My Big Adventure

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My Big Adventure

• By
• Benny the Hummingbird

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Benny the Hummingbird

• Hello Guys! My name is Benny the Hummingbird and
  I am about to embark on my big adventure from
  Alaska to Panama. Thought my trip I will pass
  through various biomes. While in each biome I
  will provide you with some background info on
  that particular biome that we happen to be
  passing through. So away we go!

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Tundra

• My starting point in my big adventure is Alaska,
  therefore, the first biome that I an flying
  through is the tundra biome. Burr! Its chilly.
  The average annual temperature is -18 degrees
  Fahrenheit. This is the coldest and driest of all
  the biomes. This is also the youngest biome it
  was formed approximately 10,000 years ago. The
  tundra covers 20 of the earths surface which
  circumnavigates the North Pole. Tundra comes from
  the Finnish word tunturia meaning barren land.
  It is indeed barren, there are absolutely no
  trees because the ground is permanently frozen 3
  feet. I have quickly figured out that since there
  are no trees this places gets very windy. The
  winds get up to between 30 and 60 miles per hour.
  Besides the fact that there are no tress there is
  barley any vegetation. There are only about 1,700
  species. (that isnt very much) Although there
  isnt a lot of biodiversity, there are a lot of
  each of the 48 species of land mammals. These
  animals include shrews, hares, and bears. As you
  can see humming birds are not native to this
  biome so I guess I better get moving to the next
  stop.

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Taiga Biome

• All right, now we have moved a little bit over to
  the next biome. I have found this biome to also
  be cold as well as lonely. There are not a lot of
  plant species here because the conditions are so
  harsh. There are some mosses but most plants are
  coniferous trees like the pine and douglas fir.
  Evergreens here tend to be thin and grow close
  together. This is to provide protection from the
  cold and wind.The taiga biome is the largest in
  the world. It is also known as the boreal forest.
  Although there are not many animals species there
  are millions of insects in the summertime. This
  as you can imagine, attracts many birds. Since I
  dont eat insects this really isnt the place for
  me, so I am once again moving on to the next
  biome on the way to my destination.

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Alpine Biome

• Once again I am passing through a biome that can
  only be described as snowy, cold, and windy. This
  region is mountainous which is probably why the
  Latin word for high mountains is alps. The
  alpine biome is located below the snow line of a
  mountain. Despite the severe climate some plants
  and animals have developed adaptations to these
  conditions. There are only about 200 species of
  plants which is way less then even the tundra
  biome. There is very little carbon dioxide up
  here. Plants need carbon dioxide to carry out
  photosynthesis. Most of the plants are small
  groundcover plants that grow and reproduce slowly
  because of the cold and wind. Animals here have
  their own problems to deal with. Besides the cold
  the UV wavelengths are very high. There are only
  warm blooded animals up here besides the insects.
  The bodies of the animals have also adapted to
  the environment. They tend to have shorter
  tail,legs, and ears in order to reduce the loss
  of heat. They also have larger lungs, more blood
  cells and hemoglobin because of the increase of
  pressure and loss of oxygen at this high
  altitude. These things also occur with humans who
  have lived up here for a long time. I myself do
  not plan to stay here for long so I do not have
  the adaptations to survive here. So once again I
  am moving on to yet another biome.

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Desert Biome

• You know if I didnt know any better I would say
  that the biomes that I am passing on my trip are
  against hummingbirds. None of them so far seem to
  incorporate the things that your good old friend,
  Benny the hummingbird needs to survive. The Hot
  and Dry desert is just as it sounds hot and dry.
  The temperature ranges from 20 to 25 degrees
  Celsius. Deserts cover about 1/5 of the earths
  surface. There are not much plants or vegetation
  here which is part of the reason my needs are not
  met here, Plants are mostly ground-hugging shrubs
  and short woody trees. All the leaves are packed
  with nutrients so that is probably one of the
  ways that the other animals around here go about
  getting the proper nutrition. Speaking of the
  animals, they include small, nocturnal
  carnivores. There are also arachnids, insects,
  reptiles and birds. There is very little rainfall
  here as you can imagine so animals here have to
  rely on the plants to provide them with the
  necessary water that is needed. Hopefully soon I
  will be coming up on a biome that is suited to my
  particular niche. See ya.

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Rainforest Biome

• Well I have finally made it to Panama. So this is
  the last biome that I will be passing through.
  Finally we have managed to make it someplace that
  hummingbirds can live and function. Rainforests
  now cover only 6 of the worlds surface. Before
  human intervention it covered a lot more surface
  area. More then half the worlds plant and animal
  species live in tropical rainforests according to
  scientists. Seventy percent of plants in the
  rainforest are trees. So it is not so hard to
  believe that tropical rainforests produce 40 of
  the worlds oxygen. Another thing that I found
  particular interesting was that about ¼ of all
  the medicines we use come from rainforest plants
  for example, a person with lymphocyte leukemia
  has a 99 chance of going into remission because
  of the rosy periwinkle.
• I have learned so much on this trip from Alaska
  to Panama. I have been to five biomes and each
  one has differed from the other in more ways then
  one. I hope you have learned just as much as I
  have and more. Keep exploring!