Lake Baikal provides a have for 1,200 animal species, 600 types of plants, and specifically the world's only freshwater seals. 75% of the plants are only found in the Lake Baikal region, which means the preservation of the lake is crucial to the survival of theses species. The species that have made a home in Lake Baikal have adapted specially to the unique conditions of the lake which makes it impossible for some species to survive anywhere else.
Lake Champlain
Lake Champlain provides a rich environment for many different variations of living creatures. At the lake there are over 250 species of birds, 81 species of fish, and various different invertebrates. The Lake Champlain Basin, including the shorelines of the Lake and associated wetlands, river shores, cliffs and bluffs, supports a diverse array of natural plant communities and many rare plant species. Lake Champlain is a prime spot for endangered species, or so it seems. The lake is a great habitat to endangered plants and animals in all the surrounding states.
Flora
1.Lilium martagon is a species of lily. It has a widespread native region extending from eastern France east through northern Asia to Mongolia and Korea. It is stem-rooting, growing between 1 meter and 2 meters tall. The flower color is typically a pink-purple, with dark spots, but is various, extending from almost white and even close to black. For the orchid to survive in the cold conditions of Russia it must adapt to the cold, in plants this is known as hardening off. Most often hardening-off is associated with plants to cold temperatures but it can also refer to to hot temperatures, wind or sun.
2. The most commonly found tree in the Baikal lake area is the Larch. The larch is a conifer and grows to be roughly 20 to 45 meters tall. They are native to the colder temperatures, areas such as Russia, Canada, and Scandinavia, or the Northern Hemisphere. The larch is a deciduous tree, loosing its leaves in the fall, which are more of pine-needles if anything. Larches produce small cones that are green and purple until after pollination, then they turn a light shade of brown. The larch has adapted by having the pine needles, these allow for less water to be evaporated compared to another large leaved tree. Therefore this adaptation is one way for the larch to store more water.
3. Black and red currents ripen at the end of the summer for Lake Baikal. Black and red current are woody shrubs that are native to Europe and Northern Asia, since the plant prefers damp fertile soils. It is winter hardy but cold weather at flowering time during the spring reduces the size of the crop. Bunches of small, black and red fruit develop along the stems in the summer and can be harvested by hand or by machine. The current has adapted by changing to the types of soil in the different seasons. If they had not then the crop production would be extremely small and useless.
Fauna
1. The Freshwater Seal- Lake Baikal is the only home on Earth to the freshwater seal, otherwise known as the Nerpa. Scientists aren't sure how the seals got to the lake, but they presume that they traveled from the arctic to Lake Baikal in a river; however, these seals have many differences than the common Arctic seals due to their adaptations to the Baikal Climate. For one, Freshwater Seals have more blood than Arctic seals so they can swim for longer than 70 minutes at a time. They also can travel much greater depths than Arctic seals, reaching up to 300 meters under the surface.
2. Here at Lake Bikal there is a large amount of microscopic shrimp, also known as the epishura. Still, they are not only food for fish. Baikal microscopic shrimp, epishura, is the most important water cleaner. The length of the shrimp is only 1.5 mm, but the scientists counted more than 3 million of them under only one square meter of the lake water. Such amounts of hungry shrimp means that they are able to purify the upper 50-meter layer of the water from bacteria, and remains of sea- weeds. And a small shrimp can take away everything that can pollute the water, dead insects, fish, and even animals drowned in the lake.The epishura is one decomposer in Lake Bikal. Epishura has adapted to reproduce in large numbers. Since the small shrimp is one of the largest eaten prey in the lake they must continue to multiple to be able to clean the lake. Almost all of the carnivores in the lake are predators toward the epishura shrimp.
3. The Omul- The Omul is also a species of fish that you can find in Lake Baikal, the keystone species. This fish is the most popular fish in the lake and you can find this fish in many tourist towns because it is the main food supply for the locals. The fish got to the Baikal during the glacial epoch. Omul adapted itself to new ecological food, it learnt to spawn and develop.
