Nature Essays
butteryfly lichen
Life on the tundra is remarkably and wonderfully engineered for this extreme land of light and dark.
While most creatures are in a big hurry, others take their time to complete their lifecycle.
This Jewel Lichen (xanthoria elegans) grows specifically on rocks that are “fertilized” with bird droppings and a small area of lichen can take hundreds of years to grow. One historical document revealed that a 4 cm circle of Jewel lichen had taken 140 years to grow on a gravestone (which would be the perfect perching spot for a bird).
Lichen by the way is a symbiotic "creature" of algae like fungus and cyanobacteria. Living together the fungus provides a protective space for the cyanobacteria to carry out photosynthesis which produces nutrients for all. It's much like having a vegetable garden inside your home!
Some insects also take their time, choosing yet another scheme to adapt to the environment. The Arctic Woolly Bear caterpillar (gynaephora groenlandica), spends much of their life in suspended animation, called torpor, during the freezing months, and then continues slow development during the short summers. During the warm days the Wooly bear basks in the sun and conserves heat with its insulating “fur”.
It can take up to 14 years of development before ending its lifecycle in a brief debue as an adult moth. Insects are generally cold blooded, therefore these unique lifecycle patterns are necessary for survival in the arctic and are one of the most abundant and important resources in the arctic landscape serving not only as pollenators but also as a major food source for birds and other wildlife.
While most creatures are in a big hurry, others take their time to complete their lifecycle.
This Jewel Lichen (xanthoria elegans) grows specifically on rocks that are “fertilized” with bird droppings and a small area of lichen can take hundreds of years to grow. One historical document revealed that a 4 cm circle of Jewel lichen had taken 140 years to grow on a gravestone (which would be the perfect perching spot for a bird).
Lichen by the way is a symbiotic "creature" of algae like fungus and cyanobacteria. Living together the fungus provides a protective space for the cyanobacteria to carry out photosynthesis which produces nutrients for all. It's much like having a vegetable garden inside your home!
Some insects also take their time, choosing yet another scheme to adapt to the environment. The Arctic Woolly Bear caterpillar (gynaephora groenlandica), spends much of their life in suspended animation, called torpor, during the freezing months, and then continues slow development during the short summers. During the warm days the Wooly bear basks in the sun and conserves heat with its insulating “fur”.
It can take up to 14 years of development before ending its lifecycle in a brief debue as an adult moth. Insects are generally cold blooded, therefore these unique lifecycle patterns are necessary for survival in the arctic and are one of the most abundant and important resources in the arctic landscape serving not only as pollenators but also as a major food source for birds and other wildlife.