Antarctica is a huge polar region that encircles the entire southern part of the Earth. It includes Antarctica, a continent consisting of eternal ice, as well as the southern regions of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. The fauna of Antarctica is unique and fragile.
This body of water is called the Southern Ocean. But there is no consensus on this issue, since some scientists accept this name, while others reject it, citing the fact that an ocean is a body of water surrounded by land. A South ocean It is a continuation of 3 oceans, which surrounds Antarctica from the south, and has no shores from the north. This is why there are differences of opinion regarding the name of the ocean.
Temperature
The area of this polar region is 52.5 million square kilometers. Thus, Antarctica is almost 2 times larger than the Arctic.
The climate here is also much harsher - in winter the average temperature is -60 degrees Celsius, in summer time temperature above -30 degrees. But in Antarctica it is not always so frosty; in the summer a temperature of +20 degrees was recorded. But next to south pole temperature in winter time can drop to -90 degrees.
Seas and islands
There are 13 seas in Antarctica, which are located near the shores of Antarctica: the Sea of Somov, Cosmonauts, Lazarev, Commonwealth, Amundsen, Mawson, Riiser-Larsen, Ross, Scotch, Bellingshausen, D'Urville, Davis and Weddell.
There are archipelagos in the Southern Ocean, among the most notable of which is the Kerguelen Archipelago, which forms 1 large island and 300 small islets. This archipelago has a fairly acceptable climate - during the coldest winter period in August (in the southern hemisphere, winter begins in June and summer in December), the temperature drops to only -1 degree Celsius. And in the midst summer month February the temperature rises to +9 degrees. Such comfortable climate is explained by the fact that the archipelago is distant from Antarctica at an impressive distance of 2 thousand kilometers. Lives on the Kerguelen Archipelago great amount and the largest colony.
North of Antarctica is the South Shetland Islands archipelago. Between these islands and the Antarctic Peninsula flows the Bransfield Strait, and from South America The islands are separated by the Drake Passage.
Nearby is the South Orkney Islands archipelago with a climate quite suitable for living. In July the air cools down to only -10 degrees, and in the summer (February) the temperature rises to zero. In particular warm summer temperatures can rise to +10 degrees, but in winter frosts can exceed -40.
There is a huge colony living on the Orkney Islands. These archipelagos are also being explored by people; for example, about 10 scientific stations are located on the Shetland Islands various countries peace.
Minerals
Antarctica began to be identified as a separate region after Antarctica was discovered in 1820. This discovery was made by Mikhail Lazarev and Thaddeus Bellingshausen.
On the icy continent there are a great many natural resources. For example, in East Antarctica there are large deposits of tungsten, manganese, copper and precious metals - silver, gold and platinum, and there are also diamonds here. In addition, deposits of mica, coal, apatite, lapis lazuli and iron ore were discovered.
Animals of Antarctica
Antarctica is not like other continents. It is covered with a layer of ice 2000-2500 m thick. The guillemots nesting here lay their eggs on a downy bedding and do not leave them for a second, warming them with their warmth. But the cold is far from the only inconvenience that the few local inhabitants have to put up with. Antarctica has very dry air, little precipitation, but there is pitch darkness for many months. There are no land inhabitants here at all, except for penguins. The life of almost all species of animals and birds in Antarctica is connected with the ocean - with the Antarctic water basins and partly with the marginal strip of the continent.
Antarctica is poor in land animals; there are no mammals on the mainland at all. Some worms, lower crustaceans and wingless insects are found. The absence of wings is caused by constantly blowing strong winds: insects cannot rise into the air. On the Antarctic islands there are several species of beetles, spiders, freshwater mollusks, and one species of flightless butterfly. Freshwater fish No. Among the birds known are the white plover, the pipit, and one species of duck that nests on South Georgia Island.
