My Favorite Biome

My favorite biome is the Boreal Coniferous Forest, also known as taiga.

The taiga is located primarily in Canada, Alaska, the northernmost parts of North America, Russia, and the northernmost parts of Europe. It has coniferous trees including fir, larch, pine, spruce, aspen, poplar, birch, and willow. Taiga also has lichens and moss. It is prone to forest fires even though it receives ample rain (12-33 inches per year). Temperature ranges from negative 65 to 30 degrees F in winter and from 20-70 degrees F in summer, when it’s warm, rainy, and humid. It doesn’t have many mammals that live there, and most that do hibernate in the winter since food supplies are limited then, but there is an abundance of species of bugs in the summer.  Migratory birds populate the area at certain times of the year.

http://science.jrank.org/pages/897/Biome.html

http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/taiga.htm

Favorite Organism

My favorite organism is the arctic fox, or alopex lagopus.

The arctic fox lives in the Taiga (Boreal Forest) and Tundra biomes. They are white in winter and brown/black in summer; and their fur is the warmest of all mammals. They weigh between 6 and 10 pounds and are only about a foot tall. They mate in March and April and can produce up to 15 pups. Arctic Foxes hunt small mammals and eat vegetables. They also scavenge and bury food for later. Polar Bears and hunters that desire their fur are the Arctic Fox’s only real threats. These animals have thick hair and dense padding on their paws to accommodate for the snow and ice. Their bodies are compact, with small features, that have also adapted this way for the cold climate in which they live. The Arctic Fox makes its home in burrows or dens underground, sometimes originally made from other animals. They can run quickly and are well camouflaged.  

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/arctic-fox/

http://library.thinkquest.org/3500/arctic_fox.htm

http://www.saskschools.ca/~gregory/arctic/Afox.html

Mitochondrial Eve

Mitochondrial Eve was probably around 5’3” tall and had a medium complexion, brown hair and eyes, and had a lean build. As mankind began to hunt and need to travel after food sources rather than scavenging, different groups of humans ended up in different regions of the world. When they learned how to plant things for food, they settled in areas and stopped moving around. Once settled in their different regions, their bodies began adapting to their new ways of life and the various climates in which they lived. For example, the Inuit people are shorter and more burly with medium pigmentation in the skin due to less sun exposure and a way to keep warm, whereas someone from Ethiopia is very tall and thin with dark pigmentation to protect their skin and keep cool. The pigmentation of hair, skin, and eyes began to change globally, as well as the physical shape of the different tribes. In a thousand years, people will probably be varied in height still due to various locations, but for the most part the average will probably be about 5’6” and most people will have brown hair and eyes and medium complexion skin.

The Inuit male is from a northern region. They spend much time outside, which explains the pigmentation. The Build is short and robust, to keep warm against the weather.

The Egyptian male has medium toned skin, dark hair and eyes. He is average height and thin, but not as thin as the Ethiopian male.

The Ethiopian male has dark pigmentation of the eyes, skin, and hair. He is tall and thin due to lots of sun and heat exposure.

The Netherlandish male has pale hair, skin, and eyes. He has a very developed frame to support the colder climate.

The Indian male has darker skin than the Egyptian male, but not darker than the Ethiopian male. He is thin and relatively tall and lives in a hot climate.

The Chilean male has medium toned skin with a bit redder of a color than the Indian and Egyptian men. He is of average build and height, seeing as Chile stretches nearly the length of South America and has various climates.