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Arctic Foothills Tundra
The Arctic foothills tundra is an ecoregion of the far north of North America, lying inland from the north coast of Alaska. This is permafrost tundra with an average annual temperature below freezing. Setting This is a hilly area that lies between the boggier Arctic coastal tundra to the north and the Brooks Range to the south, and stretching from the Chukchi Sea east across northern Alaska to the border with Canada's Yukon Territory. The Noatak River valley is the only forested area. Flora The main vegetation is the scrubby cottongrass (''Eriophorum vaginatum''), stiff sedge (''Carex bigelowii'') and shrubs such as ''Betula nana'', ''Empetrum nigrum'', '' Rhododendron subarcticum'', and the berry ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''. Fauna The Colville River is a migration route for wildlife including moose, and a breeding area for gyrfalcon, peregrine falcon, and rough-legged hawks. The ecoregion is also home to a number of waterbirds. Mammals include the large ungulates moose (''Al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR or Arctic Refuge) is a national wildlife refuge in northeastern Alaska, United States on traditional Gwich'in lands. It consists of in the Alaska North Slope region. It is the largest national wildlife refuge in the country, slightly larger than the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge is administered from offices in Fairbanks. ANWR includes a large variety of species of plants and animals, such as polar bears, grizzly bears, black bears, moose, caribou, wolves, eagles, lynx, wolverine, marten, beaver and migratory birds, which rely on the refuge. Just across the border in Yukon, Canada, are two Canadian National Parks, Ivvavik and Vuntut. History The Arctic Refuge is part of the traditional homelands of many bands or tribes of the Gwichʼin people. For thousands of years, the Gwich'in have called the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge “Iizhik Gwats’an Gwandaii Goodlit” (The Sacred Place Where Life Begins). The ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eriophorum Vaginatum
''Eriophorum'' (cottongrass, cotton-grass or cottonsedge) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cyperaceae, the sedge family. They are found throughout the arctic, subarctic, and temperate portions of the Northern Hemisphere in acid bog habitats, being particularly abundant in Arctic tundra regions.Flora Europaea''Eriophorum''/ref> They are herbaceous perennial plants with slender, grass-like leaves. The seed heads are covered in a fluffy mass of cotton-like fibers which are carried on the wind to aid dispersal. The cotton grass also maintains a height of 12 inches and around 2 inches in water. In cold Arctic regions, these masses of translucent fibres also serve as 'down' – increasing the temperature of the reproductive organs during the Arctic summer by trapping solar radiation. Paper and the wicks of candles have been made of its fiber, and pillows stuffed with the same material. The leaves were formerly used in treating diarrhea, and the spongy pith of the stem for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alaskan Hare
The Alaskan hare (''Lepus othus''), also known as the tundra hare, is a species of mammal in the family Leporidae. They do not dig burrows and are found in the open tundra of western Alaska and the Alaska Peninsula in the United States. They are solitary for most of the year except during mating season, when they produce a single litter of up to eight young. Predators include birds of prey and polar bears, as well as humans (typically for food). Description The Alaskan hare is one of the largest species of hares. The Alaskan hare is sometimes referred to as the tundra hare. They are one of two species of hares native to the state of Alaska in the United States, the other being the more common snowshoe hare. Both male and female adults of ''Lepus othus'' normally measure between in length, with the tail measuring up to an additional . Their hind feet are long, which is thought to allow them to move easily in snowy conditions. It has been reported that they also use their feet for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wolf
The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the gray wolf or grey wolf, is a large canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, and gray wolves, as popularly understood, comprise wild subspecies. The wolf is the largest extant member of the family Canidae. It is also distinguished from other ''Canis'' species by its less pointed ears and muzzle, as well as a shorter torso and a longer tail. The wolf is nonetheless related closely enough to smaller ''Canis'' species, such as the coyote and the golden jackal, to produce fertile hybrids with them. The banded fur of a wolf is usually mottled white, brown, gray, and black, although subspecies in the arctic region may be nearly all white. Of all members of the genus ''Canis'', the wolf is most specialized for cooperative game hunting as demonstrated by its physical adaptations to tackling large prey, its more social nature, and its highly advanc ... [...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] |
