Adaptations to the Cold:

How do animals and

plants live in the Arctic?

OK.
Its COLD up there in the Arctic.
Really, REALLY cold. Winter lasts 9
months of the year, and the sun
sets for more than two months. At
night, temperatures can fall to -80
F.
How do animals and plants
manage to survive in such a cold
place?
What is special about their bodies
or behaviors that allows them to
live in this incredibly cold place?

Land Mammals

Polar bears and wolves have thick fur with

hollow shafts that trap warm air close
to the body. Musk Ox have an
additional layer of fur that protects it
from wind and water. All are large,
rounded animals with relatively short
arms and legs to minimize heat loss.
Polar bears also have black skin
underneath their fur which allows it
to absorb heat from the sun.

Polar bears remain active throughout the Arctic winter.

They spend their time both in and out of ICY water.
Fur keeps them warm on land,
but can be a problem if the air
heats up. Its hard to lose heat
with heavy fur!

Fur isnt as good for keeping

warm underwater. Therefore,
polar bears also have a thick
layer of blubber, which keeps
them warm in the water.

Land Mammals

Moose, unlike most Arctic animals, have

long legs. These are helping for
stepping in the snow, but could cause it
to lose a lot of body heat.

Caribou often migrate long distances to

avoid the cold and search for food and
shelter. They have broad hooves that splay
out and help them walk across the snow.
The hooves also help them swim and to dig
in the snow to find plants buried below.

Small Arctic Mammals

Many small mammals, particularly rodents
like the ground squirrel, hibernate during
the winter.
Hibernation means they rest- almost like
sleeping- for many weeks or months
without eating, drinking or even waking
up! Their body temperature drops and
they live off of stored fat.
Many people think of bears when they
think about hibernation, but most
bears dont really hibernate. They get
up several times throughout the winter
to forage for food, and some females
give birth during this time.

Small Arctic Mammals

Arctic hares have very short
ears and legs to prevent heat
loss. They also have large padded
feet that act like snowshoes to
help them hop across the snow.

In spring, hares are brown with

black flecks, but in winter, they
change to all white. The color
change serves as camouflage to
protect it from predators.

Small Arctic Mammals

Collared lemmings have enlarged front claws that allow it to
burrow under the snow or ground making extensive runways
and nesting areas. Like the hare, they have short ears and
tails to prevent heat loss and change color from winter white
to spring brown.

Arctic Birds
Ptarmigans remain in the Arctic year round.
They change color from brown in the spring
to solid white during the winter. The color
change helps to protect them from hungry
predators.
To keep warm, they have water-repellent
outer feathers in addition to inner feathers.
They even grow feathers on the soles of their
feet to keep their feet warm and serve as
snowshoes to prevent them from sinking in the
snow!
Another solution to staying warm is to take
flight and dive into drifts of snow. The snow
acts like a blanket and traps heat from the
ground.

Arctic Birds
Other birds deal with the cold winters
by avoiding the situation all together. As
winter approaches, birds like the Redthroated Loon and Arctic Tern migrate
south to warmer regions.

The Arctic Tern is an amazing bird in that every year it

migrates all the way from the Arctic to the Antarctic.
Thats over 22,000 miles!!!

Arctic Marine Mammals

Seals and whales have more blubber
than polar bears.

artery

capillaries

vein

artery

They also have two sets of blood

vessels- one just under the skin
and one under the blubber. When
they get cold, they can shut off
almost all the blood supply to the
skin, so they dont lose heat. The
blood stays inside the warm
blubber all the time.

capillaries

vein

If they swim fast or get into

warm water, they let more blood
go to the skin surface so they
can lose heat.

Arctic Marine Mammals

Seals and whales also have special sets of
blood vessels in their flippers to help them
stay warm.
Each artery (carrying
oxygenated blood away
from the heart) is
surrounded by many veins
(carrying used blood back
to the heart).

As the cold blood in

the veins returns
from the skin to the
heart, it is gets heat
from the warm blood
running through the
artery.
This way, the seal or whale doesnt lose its
body heat in the cold water. This type of
heat exchange system is called a countercurrent heat exchanger.

Arctic Fish
Unlike seals and other mammals, fish do not
keep their body temperature much higher
than the water around them.

The important thing is

for the fish to keep ice
crystals from forming
inside their body,
because ice builds quickly
once it starts.
Therefore, some fish
have a protein in their
blood that acts like
antifreeze in a car. It
binds to ice crystals,
isolating them from
each other so they
cant grow.

