Every healthy ecosystem has an apex predator, the animal that keeps all the lower animals in check by eating them. Together, these slight differences keep the groups separated just enough that they may someday become completely different species! Apex Predators as a Keystone SpeciesĪrctic wolves, as the top predator in their environment, also display the concepts of Apex Predators and Keystone Species.Īn apex predator sits at the top of the food web. Gray Wolves can live in smaller groups to take down deer and elk, but the Arctic Wolf must live in fairly large groups to bring down their very large prey: the muskoxen. Plus, the Gray Wolf and Arctic Wolf occupy different regions and do not usually cross paths.įurther, the two subspecies must hunt for prey in very different ways. Gray Wolves are used to digging dens, whereas Arctic Wolves cannot dig through the frozen permafrost of the northern tundra and must use rock outcroppings, caves, and other forms of shelter. However, interbreeding between Arctic Wolves and Gray Wolves is unlikely to happen because they live such different lives. The Gray Wolf and Arctic Wolf are still considered one species because they can still technically interbreed – their actual genes have not changed much. Gray wolf subspecies distribution 1944 vs. While this might not seem like a big difference, it actually creates barriers between the two groups. The Gray Wolf, by contrast, has a much more southern range and specializes feeding on prey like deer, elk, and moose.
These wolves specialize by feeding on muskoxen and arctic hares. The Arctic Wolf has a very northern range. A subspecies is still very closely related to the parent species, but they have become distinct through many generations that do not interbreed between groups. The arctic wolf is actually a subspecies of the Gray Wolf. Speciation is the process through which new species are created. Arctic wolves tend to hunt muskoxen, which move in herds through the tundra, and Arctic hares, which occupy many areas of the tundra. These two individuals control the actions and movement of the pack as they search the tundra for their favorite foods. Typically, only the “highest-ranking” members of the pack are allowed to breed – known as the Alpha Male and Beta Female. A young male Arctic WolfĪrctic wolves, like most wolf species, hunt in packs and maintain a rigorous social structure. Since the ground is frozen solid, Arctic wolves cannot dig dens into the ground like their Gray Wolf cousins. Plus, Arctic wolves have learned to use caves, rock formations, and simple depressions in the land as “dens”. The Arctic wolves occupy a much more northern region than the Gray Wolf, living on the frozen tundra of North America and Greenland. However, the species are separated not only by territory but also by lifestyle and behavioral traits. Frozen Tundra of North America and GreenlandĪrctic wolves are a subspecies of Gray Wolf, meaning the two types of wolves can still interbreed.
0 kommentar(er)
