Often, in nature science lessons, the following task is given: "Make a diagram of the food chain." School knowledge allows this to be done already by primary school students. This type of work helps to check how well the student has information about animals and plants of a particular area. Since it is necessary to have sufficiently comprehensive information, this task does not belong to the category of lungs. The article will give a diagram of the power circuit characteristic of the Arctic desert, we also give a definition of the concept and talk about the principles of construction.
Food chain: what is it?
What is the food chain? It is no secret that life on the planet moves in a circle: some organisms are born in order to give organic substances for development and growth to others. Many living creatures are herbivores, others (including humans) are predators.
At the beginning of any chain are plants (or plankton, when it comes to the aquatic environment), then herbivorous insects or animals. At the very top is a predator. It is interesting that if at least one element of the chain disappears, the others die out, because the connection breaks. Let's analyze a specific example.
How to make a diagram of the food chain characteristic of the steppe zone? To begin with, it is worth deciding which plants and animals inhabit this territory. Drought-resistant grasses and flowers prevail here, such as feather grass or cereals. Among animals in the steppe rodents predominate. Predators are arctic foxes or eagles, eagle owls. Here are examples of chains: grass - grasshopper - frog - steppe eagle. Or this: cereals - field mouse - Arctic fox.
Arctic desert: climate features
Before we talk about what is the scheme of the food chain characteristic of the Arctic desert, it is worth characterizing this climate zone. This region of harsh climate is very poor for representatives of flora and fauna.
The earth is covered with a layer of permafrost, so there is practically no vegetation: only rare herbs, mosses and lichens. The situation is similar with land animals: only lemmings, polar bears and Arctic foxes. Bird bazaars can also be classified as terrestrial - in the summer months, birds arrange nests on the rocks.
Walruses and seals live in the waters of the Arctic Ocean, as well as some species of Arctic fish.
Plankton - fish - seal - polar bear
Let’s see how living organisms feed in this area. The first food chain characteristic of the Arctic desert begins with plankton. These are microorganisms that live in water. They cannot resist the flow, so they float freely in the water column. In this area, two hundred species of phytoplankton (it is capable of photosynthesis) and the same number of zooplankton (unicellular protozoa and crustaceans) are represented.
The next link is fish. It is inhabited by more than 150 species in the Arctic Ocean. Among them are representatives of cod, salmon, flounder, herring. All are adapted to the harsh conditions of the north.
Seals feed on fish. These mammals have flippers, limbs, thanks to which they move well under water. There are claws on the front.
This food chain in the Arctic desert zone ends with a polar bear.
This is the largest predator not only in the Arctic, but also in the whole world. The maximum mass of the animal is a ton, and individuals reach three meters in length. They feed on seals. They do this as follows: they track the victim, hit him on the head with a powerful paw (stun) and drag him ashore.
Sedge - Lemming - Arctic Fox
Another circuitry characteristic of the Arctic desert begins with sedge. This is the only grass growing in the area. Although the plant is unpretentious, the territory covered by it is very small.
Rodents eat sedge. In the Arctic, their class is represented by lemmings. These small animals, the closest relatives of hamsters, are able to eat several times their weight. A small body, ears pressed to the head and short legs are the characteristics of this rodent. The color of the lemming fur varies depending on the time of the year: from gray-brown in summer to light, almost white, in winter.
At the top of the chain, a polar fox is a polar fox.
The predator differs from its classmate in the class - an ordinary fox - with a more squat body, a rounded muzzle and unsharp auricles, they are almost invisible from under the rich fluffy fur. In general, the arctic fox does not disdain either plants or animals. He can eat as, for example, cloudberries, and rodents. The Arctic fox does not disdain and fish, for some reason thrown ashore.