But the waters of Antarctica are rich in marine and semi-terrestrial animal species. Of the invertebrate animals, crustaceans are especially numerous, serving as the main source of food for mammals, birds and fish. Among the mammals, pinnipeds and whales are numerous. Pinnipeds presented various types seals. The most common is the Wedell seal, reaching a length of 3 m. It lives in a strip stationary ice. Other species of seals are found on floating ice. The largest of the seals is sea Elephant is currently heavily exterminated. Almost all seals feed on crustaceans, mollusks and fish, and the leopard seal destroys large quantities penguins.
The largest mammals, cetaceans, are represented by baleen and toothed whales. Among baleen whales, blue whales and humpback whales stand out. The largest whale is the blue or vomiting whale, reaching a length of 33 m. It is heavily exterminated. It has been under protection since 1967. A large whale produces up to 20 tons of pure blubber and weighs up to 160 tons.
Toothed whales of the Antarctic include sperm whales, bottlenose whales and killer whales. Killer whales are the most dangerous predators, equipped with a large sharp dorsal fin- with a scythe.
The birds of Antarctica are exceptionally unique. They all live near the water and feed on fish and small sea animals. The most remarkable are penguins - birds with short wings, similar to flippers, which enable them to swim beautifully. From a distance, penguins, with their upright body position, resemble humans. Adult penguins eat only in water and generally feel much better there than on land.
Many species of penguins settle on northern border Antarctica, on the coasts of the subantarctic islands. These include the Sclater penguin, the golden-crested penguin, and the small Adélie penguin.
In the summer, petrels, gulls, and cormorants fly to Antarctica. The largest of them are albatrosses, their wingspan reaches 3.5 m.
Some petrels fly farther inland than any other bird and live in isolated protruding areas not covered with ice and snow.
IN summer period Coastal cliffs and islands are covered with nesting sites of numerous varieties of petrels - gray, white, as well as Cape pigeons, storm petrels, and skuas.
Flying birds nest on rocks, forming colonies similar to bird colonies.
Seals
COMMON SEALS (true seals, family Phocidae) are well adapted to life in cold seas: their entire body, including short tail and flippers, covered with thick, coarse hair that protects against ice water, wind, snow and ice. Under the skin there is a thick layer of fat.
Seals have no auricles at all. In their place, only a small hole is noticeable on each side of the head. But these animals are not deaf, and some of them even have good hearing, especially in water. The hind limbs are stretched back, do not bend or tuck under the body, as in eared seals, so they are not used when moving on land. On the front flippers, which serve mainly as rudders in the water, five fingers connected by membranes are clearly visible.
harbor seal(Phoca vitulina) is often found off the sea coasts of temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It never swims far from land and sometimes settles in fresh lakes and large rivers.
This is a relatively small animal. The body length of an adult seal is approximately 1.5 m and weight is 45 kg. The head is round, the eyes are large, the muzzle is as if chopped off, the body is stocky, with short neck. The color varies from yellowish-gray with dark brown spots to almost black with white spots.
The harbor seal does not form large colonies, it spends more time on the shore than other seals, and cannot sleep in the water. Families consisting of a male, several females and their young of different ages, often use the same place for overnight stays, which becomes their group territory. These are very friendly animals that are easy to tame.
Cubs (sometimes twins) are born in early spring. Newborns of the Far Eastern form are covered with fluffy white fur that lasts for 3–4 weeks (the pup stage). In other forms, this fur sheds immediately, sometimes even before birth. The baby's cry resembles the bleating of a lamb. His mother feeds him for about 5 weeks, after which he learns to forage for food himself. The harbor seal feeds on fish, as well as squid and octopus.
Seals live along the Atlantic coasts from southern New Jersey and the northern Mediterranean to the border polar ice, and along the Far Eastern and American coasts of the Pacific Ocean - from Kamchatka in the north to Baja California in the south. Seals include seals, sea lions, seals, elephant seals and walruses. Seals are mammals, and they are intermediate between typical mammals such as cows or dogs, and marine mammals what whales are.
