How has the arctic lupines adapted to it's environment?

Answer 1

Arctic LupineBiome: Tundra

Climate: The tundra is the coldest and the driest of all the biomes on Earth. There is very little rainfall in the tundra; it rains less than ten inches a year. Winters here are long, and summers are short. It is often windy.

Characteristics that help the plant adapt to the climate:

• Lupines are short and grow together in groups to be protected from the wind.
• Lupines are short. This means they are near the soil which gets warm in the sunlight.
• This plant moves slowly throughout the day to follow the sun and get the most sunlight in the short days.
• Lupines produce flowers quickly, since the growing season in the tundra is short and lasts only about 60 days.
• Lupines can grow at temperatures 15 degrees F to 4 degrees F, which is cooler than plants in any other region in the world.
• Lupines get their energy from the sun through photosynthesis like all other plants, but do this in low temperatures and with low light.
• Shallow root systems allow lupines to grow in thin soil because deeper soil is always frozen (permafrost).
• Their root system is made of runners that spread out on the surface. These runners are called rhizomes. Rhizomes reach out for water over a wide area.
• Lupines have 5 to 10 pointy, oval, little leaves that make them look like tiny palm trees. The little leaves help the plant conserve moisture
• Lupines are pollinated by bees, which are attracted to the lovely colorful flowers. Also, seeds sit on the top of the plant to be blown by the wind.
• Lupines have tough seeds that survive many seasons and are still alive. Some lupine seeds that have been found were more than 10,000 years old, and still germinated in the laboratory and grew to healthy plants
• Lupine is poisonous which protects it from being eaten by grazing animals

Answer 2

Survival is a "do or die" experience: those animals that grow hair between their toes keep their feet and toes warmer longer. Those that do not, do not. The Arctic Wolf has adapted by having a shorter snout than their Gray Wolf relatives, the ears are shorter and rounder as well.

Answer 3

Some plants store moisture and survive bitter cold to use that moisture when the air temperature rises.

Some animals hibernate (like Grizzly and Brown bears), while others migrate to better areas for the purpose of foraging (like caribou).

The Polar bear has developed special fur in order to prevent the cold from entering his body. The Polar bear has a sort of migratory existence, though. In the eastern part of Canada (Manitoba), they range onto the frozen surface of Hudson Bay to hunt seals. Then, when Spring arrives, and the ice melts, they swim to the western shoreline and move north, becoming quite the cause celebrefor the inhabitants of Churchill.

Please see the related link for pictures of Polar bears on Ice and a nice article all about the city of Churchill in Manitoba, Canada.