Jeneve Lee - ebook narwhal

 

Narwhals  

By: Jeneve Lee

Narwhals horn 

Contents Page: …..p 1
….. p 2
All about narwhals ….. p 3
The Arctic tundra/ocean ….. p 4
Energy transfer ….. p 5
Balances and Imbalances ….. p 6
Adaptations ….. P 7
Glossary (add 10 words or more)
Works Cited (see last page to help you)

Narwhals horn 

Page 1
ALL ABOUT NARWHALS

INTRODUCING THE NARWHALS  
 
M​y animal is a narwhal. 

Narwhals are very unusual and  
strange creatures. They are also  
Very special to the world 
They live in the ​Arctic tundra​, 
but some people call it the Arctic ocean.  

​NARWHALS 

N​arwhals live in the Arctic tundra, but some people call it the Arctic ocean. Narwhals could survive in the cold 

Arctic waters because they have thick layers of b​ lubber​ all around their body which keeps them warm. Narwhals 
are mammals which means they don’t lay eggs. Narwhals are ​carnivores​. Some of the animals they eat are arctic 
cod, flounders, crabs, squid, shrimp, halibut, etc. Narwhals catch their prey with their overgrown tooth (horn). 
Some predators that hunt my animal are killer whales (orcas), Greenland sharks, polar bears, etc. Narwhals are 
similar to the beluga whale, but they are just different colors and has a horn right on top of its mouth. What 
makes the beluga whale so special is because of its horn, or some people call it a overgrown tooth. Narwhals 
change color according to their age. Newborn narwhals are bluish gray. Juvenile narwhals are blueish black and 
old narwhals are almost all white. Narwhals also have many tiny specks on their back. Narwhals can grow up to 
17 feet. It can weigh up to 4,200 pounds! A Narwhal’s tusk can grow up to 10 feet!  
 

INTERESTING FACTS 

N​● arwhals swim in groups, which people also call a ​blessing.​   

N​● arwhals are nearly threatened 

T​● here are more than 80,000 narwhals left in the world 

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Page 2
THE ARCTIC OCEAN

T​he Narwhals usually live in the ​Arctic w​ aters/ocean, but sometimes they move to other waters. The arctic 

waters are located in Greenland, Canada, Russia, and Norway. The living things in the arctic ocean is squid, 
polar bears, shrimp, penguins, beluga whales, fish, halibut, orcas/whales, cod, cuttlefish, walruses, seals and of 
course, narwhals. The non-living things in this e​ cosystem​ is salt water, icebergs, ice and air. The Arctic ocean is 
cold. But because of global warming, the ice and icebergs melt at summer and spring, and refreeze at autumn 
and winter. The ocean would be covered by ice during June to October. The temperature must reach around 
-1.8 degrees celsius (around 28.8 fahrenheit). The weather depends on the seasons. The c​ haracteristics​ of the 
arctic tundra/waters is the sky is usually gray and cloudy. There is a lot of ice covering the water depending on 
the weather. There is also ​permafrost​ and g​ lobal warming​ (later, there is a page about global warming). Squid, 
polar bears, shrimp, penguins, beluga whales, fish, halibut, orcas/whales, polar bears, cod, cuttlefish, walruses, 
seals and ice makes the ecosystem a lot different to others.  

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Page 3
FOOD WEBS

Th​ e are many f​ ood webs​ in this the arctic tundra/ocean like: krill eats the p​ hytoplankton​, the arctic 

cod eats the krill, then the narwhal eats the arctic cod. The z​ ooplankton​ eats the phytoplankton, the 
shrimp eats the zooplankton, the flounders eat the shrimp, then the narwhals eat the flounders. The 
krill eats the phytoplankton, then the crab eats the krill, lastly the narwhals eat the crabs. The 
zooplankton eats the phytoplankton, then the crabs eats the zooplankton, then the narwhals eat the 
crabs.   

 
FOOD CHAIN 

O​ne of the ​food chains​ in this ecosystem is: The phytoplankton gets sunlight, water, and carbon 

dioxide to keep them growing then the phytoplankton eats the zooplankton. Then the zooplankton to 
the crab and the crab to the arctic cod. And finally, the arctic cod to the narwhal. 

 
FOOD PYRAMID 

On​ e type of food pyramid in this ecosystem is: phytoplankton is the primary producer then the 

zooplankton is the first order consumers then the shrimp and the krill is the second order consumers. 
The third order consumer is the crab. Then the first order predators are the arctic cod and the 
flounders. The second order of consumers is the narwhals. The top predators are the polar bears and 
the orcas (killer whale). 

