Symbiotic Relationships in the Tundra

They say that every species is dependent on each other for survival. And this could not be any truer, because all of us are a part of the food chain. One of the most well-known yet hostile biome of the world is the tundra biome. The tundra biome is the coldest in the world and is barely conducive for life forms. However, it still has many plants and animals living there, which have adapted themselves to the harsh conditions. Yes, there are various tundra plants and animals that are living and thus, there are many different kinds of symbiotic relationships seen in this region. A symbiotic relationship is where two organisms are involved. This can be mutual, parasitic or commensalistic in nature.

Mutualism
A relation where both the organisms benefit from each other is known as mutualism. One of the most well-known tundra plants is lichens. Lichen is a composite organism that is usually made up of a fungus and a green alga or cyanobacterium. The alga is photosynthetic in nature and so, reduces carbon dioxide into sugars that feeds the fungus as well. The fungal counterpart in the meantime, helps provide protection to the alga by retaining water and helping in obtaining minerals from substrate. Thus, both the fungus and the green alga benefit from this relation.

Parasitism
Parasitism is a relation between two organisms where one organism benefits whereas the other one is at a loss in the relation. One of the lesser known tundra facts is that even parasitism is seen in the tundra region. This is usually seen in cases of liver tapeworm cysts. The liver tapeworm cysts tend to stay and grow in the body of various animals like moose, caribou and even wolves. These tapeworms then feed on the food that is eaten by these animals, which leads to malnutrition in the host body, that is, in the animal.

Commensalism
Needless to say, one of the tundra climate facts is that the harsh coldness isn't exactly one of the most friendly environment for vegetation growth. Hence, the options that animals in these regions have are very limited. The caribou or reindeers tend to feed on lichens when the weather is at its worst and coldest, as more often than not, this is the only food available to them which can provide them with carbohydrates and can give them energy and heat. So, when the caribou is on the lookout for food, the arctic fox follows it. Then, when the caribou digs the ground snow in a quest to find food, it digs up the soil and slightly exposes, or at least brings closer to the surface some of the subnivean mammals, with whom the arctic fox shares a predator prey relationships in the tundra. So, once the caribou is done with its hunting, the arctic fox then follows and digs further deep and gets its food in the form of the mammals. Hence, this is one of the best examples of commensalism in the tundra region, wherein the caribou remains unaffected but the arctic fox manages to get its food with some help from the caribou.

These were the various symbiotic relationship examples, which in together form the tundra food chain as well. Whoever would have guessed that even in the midst of such harsh and supposedly uninhabited region of the world, is a thriving and yet to be completely understood biome.