Climate and Animals

Climate and
Animals

Animals have natural instincts to make decisions based on climate. Since the climate is continental with 4 seasons, the animals that live in Alberta

have adapted as well.

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​Animal Adaptation

Birds migrate south in winter when the availability of insects and other food drops

They migrate north to breed where there is little competition for food and predators

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​Bird Migration

There are over 400 species of birds in Alberta, but all do not migrate.

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​Alberta's Migrating Birds

​​American Robin
(Except near Calgary / Edmonton)

Swallows

​​Canadian Geese

​​Loon

​Common Migrating Birds

Multiple Select

Why don't Robins living in Edmonton and Calgary always migrate south?

• Urban Heat Islands keep it warmer

• More food sources

• No natural predators

​​Downy
Woodpecker

Chickadee

Magpie

​​Great Horned Owl

​Common Non - Migrating Birds

Longest migration of any animal in the world - 71,000 km round trip. They summer in the Arctic and Atlantic regions and winter in the Antarctica.

Artic Tern

Whooping Crane

Monarch Butterfly

Caribou (Porcupine Herd)

World Travelling Migrators

Migrate 7,000 km in Wood Buffalo National Park to Texas and back.

Weighing half a gram, they migrate to a mountainous forest in central Mexico.

This herd migrates from the Yukon and NWT to northern Alaska to breed.

World Travelling Migrators

Match

Match the following common migratory birds

Robin

Canada goose

Loon

Swallow

• Robin

• Canada goose

• Loon

• Swallow

Match

Match the following common non-migratory birds

Downy Woodpecker

Chickadee

Magpie

Great Horned Owl

• Downy Woodpecker

• Chickadee

• Magpie

• Great Horned Owl

Match

Match the migratory paths

Arctic Tern

Whooping Crane

Monarch Butterfly

Caribour (Porcupine Herd)

• Arctic Tern

• Whooping Crane

• Monarch Butterfly

• Caribour (Porcupine Herd)

Categorize

Options (12)

Robin

Swallow

Canadian Goose

Loon

Downy Woodpecker

Chickadee

Great Horned Owl

Arctic Tern

Whooping Crane

Monarch Butterfly

Porcupine Caribou

Organize these options into the right categories

Migatory

Non-Migatory

Long Travellers

​Chickadee Winter Adaptations

​This tightens skin and increases insulation trapping air between feathers

​​Fluffing Up

​The chickadee's arteries (blood down) and veins (blood up) are weaved together so the blood returning to the heart is warmer and their legs don't freeze.

​​Warming Blood

The part of their brain that is responsible for memory (hippocampus) expands up to 30% in late summer to help them remember where they stored their food. In spring it shrinks again.

​​ Brain Grows

Chickadees make snug cavities in willow and birch trees to reduce heat loss. This is like the Downy Woodpecker.

​​Roost Cavity

​Chickadee Winter Adaptations

​Chickadees eat all day and gain up to 10% of their body weight to use as fuel to keep them warm at night.

​​Weight Gain

Shivering is like physical activity so it helps keep the chickadee warm.

​​Shivering

In summer, chickadees hide insects and seeds in the trees in their territory. This can be enough food for 28 days.

​​Food Caching

They can lower body temperature by 10 to 20 degrees to minimize heat loss and energy to keep warm

​​Lower Body Temperature

​Chickadee Winter Adaptations

Drier conditions and severe storms have threatened their habitat - sunny, sandy beaches

Piping Plover

Shrinking pack ice and longer, warmer summers are forcing Polar Bears to move south.

Polar Bear

These Caribou depend on the sea ice to travel in search of limited forage between the high Arctic islands and the ice is melting.

Perry Herd

These Caribou cross between Victoria Island, where they give birth and rear their young, and their wintering habitat on mainland Nunavut and the Northwest Territories. Ice is melting and restricting their crossings.

Dolphin / Union Herd

​Climate Change Impacts on Animals