Arctic Amphibians
Wood frogs combat the cold by freezing
almost solid. As temperatures drop, the frogs
liver releases sugars into its cells that keep
them from freezing solid.

Arctic Insects
The willow gallfly survives the winter in Alaska by
supercooling down to temperatures of about
60oC (14oF). The gallfly has a protein called
glycerol in its body. Glycerol is very hard to
freeze, so ice crystals do not form inside the
gallflys body.

The wooly bear caterpillar spends most

of its 14-yr life frozen soilid. It
combats the effects of freezing by
producing special chemicals to prevent
ice from forming inside its cells, allowing
it survive temperatures of -70oC (20oF).

Arctic Insects
Bumblebees shiver their flight
muscles to generate heat and
trap the warmth of their velvety
fur. They can increase their
body temperature as much as 15
C above the air temperature.
Queen bumblebees burrow into
leaf winter to survive winter.

The nose bot fly takes refuge warm

nose of the caribou. It deposits its
offspring which then crawl through
the caribous nose into its throat
where they spend the winter warmed
by the caribous body heat.

Arctic Plants
Plants grow low to the ground which
protects them from the cold Arctic
air. The ground is darkly covered
and absorbs heat from the sun.
The ground also has more moisture.

They can also find protection from

the cold and wind by growing in
cracks and crevices of rocks.

Arctic Plants

Lichens grow very slow so do not

require a lot of sunlight and nutrients
to remain alive. Some lichens are
estimated to live for over 5000 yrs.
and to grow as little as 1 mm per yr.
They have developed a thick outer
layer to prevent from drying out and
have special chemicals to protect its
cells from freezing.

Other plants die back in the

winter or produce underground
buds that remain dormant in the
winter but sprout in the spring.
The marsh marigolds flowers
follow the sun and focus light and
warmth in toward the pollen. The
warmth attracts pollinators!

Which ptarmigan is ready for winter?

Who will lose the least amount of

heat in the cold?

Whose young stay warm by living in the nose of a caribou?

Who migrates over 22,000 miles from the

Arctic to the Antarctic?

1
2

Who uses their claws to dig tunnels and runways

through the snow and leaf litter to find a warm home?

Who uses blubber to protect from cold waters?

Which fox is better adapted for life in the Arctic?

2
1

Humans are animals too and the native peoples living in

the Arctic have adaptations that allow them survive
the very COLD weather.

Like many animals, Arctic natives have

adapted to the cold weather by having
body shapes that reduce heat loss.
People may be relatively shorter and
rounder with smaller arms and legs
because so they have less exposed skin
and more body cells to produce internal
heat.

They also have narrower nasal passages to prevent the

moisture in the air from freezing in their noses when
they breathe and protects the lungs and brain from
cold temperatures.

In the high Arctic, people have darker skin

to absorb heat and protect from harmful
ultraviolet radiation.

Natives also eat a lot of fatty meats

which generate heat when they are
broken down in their stomachs.
They obtain the meat from
hunting Arctic animals such
as seals and whales.

The natives also hunt fox, lynx, bear

and moose and use the furs and
skins to keep warm. Clothing is often
sewn with needles made from the
bones of the animals.

Skins were also

used to make tents
and bones were
used to make
hunting weapons.

Natives also collect foods such as

berries and greens and go to fishing
camps during the summer so they
have enough food for use in the
winter. They can dry the fish so it
lasts longer. Although during winter,
many people fish through holes cut in
the ice.

Gather flowers of saxifrage and

eat with seal oil.

Use cotton from Arctic cotton

to use in quilts and mattress
stuffings. The whole family
would spend time throughout the
summer and early fall to gather
enough for winter use.

For many years, dog sleds were the primary means of

ground transportation to travel across the icy ground.
Today, many natives use snowmobiles instead.

To transport groups of people across

waters, some natives use an Umiak.
The boats are made from the skins
of hunted animals.

Temporary homes are made from

snow and ice and built close to the
ground to stay warm during winter.
These structures are used for
shelter during winter fishing and
hunting expeditions.

In the summer, Arctic natives

often live in tents made from
animal skins during fishing and
hunting trips.

Today, many people live in homes

similar to ours.

Humans are quite remarkable! Think about how

weather affects so many things in lifewhat you wear,
how you look, what you eat, what you do for fun? How
does the weather in Port Aransas affect your life?