Scheme of the supply chain characteristic of the Arctic desert: variants, basic elements

Often, in the lessons of natural history, the following task is given: "Create a circuit for the power circuit". School knowledge allows this to be done to primary school students. This kind of work helps to check how well a student has information about animals and plants of a certain locality. Since it is necessary to have enough exhaustive information, the task does not belong to the category of lungs. The article will show the scheme of the supply chain characteristic for the arctic desert, we will also give a definition of the concept and tell you about the principles of construction.

Chain of food: what is it?

What is the food chain? It's no secret that life on the planet is moving in a circle: some organisms are born to give organic substances for development and growth to others. Many living things are herbivores, others (including humans) are predators.

At the beginning of any chain are plants (or plankton, if it comes to the aquatic environment), then - herbivores or animals. At the very top is a predator. It is interesting that if at least one element of the chain disappears, the extinction of the others also occurs, because the connection breaks down. Let us examine a concrete example.

How to draw up a circuit diagram of the feeding circuit characteristic of the steppe zone? First, it is necessary to determine which plants and animals inhabit this territory. Drought-resistant grasses and flowers prevail here, like, for example, feather grass or grains. Among the animals in the steppe, rodents predominate. Predators - arctic foxes or eagles, owls. Here are examples of chains: grass - grasshopper - frog - steppe eagle. Or this: cereals - mouse-voles - arctic fox.

Arctic Desert: climate features

Before talking about what the scheme of the food chain, characteristic of the Arctic desert, it is worth characterizing this climatic zone. This edge of a harsh climate is very poor in representatives of flora and fauna.

The earth is covered with a layer of permafrost, so there is practically no vegetation: only rare grasses, mosses and lichens. Approximately the same is true for land animals: only lemmings, polar bears and arctic foxes. To the terrestrial can be attributed and bird markets - in the summer months birds arrange nests on the rocks.

In the waters of the Arctic Ocean, walruses and seals live, as well as some species of Arctic fishes.

Plankton - fish - seal - polar bear

We will analyze how live organisms live in this area. The first scheme of the food chain, characteristic of the arctic desert, begins with plankton. They are microorganisms that live in water. They can not resist the current, therefore freely float in the water column. In this area, there are two hundred species of phytoplankton (it is capable of photosynthesis) and the same number of zooplankton (unicellular protozoa and crustaceans).

The next link is the fish. More than 150 species live in the Arctic Ocean. Among them there are representatives of cod, salmon, flounder, herring. All of them are adapted to the harsh conditions of the north.

Fish eat seals. These mammals have fins-limbs, thanks to which they move well under water. On the front there are claws.

This food chain in the arctic desert area ends with a polar bear. It is the largest predator not only of the Arctic, but of the whole world. The maximum mass of the animal is a ton, the length of the individual reaches three meters. They feed on seals. They do this in the following way: they watch the victim, striking the powerful paw on the head (stun) and dragging him ashore.

Osoka - Lemming - Arctic fox

Another scheme of the food chain, characteristic of the arctic desert, begins with sedges. This is the only grass growing in this area. Although the plant is unpretentious, the area covered by it is very small.

Species eat rodents. In the Arctic, their class is represented by lemmings. These little animals, the next of kin of hamsters, are able to eat several times more than their weight. A small body, pressed ears to the head and short legs - these are the characteristics of this rodent. The color of the fur lemmings varies depending on the season: from gray-brown in summer to light, almost white, in winter.

At the top of the chain the polar fox is a polar fox. From his fellow in the class - an ordinary fox - the predator is distinguished by a more squat body, rounded muzzle and sharp ear-shells, from under the rich fluffy fur they are almost invisible. In general, arctic fox does not disdain neither plants, nor animals. It can be fed, for example, cloudberry, and rodents. Arctic fox does not disdain and fish, for whatever reasons thrown ashore.