Biome Project: Antartica

Sophia Puricelli

Location:
-It is dominated by its south polar location and also by ice.
-Located in the Earths Southern Hemisphere
-Centered around the South Pole
-South of the Antarctic Circle

Altitude: The altitude of Antartica or the South Pole is 2,835 meters (9,300
feet)

Rainfall: The total amount of rain in Antarctica, averaged about 166 mm (6.5 in) per year

Temperature: The weekly temperature of Antartica averages between -33F and -35F

Seasonal Information: There are only two seasons in Antartica which are
summer and winter

Major Fauna:

Emperor Penguin: It is also the only animal to inhabit the open ice during the winter

King Penguin: Have orange spots near their ears and on the neck

Gentoo Penguin: Reduce their heart rate from 80-100 beats per minute down to 20
beats per minute.

Chinstrap Penguin: Name comes from the narrow black band under heads.
Adelie Penguin: They spend the winter offshore in the seas surrounding
Antartica
 Wandering Albatross: Has the largest wind spam of any living bird,
typically ranging from 2.51 to 3.5 m (8 ft 3 in to 11 ft 6 in)

Snowy Sheathbill: One of two species of sheathbill

Wendell Seal: Excellent divers. Can old their breath for over 80 minutes

Leopard Seal: Considered to be the most aggressive of all the species

Southern Fur Seal: Can reach speeds up to 20km on land

Southern Elephant Seal: Some of the oddest marine mammals alive

Crabeater Seal: Weigh up to 500 pounds with females growing even

larger
 Ross Seal: The oldest age a Ross Seal can reach is 21 years old

Toothed Whale: The toothed whale family also includes of all species of
dolphin and porpoise.

Baleen Whale: Have comb like fringe called baleen on upper jaw instead of teeth

Orca Killer Whale: The largest member of the dolphin Family

Giant Squid: Have the largest eyes in the animal kingdom

Krill: The lifespan of Krill is typical 10 years

 Major Flora:

Antarctic Pearlworst: Most commonly found in rocky areas in the costal

region of the continent

Antarctic Hair Grass: Most commonly seen amongst penguin colonies.

Also can withstand high amounts of disband without withering

Red Snow Algae: Grows and stays red

Green Snow Algae: Grows and stays green

Human Uses:
-Humans mainly use Antartica as a source of information.
-Antartica is used to learn more about the species that live there and the environment as well

Treats to Biodiversity:
-Antartica is one of the few places left the remains hardly effected by human interaction

Endangered Species:
1. Sei Whale
2. Blue Whale
3. Fin Whale

Conservation Efforts:
-No Antarctic bird or mammal can be killed or captured without a permit, only for a validated
scientific reason
-Mining has been prohibited

Work Cited

http://astro.uchicago.edu/cara/outreach/coldfacts.html

https://oceanwide-expeditions.com/blog/the-plants-of-antarctica

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact%20file/antarctica_animal.php

https://www.timeanddate.com/weather/antarctica/south-pole

http://www.divediscover.whoi.edu/ecosystem/infomod.html

http://www.peacham.com/antarctica/flora.html
https://antarcticaforkids.wordpress.com/how-do-we-use-antarctica/

http://www.newstatesman.com/sci-tech/2014/06/antarctic-life-under-threat-increased-human-
activity-study-finds

http://www.coolantarctica.com/Antarctica%20fact
%20file/wildlife/endangered_antarctic_animals.php

http://www.animalfactguide.com/animal-facts/emperor-penguin/

https://seaworld.org/Animal-Info/Animal-Bytes/Birds/Gentoo-Penguin

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/adelie-penguin/

http://www.whalefacts.org/toothed-whales/