A) Observe the Tundra Trek for a group of organisms and determine how this display does or does not accurately reflect the natural ecosystem of the organisms.
Through comparing the natural ecosystem, the arctic tundra, with the display ecosystem, the Tundra Trek, it is unquestionable that the display does not accurately reflect the natural ecosystem of the organisms.
Natural: The Arctic Tundra
Abiotic Characteristics
The arctic tundra is among the coldest, driest and harshest biomes on Earth. Restricted in the northern hemisphere across , the average average annual temperature is -28° C. Due to the low temperatures, the arctic tundra is permafrost; the ground is permanently frozen, preventing the development of deep root systems of the vegetation. The seasons spring and autumn can be regarded as very short transitional periods between the longer summers and winters. Between these two seasons, winters are longer and much colder, with an average temperature of -34° C. On the other hand, summers are much shorter and warmer, with average temperatures ranging between 3-12° C. A distinctive characteristic of the summers here is that the sun is up 24 hours, allowing the plants that were unable to photosynthesis to finally have their period of intense plant growth. Another quality of the arctic tundra is that it receives a limited amount of sunlight; sometimes, in accordance with the latitude, the land is left in complete darkness for up to two months. Even though the sun is visible 24 hours during the summer, the sun stays near the horizon which limits the intensity of the sunlight. In addition, the average annual precipitation is a very small amount of 15-25cm and the place is very windy with winds that measure between 48-97km/hr.
Biotic Characteristics
The harsh environment of the arctic tundra does not mean that the variety of plants are narrow; there are about 1, 700 kinds of plants in the Arctic tundra consisting of low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, grasses, varieties of flowers, crustose, and foliose lichen that are all short and grouped together. The plants are adapted to strong winds, inadequacy of the soil, performing photosynthesis at low temperatures and low sunlight intensities, and reproducing through budding and division in substitution of sexual reproduction. Furthermore, the harsh environment does not stop the diversity of the fauna either, some include arctic hares, caribou, arctic foxes, wolves, polar bears, reindeers, snow owls, ravens, falcons, mosquitoes, arctic bumble bees, cod, salmon, and trout. These animals have adapted to handle the severe winters and to breed and raise their young rapidly during the short summers.
Through comparing the natural ecosystem, the arctic tundra, with the display ecosystem, the Tundra Trek, it is unquestionable that the display does not accurately reflect the natural ecosystem of the organisms.
Natural: The Arctic Tundra
Abiotic Characteristics
The arctic tundra is among the coldest, driest and harshest biomes on Earth. Restricted in the northern hemisphere across , the average average annual temperature is -28° C. Due to the low temperatures, the arctic tundra is permafrost; the ground is permanently frozen, preventing the development of deep root systems of the vegetation. The seasons spring and autumn can be regarded as very short transitional periods between the longer summers and winters. Between these two seasons, winters are longer and much colder, with an average temperature of -34° C. On the other hand, summers are much shorter and warmer, with average temperatures ranging between 3-12° C. A distinctive characteristic of the summers here is that the sun is up 24 hours, allowing the plants that were unable to photosynthesis to finally have their period of intense plant growth. Another quality of the arctic tundra is that it receives a limited amount of sunlight; sometimes, in accordance with the latitude, the land is left in complete darkness for up to two months. Even though the sun is visible 24 hours during the summer, the sun stays near the horizon which limits the intensity of the sunlight. In addition, the average annual precipitation is a very small amount of 15-25cm and the place is very windy with winds that measure between 48-97km/hr.
Biotic Characteristics
The harsh environment of the arctic tundra does not mean that the variety of plants are narrow; there are about 1, 700 kinds of plants in the Arctic tundra consisting of low shrubs, sedges, reindeer mosses, liverworts, grasses, varieties of flowers, crustose, and foliose lichen that are all short and grouped together. The plants are adapted to strong winds, inadequacy of the soil, performing photosynthesis at low temperatures and low sunlight intensities, and reproducing through budding and division in substitution of sexual reproduction. Furthermore, the harsh environment does not stop the diversity of the fauna either, some include arctic hares, caribou, arctic foxes, wolves, polar bears, reindeers, snow owls, ravens, falcons, mosquitoes, arctic bumble bees, cod, salmon, and trout. These animals have adapted to handle the severe winters and to breed and raise their young rapidly during the short summers.
