Wildlife In Antarctica

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Wildlife In Antarctica

• By Rodrigo Juarez
• Period 7

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Wildlife

• Wildlife is divided into two categories Fauna
  and Flora.
• Fauna is the collective term used to describe
  animal life in any particular region or time.
• Flora is the collective term used to describe
  plant life in any particular region or time.

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Flora

• The climate of Antarctica does not allow for
  extensive vegetation due to the freezing
  temperatures, poor quality soil, and lack of
  sunlight.
• The flora of the continent, as a result, is made
  up mostly of lichens, bryophytes, algae, and
  fungi. These grow only for a small period of time
  during the summer.

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Fauna

• Birds (that can fly)
• The end of the long polar winter season is marked
  by the arrival of millions of seabirds that have
  come to breed. Most seabirds nest in large
  concentration due to the scarcity of snow free
  nesting ground. Birds that are found in
  Antarctica include Albatrosses, Cormorants,
  Fulmars, Gulls, Petrels, Sheathbills, Skuas, and
  Terns.

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Fauna

• Whales
• Eight species of whales inhabit the waters of the
  Antarctic. The Blue, Fin, Humpback, Minke, Orca,
  Southern Right, Sei, and Sperm whales.
• The Orca is the only toothed whale found in the
  Antarctic region. The rest have baleen which is
  made of keratin and is stiff and somewhat elastic.

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Fauna

• Seals
• Seals can be found throughout the Antarctic
  region. There is a greater abundance of seals in
  the Antarctic than the Arctic because the waters
  contain highly productive feeding areas. There
  are six species of seals that can be found in the
  Antarctic region Crabeater, Fur, Leopard, Ross,
  Southern Elephant, and Weddell seals.

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Fauna

• Penguins
• There are 17 species of penguins found in
  Antarctica and of those only 4 actually breed on
  the continent itself. Penguins are truly
  flightless birds and some species spend 75 of
  their lifetime in the sea. Penguins usually breed
  in big, densely populated colonies called
  rookeries.

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The End