What are some information on the North Slope Coastal Tundra?
When the surface of the tundra thaws a bit during the summer, streams and lakes emerge to keep everything moist. The vegetation cover is sparse, and largely restricted to valleys and lower slopes.Nevertheless, this region supports numerous species of rare plants; particularly many dwarf varieties and shrubs. One of North America's largest herd of the Porcupine caribou (Rangifer tarandus granti) breeds here.Local SpeciesThe shrubby tundra vegetation found here consists of Dwarf birch (Betula sp.), Willow (Salix spp.), Northern Labrador tea (Ledum groenlandicum), and a nearly continuous cover of mosses on wet soils. These include Aulacomnium, and Ditrichum.Mammal species include Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), Grizzly bear (Ursus arctos), Dall sheep (Ovis dalli), Caribou (Rangifer tarandus), Snowshoe hare (Lepus americanus), Red fox (Vulpes fulva), and Brown and collared lemmings (Lemmus trimucronatus and Dicrostonyx groenlandicus).Among the bird species found in this ecoregion are Smith's longspur (Calcarius pictus), Bluethroat (Luscinia svecica), Snowy owl (Nyctea scandiaca), Gyrfalcons (Falco rusticolus), Peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus), and Rough-legged hawks (Buteo lagopus).ThreatsDevelopment for oil seriously threatens the ecological integrity of this ecoregion.Resources• NationalGeographic.com