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] |
Rough-legged Hawk
The rough-legged buzzard or rough-legged hawk (''Buteo lagopus'') is a medium-large bird of prey. It is found in Arctic and Subarctic regions of North America, Europe, and Russia during the breeding season and migrates south for the winter. It was traditionally also known as the rough-legged falcon in such works as John James Audubon's ''The Birds of America''. Nests are typically located on cliffs, bluffs or in trees. Clutch sizes are variable with food availability, but three to five eggs are usually laid. These hawks hunt over open land, feeding primarily on small mammals. Along with the kestrels, kites, and osprey, this is one of the few birds of prey to hover regularly. Description This fairly large raptorial species is with wingspan ranging from . Individuals can weigh from with females typically being larger and heavier than males. Weights appear to increase from summer to winter in adults, going from an average of in males and from in females. Among the members of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peregrine Falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae. A large, Corvus (genus), crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the Fastest animals, fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a ''National Geographic (U.S. TV channel), National Geographic'' TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is . As is typical for avivore, bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gyrfalcon
The gyrfalcon ( or ) (), the largest of the falcon species, is a bird of prey. The abbreviation gyr is also used. It breeds on Arctic coasts and tundra, and the islands of northern North America and the Eurosiberian region. It is mainly a resident there also, but some gyrfalcons bird migration, disperse more widely after the breeding season, or in winter. Individual Vagrancy (biology), vagrancy can take birds for long distances. Its plumage varies with location, with birds being coloured from all-white to dark brown. These colour variations are called Polymorphism (biology), morphs. Like other falcons, it shows sexual dimorphism, with the female much larger than the male. For centuries, the gyrfalcon has been valued as a Falconry, hunting bird. Typical prey includes the ptarmigan and waterfowl, which it may take in flight; it also takes fish and mammals. Taxonomy and etymology The gyrfalcon was Species description, formally described by Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 i ... [...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] |
Vaccinium Vitis-idaea
''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'', the lingonberry, partridgeberry, mountain cranberry or cowberry, is a small evergreen shrub in the heath family Ericaceae, that bears edible fruit. It is native to boreal forest and Arctic tundra throughout the Northern Hemisphere, from Europe and Asia to North America. Lingonberries are picked in the wild and used to accompany a variety of dishes in Northern Baltoscandia, Russia, Canada and Alaska. Commercial cultivation is undertaken in the U.S. Pacific Northwest and in many other regions of the world. Names ''Vaccinium vitis-idaea'' is most commonly known in English as 'lingonberry' or 'cowberry'.Gray's Manual of Botany: Asa GrayInteractive Flora of Northwest Europe''Vaccinium vitis-idaea''/ref> The name 'lingonberry' originates from the Swedish name for the species, and is derived from the Norse , or heather. The genus name ''Vaccinium'' is a classical Latin name for a plant, possibly the bilberry or hyacinth, and may be derived from the Latin , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhododendron Subarcticum
''Rhododendron tomentosum'' (syn. ''Ledum palustre''), commonly known as marsh Labrador tea, northern Labrador tea or wild rosemary, is a flowering plant in the subsection ''Ledum'' of the large genus ''Rhododendron'' in the family Ericaceae. Description It is a low shrub growing to 50 cm (rarely up to 120 cm) tall with evergreen leaves 12–50 mm long and 2–12 mm broad. The flowers are small, with a five-lobed white corolla, and produced several together in a corymb 3–5 cm diameter. They emit strong smell to attract bees and other pollinating insects. Distribution and habitat It grows in northern latitudes in North America, Greenland, Canada, and Alaska, in Europe in the northern and central parts, and in Asia south to northern China, Korea and Japan. It grows in peaty soils, shrubby areas, moss and lichen tundra. Chemical compounds All parts of the plant contain poisonous terpenes that affect the central nervous system. First symptoms of overdose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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