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A​ p​ icture of a ​food pyramid ​ P​ AGE 4

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Page 5
BALANCES AND IMBALANCES 

In my ecosystem, there are few invasive species in the Arctic tundra/ocean like Atlantic salmon. ​These 
could fight with native salmon, trout, and some other types of fish in the ecosystem for rearing habitat. 
Because Atlantic salmon are carried inside overpopulated cages with many other fish, they often carry 

many diseases and p​ arasites.​ And these infected fish may spread the disease to other fish and Arctic 
animals in the habitat. If you find an i​ nvasive specie​, don’t put it back in the water! G​ lobal warming 

affected the ecosystem many times. Global warming melts the icebergs and the ice that the Arctic 
animals like polar bears and penguins need to lie or stand on, and the temperature gets quite hot for 
animals to survive in it. The animals may become extinct from the effects of global warming and so we 
might never see them again. Even though the Arctic tundra/ocean has many other problems that 
affected their environment, global warming is one of the biggest issues of all. Humans caused many 

negative impacts. There were less species of each animal because of people hunting animals like 
narwhals, fish, orcas (whales), squid, polar bears, etc. Humans are the biggest troublemakers of global 
warming. And there are many effects as I have answered them under the question, ‘What effects have 

global warming had?’. Humans also litter and that causes Arctic animals and fish to die from 
suffocation or sickness from eating the items such as plastics. Humans have also spilled oil in the ocean 
from leaks (boat leaks) or too much oil drilling in the Arctic ocean killing many sea animals and fish. 
Overpopulation and overconsumption by humans is also the reason for global warming which melts 

the icebergs and also creating air pollution. The example of interdependence in the Arctic ocean is 
when many animals depend on each other. So if one animal that is in the food chain no longer exists, 
that means the animals that eats the extinct animal will have no food and die. Then i​ t goes on and the 

animals in the ecosystem will no longer be there and that could include the people. Without invasive species, 
animals that belong to the Arctic ocean are squid, polar bears, shrimp, penguins, beluga whales, fish, halibut, 

orcas/whales, polar bears, cod, cuttlefish, ice, salt water, walruses, and seals. 

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Page 6
ADAPTATIONS

Plants growing close together and low on the ground are few of the adaptations that plants find it 
helpful to survive in the arctic tundra. This technique helps the plants to survive even in the cold. This 
way of growing also helps to reduce the damage on the plants caused by tiny particles of snow (hail) 
that are flown by the dry winds. N​ arwhals have an horn (overgrown tooth) which they use to kill their 
prey or to defend themselves from predators. Narwhals also can detect water pressure, s​ alinity 
(saltiness of the ocean) and temperature using their horns. Narwhals have an air hole located on their 
head to breath air because they are warm blooded air breathing mammals. Narwhals have thick layers 
of blubber to keep them warm even when the ocean is very cold. Narwhals also have smooth skin with 
only the flippers adding much extra surface area. These are the adaptations that the narwhals have. 

Page 7

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Arctic tundra GLOSSARY
Arctic
Tundra usually refers only to the areas where the subsoil is
Blubber permafrost, or permanently frozen soil
carnivores
characteristics The regions around the North Pole
ecosystem
Food chains The fat of sea mammals, especially whales and seals.

Food webs An animal that feeds on flesh

Global warming A feature or quality belonging typically to a person, place,
or thing and serving to identify it
Invasive species
An ecosystem is a large community of living organisms
Permafrost (plants, animals and microbes) in a particular area
Phytoplankton
A food chain shows how each living thing gets food, and
Parasites how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to
creature. Food chains begin with plant-life, and end with
Narwhals horn  animal-life. Some animals eat plants, some animals eat
other animals.

A food web is similar to a food chain but larger. The
diagram combines many food chains into one picture. Food
webs show how plants and animals are connected in many
ways.

Global warming is a long-term rise in the average
temperature of the Earth's climate system, an aspect of
climate change shown by temperature measurements and
by multiple effects of the warming.

An invasive species is defined as a species that is
non-native to the ecosystem under consideration and
whose introduction causes or is likely to cause economic or
environmental harm or harm to human health.

A permanently frozen layer at variable depth below the
surface in frigid regions of a planet (such as earth)

Phytoplankton form the beginning of the food chain for
aquatic animals and fix large amounts of carbon, which
would otherwise be released as carbon dioxide.

A parasite is an organism that lives in another organism,
called the host, and often harms it. Parasites live on or in
other organisms and thrive (definition of thrive: succeed,
etc.)to the detriment (definition of detriment: damage,
injury, hurt, harm, etc.) of their host. Many different
parasites can affect humans, and they can pass on

Zooplankton diseases such as malaria

Plankton consisting of small animals and the immature
stages of larger animals.

Page 8

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Works Cited (list these in alphabetical order)
Use this website to help.
https://elementary.oslis.org/cite-sources/mla-elementary-citation

kids.nationalgeographic.com/animals/narwhal/#narwhal_pod.jpg.
prezi.com/mjcdgpb2xccm/narwhal-food-web/.
www.kidsplayandcreate.com/unicorns-of-the-sea-narwhal-facts-for-kids/​.
www.kidzone.ws/animal-facts/whales/narwhal.htm.​
www.kids-world-travel-guide.com/arctic-ocean-facts.html.​
www.softschools.com/facts/geography/arctic_ocean_facts/1022/  
 

Narwhals horn