Indeed, seals originated from land mammals who once had to adapt to life in the water. They did not have to live in the water as long as whales, and as a result they were not as well adapted to life in the water.
Seals cannot live underwater permanently. In addition, they give birth on land. In most cases, seal mothers have to teach their babies to swim! Therefore, it is obvious that seals are at an intermediate level between land and sea mammals.
As they adapted to life in the water, certain changes occurred to them. So, they got webbed hind limbs and fins. They also acquired a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, which protected them from hypothermia. Over time, the ears decreased in size or disappeared completely to reduce the resistance of water when moving. And they began to eat sea food - octopuses and fish.
Although nature has largely adapted seals to exist in the water, they also have to spend a lot of time on land. They like to bask in the sun or sleep on the shore or on an ice floe. They crawl on the ground or pull their bodies up with their fins.
In the United States, the most famous species are California sea lions. They are active and smart. They can be taught to juggle a ball on the tip of their nose without much difficulty.
The habits of seals make them easy prey for humans. This especially applies to the feeding season of young animals, when it is very easy to get to them along the shore or along an ice floe. For many centuries, Eskimos have used seals for food, for making clothing, for extracting oil for cooking and for lighting.
SOUTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL - one of the largest seals: 5.5 m in length and weighing 2.5 tons. It has more subcutaneous fat than meat. When he moves on land, his body shakes like jelly. On the top of the elephant seal's face is a leathery sac.
Leopard seal found in the cold waters of Antarctica more often than other seals. It has a long body, up to 3.5 m, and a small head, similar to a snake. The layer of fat on this animal is thinner than that of other seals from the same region.
SEAL UDELLA — large animal, up to 3 m in length. It is found quite often off the coast of Antarctica. He has short, hard hair without undercoat, and a layer of fat under the skin - up to 7 cm. Fat accounts for almost a third of the weight of the entire body! Weddell seals do not leave the coast of Antarctica even in winter.
ROSS SEAL - inhabitant of the Antarctic seas. It is found very rarely and in places where it is difficult for humans to reach. Stays alone on the ice. This is a very fat, clumsy beast. His neck is short and completely folded - he can completely pull his head into it. Screams loudly and melodiously. He is not afraid of people and allows him to come close. It feeds on squid, octopuses, other cephalopods, and crustaceans.
CRAB-EATING SEAL typical for Antarctica. It is up to 2 m long and adheres to floating ice floes almost the entire year. Only in summer, when the ice melts, can you see crabeater rookeries on the shore. They are very agile and, escaping from killer whales, jump out of the water onto high ice floes. These seals feed on crustaceans. Their teeth form a kind of sieve, which allows water to pass through and trap prey.
Penguins
There are 17 species of these birds, and they all live in cold waters Southern Hemisphere. Not only in Antarctica, but also on the coast of South America (Humboldt penguins, Magellanic penguins), Australia (lesser and white-winged penguins) and even southern Africa (donkey, or spectacled, penguins), where cold currents pass. Only the Galapagos penguin, which lives on the equator, penetrated North hemisphere, probably following the cold Peruvian Current.
Penguins spend three quarters of their lives in water. They are excellent swimmers, their wings look like flippers, and their feathers look like long scales. In the snow, birds can lie on their bellies and slide, pushing off with their wings and paws. Despite their external clumsiness, they walk tens of kilometers, climb rocks and piles of ice.
An indigenous inhabitant of Antarctica - EMPEROR PENGUIN. This strange creature manages to feel comfortable on the winter polar night, during the incessant snow storms and hurricane winds, at an air temperature of -60 C! The chicks hatch in July, in the midst of the Antarctic winter, in complete darkness. But it will only warm up the summer! December sunshine, penguins leave the coast for the sea to stock up on fat for next winter.
