Koko

__Koko__

My animal is the Arctic polar bear. Its scientific name is Ursus Maritimus. The first part of the name, Ursus, comes from Ursidae, which is the bear family that the polar bear belongs to. The second part of the name in latin is sea. So technically, Ursus martimus means Sea bear. I chose this animal because it seems interesting and I think that it would be easy to research. __sources:__ UCN/SSC PBSG Polar bear specialist group. "Frequently Asked Questions about

 polar bears." //IUCN/SSC PBSG Polar bear specialist group//. N.p., 13 Mar.

 2010. Web. 29 May 2012. .

 Gardens ANIMALS, 31 May 2012. Web. 29 May 2012. ANIMALS //. Sea World/Busch  animal-info/info-books/polar-bear/scientific-classification.htm>.

__Picture of Polar bear:__

__Questions:__ Is the fur if a polar bear camouflage? Do polar bears hibernate and when?

__General information:__ - The arctic polar bear lives in the north pole. - Polar bears live for about 25-30 years. -Polar bears eat mainly seals -They are the largest meat eater in the world -Polar bears dont hibernate, but pregnant females den up for winter -Males are about 900lbs in weight and females about 500lbs in weight

__Polar bear's Diet__ Seals (ringed seals and bearded) -main food source carcasses of whales (beluga, grey, and bowhead whales) carcasses of walruses and narwals Beluga whales and walruses (polar bears can hunt them down.) When other food isn't available, they eat muskox, berries, fish, eggs, kelp, shellfish, small rodents, and reindeer.

Source: WWF. "Polar Bear Diet." //WWF //. WWF, n.d. Web. May 2012.  .

__Organisms in polar region__ Seal-carnivore-secondary consumer-eats fish Walrus-carnivore-secondary consumer-eats fish fish-omnivore-secondary consumer birds-omnivores-secondary consumer narwal-carnivore-secondary consumer whale-carnivore-secondary consumer-eats plankton plankton-herbivore-primary producer krill-omnivore-secondary consumer

Source: BBC. "Polar." //BBC //. BBC, 2012. Web. May 2012. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> habitats/Polar_region>.

__Decomposers:__ A decomposer is an organism that eats dead bodies, and are important because otherwise dead bodies would be piling up. They start eating us when our immune system breaks down, and they are on us all the time, waiting until our immune system breaks down. They wait until our immune system breaks down because our immune system makes our skin fight off decomposers. Some decomposers, like maggots, lay their larvae on a living being which shall eat the living being from the inside. A few examples of decomposers are maggots, worms, micro-organisms (bacteria) and fungus.

Fungus

Worm

Micro-oranism (bacteria)

__Difference between Parasites and Decomposers__: A decomposer is something that eats dead organisms when their immune system shuts down. A parasite is an organism that benefits from another organism and brings that organism harm.

__Decomposers in polar bear's habitat:__ Bacteria __Source:__ http://www.marinebio.net/marinescienc

__Food web:__ A food chain is a system that links organisms together because they eat each other. A food web is a web with many different interconnected food chains. If a species grows extinct, it may lead to serious consequences to all the organisms in the food chain it is in. In a food chain/web, there are multiple groups: Power sources, producers, primary consumers, secondary consumers, tertiary consumers and decomposers. Power sources are sources that give power/energy to a producer. An example is the sun. The sun powers producers like grass, because grass photosynthesize, which means that they make their energy of their own powered by the sun. Producers are organisms that, as I mentioned previously, photosynthesize and make their own energy. They are usually eaten by the primary consumers. Primary consumers are the organisms that eat the Producers. Usually they are herbivores because they eat producer. Secondary consumers are organisms that eat the primary consumers. Usually they are Carnivores because they eat other meat. Tertiary consumers are organisms that eat the secondary consumers. Like secondary consumers they are usually carnivores. __Source:__ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Brain POP. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Food chains //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BrainPOP //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. BrainPOP, n.d. Web. May 2012. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> <http://www.brainpop.com/science/ecologyandbehavior/foodchains/>.

