What is ecology?
Let us discus the interaction between abiotic(nonliving) factors and biotic factors(living) components. Ecology is the relation between the abiotic components and biotic components. Sometimes the biotic relationship is also counted as ecology. Basically it is the same thing as ecosystem except this is the study of ecosystems.
Some plants which are producers that adapt are the Willows. They have thick branches and thorns that grow in the winter. This is because they can absorb less water and nutrients. That’s why the thorns that grown in winter help to prevent the animals from taking their water and nutrients. A decomposer like the white fungus lives in a cold environment and it adapts by growing a thick layer of black protection around it as winter approaches. Growing close together and low to the ground are some of the adaptations that plants use to survive. This growing pattern helps the plant resist the effects of cold temperatures and reduce the damage caused by the impact of tiny particles of ice and snow that are driven by the dry winds. Plants also have adapted to the Arctic tundra by developing the ability to grow under a layer of snow, to carry out photosynthesis in extremely cold temperatures, and for flowering plants, to produce flowers quickly once summer begins. A small leaf structure is another physical adaptation that helps plants survive. Plants lose water through their leaf surface. By producing small leaves the plant is more able to retain the moisture it has stored. Shrub Thicket is common around rivers and creeks, on the north slope and at higher elevations. The birch, willow, and the alder that crowd shrub thickets never grow to tree size. Shrub Thickets typically occur up to 3,000 feet ion elevation. They grow fast in areas that are newly uncovered after break up and spring flooding.
There are many animals that are in the arctic tundra. They survive by using adaptations such as hibernation, migration, and camaflouging which are the three basic adaptations. These all come under behavioral adaptations but adaptations below talk about the physical adaptations of animals. One animal called the Arctic Fox which is a consumer camaflouges to the environment. If the season is winter, the color of the Arctic fox is white. If it is summer, spring, or fall the color of the Arctic Fox is brown. The Arctic Fox itself has two layers of fur. The animal called a caribou has antlers to defense itself from other animals such as wolf packs. The ptarmigan, along with arctic hare and ermine, are camouflaged according to the season, changing from winter white to summer brown, and back again, each year.