Brian- Blue

 Location of the Taiga                                     Taiga Picture                          

                            

Overall Description of the Taiga

 

The taiga is the largest biome in the world.  It stretches across Canada, Europe, and Asia. The main parts of the taiga are in Canada and Russia.  Winters are cold and summers are warm. The habitat is mainly mountains.  There isn't very many animals around so there is food shortages.  Taiga in Russian means forest.  Doesn't have nearly as many animals and plant as the tropical or deciduous forests.  It doesn't snow as much as you think it would although there is exceptions like in Siberia, Russia.  Average temperature for the winter is about 28 degrees fahrenheit.  Average summer temperature is around 60 degrees fahrenheit.  The taiga gets most of its precipitation in December and January. 

     

      The main area for a taiga is Canada, Russia, and Antarctica.  Two examples of these would be the Boreal Forest and the Northern Coniferous Forest.

        

        Temperatures can vary from -50°C to 30°C ( -58°F-86°F).

Environmental Threat

     Discuss an environmental issue and explain why it is important to address:

 

There is one very big problem in the taiga. The problem is that the deforestation may soon cause most the taiga to completely disappear. This is a big problem because the plants start to go away and keep getting less and less.  When this occurs the plants and trees don’t get the chance to reproduce. When the plants and trees start to go away then the animals start to lose a food source.

                      Discuss efforts currently underway to address this issue:

People need to stop cutting down all the trees and start caring about these trees.  People don’t care if the trees and plants go away. What they will start caring for is if the animals start dying away so they can’t hunt.  Some people are trying to make a rule for no more cutting down trees.  Also trying to make it so these places should not be harmed by any people.

Mutualism-

Moss growing on a tree.

Graph.xlsx

     The tree gets protection and the moss gets a home.

Food Web

---

 

Judy - Purple

Animals in the Taiga

 

 

Burbot (Lota lota)

  

 Burbots can grow as long as 1.5m long and weigh up to 74 lbs. They are usually a yellow, light tan, or brown color with dark patterns. They have pale to white under bellies and pectoral fins. They live in temperate, freshwater, deep lake bottoms, and slow moving cold water, usually living in the Ne arctic and Palearctic regions. They eat fish, insects, mollusks, worms, and zooplankton. Burbots hide and use the ambush technique to catch their prey. Burbots are eaten, used for oil, processed into fish meat, and its livers is sold either smoked or canned. They are near extinction in Idaho because of the construction of a dam.

Classification:

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Actinopterygii

Order Gadifromes

Family Lotidae

Genus Lota

Species Lota

 

 

Eurasian Lynx (Lynx lynx)

 

Lynx usually weigh about 39 to 44 lbs and live for up to 10 to 12 years. Lynx are cats with stout bodies, long bodies, big feet, and short tails. All these structural adaptations allow them to move quiclyThey are found throughout Europe and Siberia. Lynx are strictly carnivorous and eat small mammals such as birds, hares, foxes, and squirrels. They mate during the spring and males do not help with parenting at all. Kittens arrive 70 days after mating. Lynx are hunted for their soft fur. They almost became extinct in the 1900s, but they were reintroduced and efforts have been made.

Classification:

Kingdom Animalia

Phylum Chordata

Class Mammalia

Order Carnivora

Family Felidae

Genus Lynx

Species lynx

 

Tree Hole Mosquito (Aedes triseriatus)

 

 

Mosquitoes have clear wings, long legs, a skinny body, a proboscis for sipping nectar or blood. They are usually 16 mm long, weigh 2.3 mg, and live for only one to two weeks. They live in ponds, puddles, and fresh or salt water. They are found mainly in East and central America. Only the females bite and draw blood for producing eggs. Females lay eggs in small areas like inside of tree holes. Male mosquitoes die after mating. Mosquitoes are usually to be controlled and not much has been done for conservation.

Classification:

Kingdom Animalia 

Phylum Arthopoda

Class Insecta

Order Diptera

Family Culicidae

Genus Aedes

Species triseriatus

 

Symbiosis

Parasitism - Mosquitoes & Mammals

Mosquitoes have to draw blood from a mammal for the production of eggs. Mammals are harmed from the mosquitoes

 

Resources

     Hernandez, Shelia. "Lynx lynx." Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. 12 May 2009 <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lynx_lynx.html.>

     Jacobs, Greg. "Lota lota." Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. 15 May 2009 <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Lota_lota.html.>

     Moore, Beth. "Aedes triseriatus." Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan. 19 May 2009 <http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Aedes_triseriatus.html.>

---

 

Zachary- Pink                                     Plants in the Taiga    

White Pine Tree (Pinus strobus)

     White Pines are a type of coniferous tree. They grow to an average size of 80-110 feet in length. Its needles are soft and flexible. The roots grow deep into the ground and are widespread. White Pines have adapted to the extreme heat that comes with the summer. The temperatures can easily reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit and often cause forest fires. White Pines have becomes more fire resistant that other trees and are not easily burned. These trees reproduce using cones. The cones are usually produced in the fall or winter. Seeds develop in the cones and eventually, the cone will burst releasing the seeds to produce more conifers. White Pines are located mainly in North America. Many creatures of the taiga eat the seeds, needles, and bark of White Pines while others use it as a home.

Class: Pinophyta

 

Balsam Fir (Albies balsamea)

     Balsam Fir is another type of coniferous tree. Compared to other coniferous trees, Balsam Fir is fairly small. It has needles that grow to a length of 11½ inches and are flat, rounded at the tip, and are curved. the bark is smooth and thin. Its roots also go deep into the ground to prevent being knocked over. Balsam Fir has a wide base that narrows as it reaches its peak. This tree reproduces with seeds. it begins to reproduce at an age of around 20 years old or 15 feet tall.  Its seeds use wind and animals as transportation to being growing new trees. Its native continent is also North America. Animals use Balsam Fir as a food source, some use it for shelter, and humans use this tree for lumber and other products.

Class: Pinophyta

 

Paper Birch (Betula papryifera)

     Paper Birch gets its name from its bark, which is as thin as paper. They grow to an average of 60-80 inches tall and often grow in clusters. They vary in colors from gray to yellow. Paper Birches have adapted to a variety of soils making it easier to grow in different soil than it may be used to. They grow cones but reproduce with seeds. The seeds fall off once ripe and are dispersed, just like the Balsam Fir's seeds are dispersed, by the wind and animals. Like the previous two trees, this one also grows primarily in North America. This tree is able to produce syrup among many other products. Humans also use it for medical purposes.

Class: Magnoliopsida

 

Symbiosis (Commensalism):

     When a tree dies, fungi begins to decompose it. This helps the fungi because the fungi are gaining nutrients from decomposing the tree. This does not help nor harm the tree; however, because the tree is dead. 

 

Resources:

S., Samantha. "Balsam Fir." Taiga Plants. (2000) Web.19 May 2009. http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga_plant_page.htm.

E., Leah. "Paper Birch." Taiga Plants. (2000) Web.19 May 2009. http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga_plant_page.htm.

"White Pine." 4 March 2006 Web.19 May 2009. www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/trees/pinusstrob.html.