Classroom Questions

Questions for ‘There’s life beneath the snow — but it’s at risk of melting away’ 

A small fluffy pine marten stands on a snowbank in front of a brushline. There is a snow measuring stick ahead of the brushline and just to the right of the middle of the image. The snow stops just before the number 20 on the stick.

“Hmm. Is it deep enough, do you think?” A pine marten looks at a snow-measuring stick in New Hampshire. Martens can hunt in the tiny spaces underneath the snow — an ecosystem called the subnivium.

Alexej Siren

By Science News Explores

To accompany ‘There’s life beneath the snow — but it’s at risk of melting away’  

SCIENCE

Before Reading:

  1. What is an ecosystem? List three different ecosystems. Think about the different organisms within an ecosystem — including microbes and fungi, as well as plants and animals. What are some ways that these organisms interact? Describe at least three or four types of such interactions.
  2. Many forests in northern latitudes get cold and snowy during winter. Their inhabitants have developed many ways to adapt to life in wintry conditions. For example, trees may drop their leaves and some mammals may change the color or thickness of their fur. List as many other types of such behavioral and other adaptations to the cold that you can think of.

During Reading:

  1. What is the subnivium? Where can it be found?
  2. How is winter precipitation expected to change as the world warms? What effect will that have on the subnivium?
  3. What temperature does the ground stay underneath a snowpack?
  4. What is a major activity of bacteria and fungi in the soil during winter?
  5. Why do arthropods and other exothermic creatures require above-freezing temperatures to remain active through winter?
  6. How do birds such as grouse use the subnivium?
  7. How are decomposition and soil respiration important for a forest ecosystem? Why is the timing of snowmelt important for this ecosystem benefit?
  8. Why can less snow result in the ground getting colder? How is the current rate of climate change expected to affect the duration of the subnivium?
  9. How can the absence of the subnivium affect hibernating marmots?
  10.  What are climate refuges? Where can they be found?

After Reading:

  1. If the duration of the subnivium’s existence in a location were to decrease by one month, how would you expect the amount of carbon and other nutrients in the soil to change? How might this alter plant growth the next summer? Think of another group of organisms besides the plants themselves that could be affected by reduced plant growth. To what degree do you think these effects might be reversible if thicker snow returns the next year? What types of changes might not be reversible?
  2. A great deal of research has been done on ways to protect various endangered species. As the world warms, the subnivium could become an endangered ecosystem. What role could climate refuges play in helping save the subnivium? Thinking about the activities that take place in the subnivium, come up with another potential approach that might help protect this ecosystem and its function in forests.