Display: The Tundra Trek
Abiotic Characteristics
At the Toronto Zoo, the representational display of the arctic tundra was the Tundra Trek. Immediately, the inadequacy of the display is noticeable. To begin, the weather conditions differ greatly. To explain, in comparison to the arctic tundra, Toronto has much higher average annual temperatures that ranges between -6° C to 27° C. In effect, the Toronto soil does not consist of permafrost, allowing the growth of deep root systems. Even though the summers and winters are longer in Toronto as well, the duration of each season is more evenly divided. Therefore, the growing season is much longer in Toronto in comparison to the Arctic tundra. The average temperature of winter in Toronto is much warmer, measuring between 0.3-6.6° C. The average temperature of summer in Toronto is also much warmer, ranging between 15.1-23.3° C and the sun does not stay out 24 hours of the day during this season. Moreover, there is not a day in Toronto where the sun does not rise above the horizon and the sunlight is much more intense. Furthermore, the average annual precipitation in Toronto is around 79cm which is a much more than the precipitation measures of the arctic tundra and the average wind speed measures to only 15km/hr. Through observing these differences, it is clear that the living environment of the Tundra Trek of the Toronto Zoo is much less severe than the living environment of the Arctic tundra. To add, the arctic tundra is a very large region, to large to be efficiently exhibited in a 10-Acre piece of land of the Tundra Trek.
Biotic Characteristics
Since the environment of the Tundra Trek is not as large as the arctic tundra environment, the diversity of plants in this small area is definitely much narrower. Also due to the development of deep root systems, the types of plants in this exhibition is different as well, consisting of taller trees. The plants of the Tundra Trek will have a lower possibility of surviving through strong winds, permafrosts, low temperatures, and low sunlight intensities as they are adapted to the environment of Toronto. Similarly to the plants, the diversity of the fauna will also be much narrower. The types of fauna are different as well as the faunas of the two very different habitats, the arctic tundra and the Tundra Trek, are adapted to the distinctive habitat that they live in. Most likely, the faunas of the Tundra Trek (with the exception of the ones that were selectively brought from the Arctic tundra) would be unable to survive through the harsh winters, short summers, and different food sources of the arctic tundra. Also, the interaction of organisms that take place in nature is blockaded in the Tundra Trek due the lack of diversity and the separation of organisms into their own areas. These interactions include the predator-and-prey relationship and the pairing to reproduce.
In Depth Examples
Abiotic Characteristics
At the Toronto Zoo, the representational display of the arctic tundra was the Tundra Trek. Immediately, the inadequacy of the display is noticeable. To begin, the weather conditions differ greatly. To explain, in comparison to the arctic tundra, Toronto has much higher average annual temperatures that ranges between -6° C to 27° C. In effect, the Toronto soil does not consist of permafrost, allowing the growth of deep root systems. Even though the summers and winters are longer in Toronto as well, the duration of each season is more evenly divided. Therefore, the growing season is much longer in Toronto in comparison to the Arctic tundra. The average temperature of winter in Toronto is much warmer, measuring between 0.3-6.6° C. The average temperature of summer in Toronto is also much warmer, ranging between 15.1-23.3° C and the sun does not stay out 24 hours of the day during this season. Moreover, there is not a day in Toronto where the sun does not rise above the horizon and the sunlight is much more intense. Furthermore, the average annual precipitation in Toronto is around 79cm which is a much more than the precipitation measures of the arctic tundra and the average wind speed measures to only 15km/hr. Through observing these differences, it is clear that the living environment of the Tundra Trek of the Toronto Zoo is much less severe than the living environment of the Arctic tundra. To add, the arctic tundra is a very large region, to large to be efficiently exhibited in a 10-Acre piece of land of the Tundra Trek.
Biotic Characteristics
Since the environment of the Tundra Trek is not as large as the arctic tundra environment, the diversity of plants in this small area is definitely much narrower. Also due to the development of deep root systems, the types of plants in this exhibition is different as well, consisting of taller trees. The plants of the Tundra Trek will have a lower possibility of surviving through strong winds, permafrosts, low temperatures, and low sunlight intensities as they are adapted to the environment of Toronto. Similarly to the plants, the diversity of the fauna will also be much narrower. The types of fauna are different as well as the faunas of the two very different habitats, the arctic tundra and the Tundra Trek, are adapted to the distinctive habitat that they live in. Most likely, the faunas of the Tundra Trek (with the exception of the ones that were selectively brought from the Arctic tundra) would be unable to survive through the harsh winters, short summers, and different food sources of the arctic tundra. Also, the interaction of organisms that take place in nature is blockaded in the Tundra Trek due the lack of diversity and the separation of organisms into their own areas. These interactions include the predator-and-prey relationship and the pairing to reproduce.