Flora
1. Sparganium, commonly known as the bur-reed, is a species of aquatic plants of shallow marshes, ponds and streams. Sparganium is an important component of aquatic and marsh vegetation in temperate to arctic regions. It provides food and cover for wildlife and waterfowl.The leaves are strap-like. The flowers are borne in spherical heads, which bear either male or female flowers. The seeds may accumulate in the soil as dense seed banks, which allow the plants to regenerate during low water periods. This adaptation of clumping to store water is one of the ways the bur-reed has stayed growing during the low water seasons.
2. Coontail, or sometimes called hornwort, is a dark olive-green, rootless submerged perennial plant that often forms dense colonies. The tips of branches are crowded with leaves giving it a “coontail” resemblance. Submerged portions of all aquatic plants provide habitats for many micro and macro invertebrates. These invertebrates in turn are used as food by fish and other wildlife species. The coontail is one of the largest producers for other consumers in the biome, this makes one of the largest indicator species there. After aquatic plants die, their decomposition by bacteria and fungi provides food for many aquatic invertebrates. The fruits of coontail are consumed by ducks and it is considered a good wildlife food. Most aquatic plants have flowers which rise above the surface to be pollinated by insects or wind. However, the pollen of coontail has adapted to being wet, so the plant can complete its entire life cycle under water.
3. Potamogeton amplifolius, commonly known as large leaf pondweed or broad-leaved pondweed, is an aquatic plant of North America. It grows in water bodies such as lakes, ponds, and rivers, often in deep water. Large-leaved Pondweed is a submerged plant consisting of a thick, durable stem with oblong leaves up to 8 inches long. It grows in clear water up to 20 feet deep, but most often is found in depths of 3 to 12 feet. In late summer the plant will rise to the surface and grows a short seed spike several inches above the surface. This plant provides excellent habitat for fish which feed off of insects found among its leaves. It also provides excellent cover when planted in deeper areas near drop offs. Pondweed adapted to a pond environment because it's highly efficient, can pack densely and grows rapidly so it can survive in areas where lakes freeze solid in the winter while still having a full reproductive cycle.
Fauna
1. The Bonaparte Gull is most commonly found in North America, or in this case Lake Champlain. This particular gull is rather small, on average having a wingspan of about 30 inches. They have a short think dark bill, and are covered with a black hood. The breeding habitat for the Bonaparte Gull is typically near lakes or bogs in coniferous forests, across western Canada and Alaska. Bonaparte's Gulls generally forage in single-species flocks, but are commonly seen in the same spot as many other gull species.On nesting grounds, insects are the primary prey of the Bonaparte's Gull. In coastal areas during the non-breeding season, fish, krill and other marine creatures make up a large portion of their diet, they are also considered a scavenger. Gulls in general have had to adapt to humans and are sadly now common in urban areas.
2. A commonly found fish in Lake Champlain is known as the Atlantic salmon. The Atlantic salmon is usually found in the North Atlantic Ocean, the rivers that lead into it, also due to human introduction they are also found in the North Pacific. For the Atlantic salmon to survive in freshwater they must go through a cycle called the freshwater phase. This process starts off when the fish are 1 to the age of 8, and it contains 3 different stages. First the alevin, second the fry, and third the parr. During this time period, the salmon become the prey and are very susceptible to predation. Trout alone eat 40% of the population away, as well as other predators that include large fish and birds.
3. A reptile found in Lake Champlain is the spiny softshell turtle, they are one of the largest freshwater turtle species in North America. Spiny softshell turtles in Lake Champlain are genetically separated from Great Lakes populations, and have been found only on the Vermont side of the Lake and in some Vermont tributaries. The spiny softshell turtle has a very limited niche through out the world. This turtle has adapted because having the soft shell enables it to burrow in sand where it apears to be a lifeless mound.