Penguins do not have many enemies, but they wait for birds both on land and at sea. In the water these are sharks, killer whales, seals - leopards - birds escape from them by jumping out on ice or stones in time. On the shore, eggs and chicks are carried by skuas and petrels. If you are very unlucky, then some stray dog or rat will kill the cub. On continents, where there are predators, penguins make nests in shelters, and on islands they settle openly. Adult penguins sometimes become victims of poachers, and although the bird knocks a person down with a blow from its flippers, armed people she can't resist.
GALAPAGOS PENGUIN lives north of the other penguins, in the tropics. In the coldest time of the year, the penguin lays two eggs on the island, in a rock crevice.
GOLDEN-HAIRED PENGUIN got its name from the tuft of golden-yellow feathers above its eyes. It is easy to recognize him by this crest. It grows up to 76 cm. It is found in the southern part of the Indian and Atlantic Oceans. It nests on islands near Antarctica. Colonies number up to 60 thousand birds.
ADELIE PENGUINS the most numerous among relatives. They are 80 cm tall, extremely mobile, fussy and curious. They nest on the coast of Antarctica and nearby islands, in places where storm winds blow away snow and expose the soil. There are up to half a million birds in the colonies.
ROYAL PENGUIN lives north of Antarctica, in more warm waters. It is similar to the largest among penguins - the emperor, but is brighter in color and smaller: about 90 cm tall. It nests on islands among the rocks. Breeds in summer. The egg is held on the paws, covered with the abdominal fold. Both parents incubate it alternately.
Whales and sperm whales
BLUE WHALE refers to baleen whales. This is the largest animal on Earth. The length of his body is up to 33 m! Weight - 150 t: heavier than 50 African elephants. The heart of a large blue whale weighs more than half a ton. However, this giant eats like everyone else baleen whales, plankton - small crustaceans and other tiny sea creatures. Instead of teeth, baleen whales have a giant sieve in their mouths called baleen. It consists of 140 pairs of horny triangular plates. The base of the plate is fixed in the whale's gum so that one side of it faces outward, and the other faces inside the oral cavity. This second side is fringed. The whale, having captured water in its mouth, with the help of a huge 3-ton tongue, squeezes it out through the whalebone, like through a sieve. Plankton crustaceans get stuck in the fringe, and the whale swallows them. The stomach of a blue whale can hold up to 2 tons of crustaceans! When a whale emerges from the water to exhale and inhale, it releases a fountain up to 12 m high. On the surface of the water blue whale calm and slow, but under water can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h. Blue whales swim alone or in pairs.
SPERM WHALE swims in all oceans except the Arctic. This is a big one toothed whale, up to 20 m long. Its head is huge: a third of the whole body. There are up to 60 teeth on the lower jaw. The sperm whale feeds on fish, squid, and octopuses: it grabs them with its teeth and pushes them down its throat with its colossal tongue. In pursuit of prey, it dives to a depth of 2 km! A sperm whale can stay underwater without air for an hour and a half: it only has enough reserves, which it grabs from the surface before diving. If a sperm whale is excited, it jumps out of the water completely, falls back with a deafening splash and hits the water with its tail. Sperm whales navigate well under water. They have excellent hearing, and the sounds they emit return to them, like an echo reflected from an obstacle. The mother gives birth to one sperm whale every three years, in warm waters. From the first day, a baby weighing about a ton swims next to her. He grows slowly, and his mother for a long time as if towing it - in this case, the cub spends less energy on overcoming the aquatic environment.
ALBATROSS feels equally good both on water and in the air. It can only take off from the crest of a wave or from a coastal slope. Walks poorly on the ground. Gliding easily and for a long time over the ocean, albatrosses look out for prey: fish, squid, octopuses. They often accompany ships and feed on garbage around them. These birds are constantly on the move. The largest of their family are called wandering. They have a wingspan of more than 4 m, and they themselves are the size of a swan. Albatrosses nest in flocks on small uninhabited islands in the Southern Hemisphere. To attract a friend, they organize dances: they take fancy poses, scream loudly, and rub their beaks. All albatrosses have one egg in their clutch. Both parents incubate him in turn, for a very long time. Wandering albatross chicks, having hatched, do not leave the nest for another 8-9 months. And in dark-backed albatrosses they are covered with down for up to four months, although they are already as tall as their parents. Only two months later, when the chicks fledge, the whole family flies off the island.
