Scott Anderson, Rebecca Dombrowski and Michael West

1. Scott Anderson, Rebecca Dombrowski and Michael West Coastal and Southern Alaska

2. Monday July 3rd • Climate • Precipitation • Weather • Maritime Affects • Winds/Pressure Systems • Ecosystem • Disturbances • Succession • Limiting Factors • Biosphere • Specific Plants • Land Activities • Fauna

3. Precipitation • Average annual precipitation ranges from 21 to 78 in. • Fall/Winter Months • Kodiak: 5 in. in summer 7 in. in winter

4. Weather and Hazards • Moderate • Avg. 30’s in Winter 50’s in Summer • Temps can range into the -20’s

5. Insolation • Tilt 18-6 hrs. • Albedo

6. Pressure Systems and Winds • Aleutian Low, North Pacific High • High winds, sometimes up to 50 mph in winter

7. Disturbances: Oil Spills

8. Disturbances: Artic Fox

9. Secondary Succession

10. Primary Succession

11. Recovery from Fox • Changes seen in past 30 years as fox are removed from the islands • Some bird populations have stabilized, while others face extinction • Stability

12. Fox Free

13. Limiting Factors • Insolation • High Winds and Intense Storms • Islands are Devoid of Trees • Introduced Species

14. Disturbance Regimes • Volcanic Activity • Earthquakes • Tsunamis • Landslides • Constant High winds and Storms

15. Volcanic Activity

16. Ghost Forest

17. Tundra and Temperate Rainforest

18. Land Activities • Hikes • Flora • Fauna • Glaciers • Volcanoes

19. Biosphere • Sufficient sunlight penetrates the canopy to support a well-developed under story composed of shrubs, a layer of herbaceous plants, and then often a ground cover of mosses and ferns. This stratification beneath the canopy provides a numerous habitats for a variety of insects and birds. The deciduous forest also contains many members of the rodent family, which serve as a food source for bobcats, wolves, and foxes. This area also is a home for deer and black bears. Winters are not as cold as in the taiga, so many amphibian and reptiles are able to survive. • Scientists say that there is more biomass in this biome than in any other biome on earth. There may be 500 tons of living things per acre here! That translates down to about 206 pounds per square yard, about the same as one good sized human adult per square yard.

20. Trees • the topmost layer of the temperate rain forest on the western edge of North America is dominated by four kinds of tall coniferous trees. These are:    The Douglas-Fir:The Sitka SpruceThe Western Red CedarThe Western Hemlock When these trees are full grown, they are between 130 to 280 feet tall.In some areas other conifers dominate. For example, in California redwood trees grow in the temperate rain forest. •      Small shade-loving trees, such as dogwoods and vine maples, form the understory level. Beneath the trees, shrubs such as wild currants, thimbleberries, and huckleberries grow in the filtered sunlight. Sword ferns, salal, and Oregan grape plants also thrive here. • At the ground level, the earth is littered with dead fir needles, leaves, twigs, and fallen trees. These lie on and under a thick carpet of mosses, lichens, grasses, and small plants, such as Oregon oxalis (which has leaves like a shamrock). The rocks are green with moss, and the tree trunks and branches are covered with moss and algae. These low-growing plants are shade tolerant. Here and there one may find toadstools, mushrooms, and other kinds of fungi: these saprophites (organisms that digest dead organic matter) help to recycle the dead material on the forest floor.

21. Animals • Most of the animals in this forest live on or near the ground, where there is lots of food, and the trees provide shelter from sun, wind, and rain. Beetles burrow in the moss and hide in the bark of trees. Wood peckers and birds eat the insects. Grass is eaten by the voles (cute little mouse-like animals) and the deer.

22. Conclusion • Come See Coastal Alaska