiq: ''Qikertaq''), is a large island on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, separated from the Alaska mainland by the Shelikof Strait. The largest island in the Kodiak Archipelago, Kodiak Island is the second largest island in the United States and the 80th largest island in the world, with an area of , slightly larger than Cyprus. It is long and in width ranges from . Kodiak Island is the namesake for Kodiak Seamount, which lies off the coast at the Aleutian Trench. The largest community on the island is the city of Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak Island is mountainous and heavily forested in the north and east, but fairly treeless in the south. The island has many deep, ice-free bays that provide sheltered anchorages for boats. The southwestern two-thirds of the island, like much of the Kodiak Archipelago, is part of Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Kodiak Island is part of the Kodiak Island Borough and Kodiak Archipelago of Alaska. The town of Kodiak ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brown Bear
The brown bear (''Ursus arctos'') is a large bear species found across Eurasia and North America. In North America, the populations of brown bears are called grizzly bears, while the subspecies that inhabits the Kodiak Islands of Alaska is known as the Kodiak bear. It is one of the largest living terrestrial members of the Order (biology), order Carnivora, rivaled in size only by its closest relative, the polar bear (''Ursus maritimus''), which is much less variable in size and slightly bigger on average. The brown bear's range includes parts of Russia, Central Asia, the Himalayas, China, Canada, the United States, Hokkaido, Scandinavia, Finland, the Balkans, the Picos de Europa and the Carpathian region (especially Romania), Iran, Anatolia, and the Caucasus. The brown bear is recognized as a national and state animal in several European countries. While the brown bear's range has shrunk, and it has faced local extinctions across its wide range, it remains listed as a least con ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kodiak Bear
The Kodiak bear (''Ursus arctos middendorffi''), also known as the Kodiak brown bear, sometimes the Alaskan brown bear, inhabits the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in southwest Alaska. It is the largest recognized subspecies or population of the brown bear, and one of the two largest bears alive today, the other being the polar bear. They are also considered by some to be a population of grizzly bears. Physiologically, the Kodiak bear is very similar to the other brown bear subspecies, such as the mainland grizzly bear (''Ursus arctos horribilis'') and the extinct California grizzly bear (''U. a. californicus''), with the main difference being size. While there is generally much variation in size between brown bears in different areas, most usually weigh between 115 and 360 kg (254 and 794 lb). The Kodiak bear, on the other hand, commonly reaches sizes of , and has even been known to exceed a weight of . Despite this large variation in size, the diet and lifestyle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
McNeil River
The McNeil River is a river on the eastern drainage of the Alaska Peninsula near its base and conjunction with the Alaska mainland. The McNeil emerges from glaciers and alpine lakes in the mountains of the Aleutian Range. The river's destination is the Cook Inlet in Alaska's southwest. The McNeil is the prime habitat of numerous animals, but it is famous for its salmon and brown bears. This wealth of wildlife was one of the reasons for the Alaska State Legislature's decision to designate the McNeil River a wildlife sanctuary in 1967. In 1993, this protected area was enlarged to preserve an area that has the highest concentration of brown bears anywhere in the world. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, up to 144 brown bears have been sighted on the river in a single summer with 74 bears congregating in one place at a time Its entire length of 35 miles (55 km) lies within the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary, created in 1967 by the State of Alaska to protect t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Populus Balsamifera
''Populus balsamifera'', commonly called balsam poplar, bam, bamtree, eastern balsam-poplar, hackmatack, tacamahac poplar, tacamahaca, is a tree species in the balsam poplar species group in the poplar genus, '' Populus.'' The genus name ''Populus'' is from the Latin for poplar, and the specific epithet ''balsamifera'' from Latin for "balsam-bearing". ''Populus balsamifera'' is the northernmost North American hardwood, growing transcontinentally on boreal and montane upland and flood plain sites, and attaining its best development on flood plains. It is a hardy, fast-growing tree which is generally short lived, but some trees as old as 200 years have been found. The tree is known for its strong, sweet fragrance, which emanates from its sticky, resinous buds. The smell has been compared to that of the balsam fir tree. Taxonomy The black cottonwood, ''Populus trichocarpa'', is sometimes considered a subspecies of ''P. balsamifera'' and may lend its common name to this species, a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alnus Viridis
''Alnus alnobetula'' is a common tree widespread across much of Europe, Asia, and North America. Many sources refer to it as ''Alnus viridis'', the green alder, but botanically this is considered an illegitimate name synonymous with ''Alnus alnobetula'' subsp. ''fruticosa''. Description It is a large shrub or small tree tall with smooth grey bark even in old age. The leaves are shiny green with light green undersurfaces, ovoid, long and 2–6 cm broad. The flowers are catkins, appearing late in spring after the leaves emerge (unlike other alders which flower before leafing out); the male catkins are pendulous, 4–8 cm long, the female catkins 1 cm long and 0.7 cm broad when mature in late autumn, in clusters of 3–10 on a branched stem. The seeds are small, long, light brown with a narrow encircling wing. The roots of ''Alnus viridis subsp. sinuata'' have nitrogen-fixing nodules. A study in Alaska showed that Sitka alder seedlings were able to invade coa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dryas Octopetala
''Dryas octopetala'', the mountain avens, eightpetal mountain-avens, white dryas or white dryad, is an Arctic–alpine flowering plant in the family Rosaceae. It is a small prostrate evergreen subshrub forming large colonies. The specific epithet ''octopetala'' derives from Greek ''octo'' 'eight' and ''petalon'' 'petal', referring to the eight petals of the flower, an unusual number in the Rosaceae, where five is the normal number. However, flowers with up to 16 petals also occur naturally. As a floral emblem, it is the official territorial flower of the Northwest Territories and the national flower of Iceland. Description The stems are woody, tortuous, with short, horizontal rooting branches. The leaves are glabrous above, densely white-tomentose beneath. The flowers are produced on stalks long, and have eight creamy white petals – hence the specific epithet ''octopetala''. The style is persistent on the fruit with white feathery hairs, functioning as a wind-dispersal agent. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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