Tundra Food Chain

One of the most fascinating places in the world, the tundra biome is predominantly characterized by extremely cold temperatures and scarce vegetation. Tundra biome is further divided into three subtypes - the Arctic tundra, the Alpine tundra and the Antarctic tundra. With an average temperature of -25 degrees Fahrenheit, the tundra biome is the coldest among the various biomes of the world. Most part of the land here is covered by permafrost, which makes it impossible for deep rooted plants to grow. Owing to its characteristic extreme conditions, tundra is inhabited by a very few life forms, each of which plays a vital role in tundra food chain.

Tundra Plants and Animals
There are approximately 1700 species of plants in tundra region. However, most of these are shrubs, grasses and perennial forbs. Some of the most common plant species found here include the Arctic moss, Labrador tea, tufted saxifrage and Caribou moss. The extreme conditions in tundra do not support many animal species either. The short list of animals found in tundra includes animal species such as polar bear, Caribou and Arctic fox, as well as the bird species, like snow geese and snowy owls. All these tundra plants and animals have an important role to play in tundra biome food chains.

Tundra Biome Food Chain
Food chains basically facilitate the flow of energy from one organism to another. Like any other food chain in the world, the tundra food chain also consists of the primary consumers, secondary consumers and the tertiary consumers. The primary consumers in tundra are the herbivores, such as the lemmings and caribous, which feed on moss and lichen. The secondary consumers are the omnivores, such as the grizzly bears and brown bears, which feed on primary consumers as well as the autotrophs (plant and phytoplankton species). The tertiary consumers are the carnivores, such as the Arctic wolves and polar bears, which feed on primary as well as secondary consumers.

Tundra Food Chain Example
A particular habitat or biome can have a single food web, which in turn has several food chains woven into it. Tundra food web consists of several such food chains and going through one of these will make the concept of tundra biome food chain much more simple, and hence easy to understand.


This is one of the best examples of arctic tundra food chain. At the base is the Arctic willow, which grows as a result of a bacterial process by which the nutrients from the organism's body are returned to soil. Animals can't derive solar energy directly from sun, so they have to depend on plants which capture solar energy through the process of photosynthesis. For lemmings (the primary consumer), feeding on the plant species in tundra is an ideal way of deriving the energy it requires. Snowy owls (the secondary consumers) in tundra are opportunistic predators, which feed on these lemmings and derive energy from them. Unlike the owl species in other biomes, snowy owls don't perch on trees. Their nests are made on ground which makes them an easy prey for the Arctic wolves (the tertiary consumer). An Arctic wolf is the apex predator in this case. When it dies due to some disease, or is killed by rival pack, the bacteria decompose its body and the nutrients go back to the soil. These nutrients in turn facilitate the growth of Arctic willow and other such plant species. This cycle of tundra food chain is must for the ecological balance in this region.

Other than being the coldest, the tundra biome is one of the most fragile ecosystems in the world. Each member of the tundra food chain is directly or indirectly dependent on the other. If there is no food available here, the caribous will stop coming here in summer. If caribous don't migrate, the Arctic wolves will face food scarcity, and eventually die of hunger. Food chains of tundra biome are woven into each other to such an extent, that the extinction or decrease in the number of a single plant or animal species can cause a disastrous impact on the tundra food web.