__Picture of Food web:__

__Picture of food chain:__

__Picture of my food web:__

__Polar bear's habitat:__

The arctic polar bear lives on the north pole. The north pole exists of mainly water and Ice, and is located on the norther most place on the the earths surface. In the north pole, half of the year it is always dark and half of the year its always light. The average there is in winter is -43 degrees C to -26, and in summer its about 0 degrees C. Sources: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Rosenberg, Matt. "North pole." //<span style="font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">About.com //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. The New York Times Company., 19 Aug. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> 2007. Web. 30 May 2012. <http://geography.about.com/od/ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> learnabouttheearth/a/northpole.htm>.

__Adaptations:__
 * Cold || Polar bears adapt to the cold by having hollow fur and having a thick layer of fat (up to 11 cm thick) the hollow fur allows their warm bodies to be insulated against the cold, and the layer of fat insulates it against the cold. The hollow fur is external, and the fat is internal. ||
 * Slippery Ice and snow || Polar bears adapt to the slippery ice because of long, stiff hair between the pads of his feet which give him grip. For the snow it has wide, large paws. These adaptions are external. ||
 * Icy water || To adapt to the icy water, they have their hollow fur and the hair between the pads of its feet, but also round ears to prevent water from coming in its ears. These adaptions are external. ||
 * Catching prey || Polar bear's fur is white for camouflage, sothat their prey can't see them easily. They also cover up their nose to become entirely white. This answers one of my questions that I asked myself previously. ||



Sources: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">"Adaptations of the Polar Bear." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Adaptations of the Polar Bear //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Tripod, n.d. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Web. May 2012. <http://adaptations.tripod.com/polarbear.html>. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Barrow, Mandy. "Arctic conditions." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Science //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Woodlands junior school, n.d. Web. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> May 2012. <http://www.woodlands-junior.kent.sch.uk/homework/adaptations/ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> polarbears.htm>.

__Polar bear habitat pictures:__

Environment definition: A place or habitat with its own conditions where living and non-living organisms live. Eco system definition: A system of living and non-living things interacting

Polar bear's ecosystem: Non-living things: Ice, water Living things: Polar bears, seal,walrus,fish,birds,narwal,whale,plankton,krill, arctic fox

Polar bears are diurnal. Also, they technically live in 2 seasons, summertime and wintertime. In summertime its warmer and in winter its colder. What poolar bears do to prevent overheating in summertime for example, is that they move slowly and rest often.

Polar bears have a symbiotic relationship with parasites that bring them illnesses. A parasite that polar bears easily get infected by is the parasitic worm Trichinella. They get infected by this by eating infected seals. Source: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Busch Gadens, and Sea World. "Polar Bears." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Polar Bears //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Busch Gardens/Sea <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> World, n.d. Web. May 2012. <http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/polarbears/ <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> pblongevity.html>.

Polar bears can only make offspring with each other, and not with a different organism. Also, polar bears have their own genes different than any other organism. This makes it a species. Source: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Globio. "Spiecies." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Globio //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Globio, n.d. Web. 29 May 2012. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> <http://www.globio.org/glossopedia/article.aspx?art_id=34>.

Defenition of vertebrate and invertebrate: Vertebrate animals are animals with a spine or spinal column. This means that their nerve chord is enclosed by vertebrae. All mammals are classified as vertebrate. This is the opposite for invertebrates, because invertebrates do not have a backbone or spinal column. Sources:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Kidport. "The Animal Kingdom." //Kidport Reference library//. Kidport, n.d. Web. May <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> 2012. <http://www.kidport.com/reflib/science/animals/animals.htm>.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Diffen. "Invertebrate vs Vertebrate." //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">diffen //<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. diffen, n.d. Web. 29 May 2012. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> <http://www.diffen.com/difference/Invertebrate_vs_Vertebrate>.

__Animal Classification__

Animal Vertebrate or invertebrate? Type of living thing
 * Polar bear || Vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Walrus || vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Fish || Vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Birds || Vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Narwhal || Vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Whale || Vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Plankton || Invertebrate || Micro-organism ||
 * Krill || invertebrates ||  ||
 * Seal || Vertebrate || Animal ||
 * Bacteria || Invertebrate || Micro-organism ||