NORTHERN WILSON'S PETCHER - a relative of petrels, it is the size of a swallow, weighs 40 g. It has webbed feet: the bird swims well. It feeds on various sea crustaceans and mollusks. Then she flies low over the water, fluttering her wings: she lifts them up a little - and grabs prey from the surface! Otherwise it looks for food afloat, with its head in the water. The storm petrel walks clumsily on the ground. Another thing is in flight: here it is light and swift. Storm petrels nest in colonies in rocks. There is one egg in the clutch. Both parents incubate it, replacing each other every four days.
GREAT SKUA - a relative of the seagull. It flies well, accelerating and decelerating easily. It can stop in place, flutter its wings, quickly turn and fall like a stone on its prey. The wing length of the great skua is about 40 cm. It spends its life wandering in the ocean. Robbery - takes prey (mostly fish) from other birds. Catches both small birds and small animals. Doesn't disdain garbage. When the time comes to have chicks, large colonies of skuas gather on islands and sea coasts. The nest of a pair of birds is a small hole in the soil. There are two eggs in the clutch. They are incubated by both parents. The hatched chicks leave the nest after a week. Like adult skuas, they walk well on land.
GIANT STORMER nests on islands near Antarctica. It feeds on sea animals. Sometimes he goes robber: he kills penguins and storm petrels. Its wings are up to 50 cm long. During its migrations it reaches the Southern Tropic. Sometimes, using wind energy, it flies around the globe.
Animals of Antarctica: mammals and birds from RuColumb
ANIMALS OF ANTARCTICA
Harsh winds and low temperatures formed a certain species of animals in Antarctica. The flora and fauna of this continent has no analogues in the world; it is extremely poor and unique. The most common animals in Antarctica are Adélie penguins. They spend most of their time in the ocean, where the water provides a warmer temperature.
Penguins come to the surface only to nest. Penguins are very sensitive to choosing a partner and raising chicks. The male chooses a female and brings her a pebble, which he himself looked for especially for her, and if the female accepts the gift, then she becomes his companion for life. Newborn chicks gather in the so-called nursery, and after 2 months the “nursery” disintegrates, because By this time, the animal becomes an adult and goes off to look for food on its own. An adult penguin requires 2 kg of food per day! Thanks to special adaptations, the Adelie penguin can the best way use the energy obtained with food.
The fauna of Antarctica, however, is not limited to just penguins. The Antarctic Ocean is home to the largest living mammals - cetaceans, which in turn are divided into baleen and toothed whales. Baleen whales are the main target of whaling and are particularly well studied. From this subgroup we can distinguish blue whales, fin whales, humpback whales and true whales. The blue whale, or vomit, is the largest of the whales, and together with the fin whale it has the greatest industrial importance. The length of the largest blue whale killed in Antarctica reached 35 m, their average length was approximately 26 m. A large whale produces up to 20 tons of pure fat and weighs up to 160 tons. Baleen whales feed mainly on small crustaceans, which are very rich in the cold Antarctic waters . A blue whale can swallow up to 1.5 m of black-eye crustaceans at a time. A baby whale feeding on its mother's milk gains 100 kg per day.
Toothed whales are sperm whales, bottlenose whales and killer whales. Killer whales are the most dangerous predators, equipped with a large sharp dorsal fin, which can cause serious injury even to a whale. Although these animals of Antarctica have wide range nutrition, each individual population has its own food specialization.
For example, killer whales living near Norway prefer to feed on schools of herring that swim in those waters.