In Depth Examples
The differences in the natural ecosystem and the Tundra Trek that were identified above were ones that were relevant to the ecosystems of all the animals brought from the arctic tundra. However, through observing the smaller natural ecosystem and display ecosystem of each type of organism instead of the larger ecosystem of all the organisms, particular differences can be introduces and a further understand of the differences can be obtained.
Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
Naturally, polar bears live in areas where there is annual ice; someplace where they can use as a protective cover as well as a hunting platform. A common example is the ice sheets covered by large open waters. Their habitat can be enormous, ranging up to the area that can support around 400 black bears. In areas where the ice melts during the summer, the polar bears migrate inland and live in coniferous forests and stay there until the ice freezes again. Their most common prey are the seals but they may also eat young walruses, fishes, mussels, crabs, grasses, and mushrooms. Polar bears are solitary animals, in exception to the mating period (April and May) of their breeding season. Being one of the largest land carnivores in the world, polar bears are at the top of the food chain, therefore, they do not have predators in their ecosystem (with the exception of humans). |
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On the other hand, the habitat of the polar bears in the Tundra Trek does not consist of annual ice. The area that they live in is only a subsection of the 10-Acre piece of land and the body of water that substitutes the large open waters of their natural habitat is slightly bigger than a couple swimming pools. Furthermore, the polar bears at the zoo do not have the options of migrating and hunting for food. In fact, there is no 'food chain' in their ecosystem at the zoo as their food is manually given to them by the Toronto Zoo, which are the Toronto Zoo carnivore diet, dog chow, jumbo smelt and herring, bean sprouts, carrots, and supplements such as Thiamine and Vitamin E. The polar bears are solitary at the zoo as well, however, they do not have the options of reproducing during their breeding season.
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Arctic Fox (Vulpes lagopus)
Naturally, arctic foxes live in barren lands with a hard and thin layer of snow. Their most common food source is lemmings that they hunt, in addition to their other food sources such as mice, bird eggs, birds, insects, ground squirrels and berries. Wolves are the arctic foxes' most common predator while golden eagles and bears are also a threat to the young. In March and April, the foxes form mating pairs and together they prepare a den for raising their offspring to be born during late April to June. |
In comparison, the habitat of the two arctic foxes in the Tundra Trek is definitely not barren. The ground is too plentiful of healthy grass to be considered barren. Furthermore, even though the tall trees are separated from their habitat by a fence, the trees are too close to the area to be ignored. To add, the arctic foxes at the zoo are not given the choices to hunt for their food freely. In fact, they can only eat when and only eat what the Toronto Zoo provides them which consists of rats, Toronto Zoo canine meat diet, day old chicks, Eukanuba dog kibble, herring, and marrow bones. Since the foxes are protected and separated from other organism who could potentially be their predator, they have no risks of being eaten by other animals. Furthermore, during their breeding season, the foxes at the zoo are unable to go about freely to find their mating partners. Even if the two foxes are of the opposite sex and they breed with one another, this would be regarded as artificial breeding as they have no other mate to produce offspring with.
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European Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus)
Naturally, the European reindeers travel to the evergreen forest areas during the winter and return to the tundra during the spring in herds that can even contain tens of thousands of individuals. They are herbivores that feed on grasses, herbs, sedges, mosses, fungi, twigs, and lichens. The predators of the reindeers include to arctic wolves and the polar bears. Males fight desperately with one another to gain control of the female during their breeding season which is the month of October and early November. |
In contrast, in the Tundra Trek, the European reindeers do not migrate from one location to another during the changes in season. To add, the very small number of individuals cannot be compared to the enormous herds that are present in their true habitat. The Toronto Zoo provides their food that differ from their most common food sources, which includes herbivore cubes, alfalfa hay, and browse. To add, with the limited number of reindeers, there is no competition between males to breed with the female; in fact, reproduction may not occur at all.k
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