Killer whales prefer to hunt in packs, and do so very successfully and sophisticatedly. These mammals attack fur seals, seals, sperm whales, dolphins, sea lions. When hunting seals, they use ambushes, hiding behind ledges of the seabed, and when hunting penguins, they dive in a group under an ice floe, trying to knock several individuals into the water. In attack on large whales predominantly males participate. They simultaneously pounce on the prey, bite its throat and fins, trying to prevent it from rising to the surface; but when attacking a sperm whale, killer whales, on the contrary, try to prevent the victim from going into the depths.
Killer whales have a very developed social structure. The maternal group consists of a mother with her calf, her adult sons and several families headed by relatives of the main killer whale: sisters, cousins. In such a social group includes up to 20 individuals, which are quite strongly attached to each other. Each such flock has its own dialect. Killer whales take care of crippled or old relatives; relations within the pod are more than friendly.
Animals of Antarctica fully reflect the thesis of evolution: “Survival of the fittest.” Life in Antarctica is a daily struggle for survival, a struggle with low temperatures and a struggle for the most convenient place to obtain food. Animals of Antarctica are strong and formidable to their enemies, but at the same time caring and friendly in their pack or colony. The fauna of Antarctica is dangerous and harsh, but magnificent in its own way.
10.03.2014
Incredibly harsh climatic conditions ice continent, low temperatures and stormy winds put the animals of this region on the brink of survival, but life exists here in all its diversity. The fauna of this continent has no analogues in the world; only a few species of fauna can survive in such peculiar conditions.
The most common animals on the mainland are penguins. And the largest among its relatives is the emperor penguin, weighing up to 45 kg, its height is 120 cm. Harsh winter These birds nest along the shores of the continent. Colonies during nesting can number more than 10 thousand birds. Penguins spend a lot of time at sea; water provides more comfortable conditions, constant temperature, lack of wind, abundance of food.
Penguins are very touching when it comes to choosing a partner and incubating and raising chicks. If a female accepts a gift from a male in the form of a pebble, she becomes his friend for life. The male takes on the difficult task of hatching a single egg, losing half of his weight in the process. In addition to large emperor penguins Antarctica is home to Adelie penguins, king penguins, golden-throated penguins and Galapagos penguins.
The waters of Antarctica are home to the largest mammals currently existing on earth - whales. Among the baleen whales, fin whales, blue whales, and humpback whales are well studied and are objects of whaling. Measuring from 26 to 35 meters in length, the blue whale produces 20 tons of fat and weighs 160 tons. The diet of whales consists of small crustaceans, which Antarctic waters are rich in; at one time, the blue whale absorbs up to 1.5 meters of black-eyed crustaceans.
Among the toothed whales there are bottlenose whales, sperm whales and killer whales. Killer whale - scary predator, which attacks seals, fur seals, sperm whales, sea lions and dolphins, uses ambush tactics when hunting seals. Hunting for penguins, a group swims under an ice floe and knocks several individuals into the water, dealing with them with lightning speed.
The seal family is represented in Antarctica by several species. The most common are the Weddell seal, leopard seal, southern elephant seal, crabeater seal, Ross seal and Kerguelen seal. fur seal. The leopard seal is a true ruthless Antarctic predator. He is the only seal that constantly feeds on large warm-blooded animals - penguins, waterfowl and other seal species. With a weight of up to 380 kg and a body length of up to 3.5 meters, amazing dexterity and varied hunting tactics, it has no equal among seal predators.
Among the birds most common off the coast of Antarctica are the giant petrel and the great skua. Also found are white plover, snow petrel, Arctic tern, and Cape pigeon. There are also invertebrate animals among the ice of Antarctica; worms are often found, freshwater molluscs, crustaceans, jellyfish, large Starfish, Antarctic octopus.
In Antarctica, like nowhere else, the famous thesis is confirmed evolutionary process"the strongest survives". Life here is a daily struggle for survival with predators and natural conditions. The animals of Antarctica, formidable to their enemies, are strong and undaunted, but at the same time very friendly and caring in their colony or flock.
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