Novosibirsk Islands, Russia Photograph by © WWF/J.S. GROVE   Palaearctic Tundra   14,200 square miles (36,900 square kilometers) -- about the size of New Jersey and Connecticut combined Relatively Stable/Intact

· Islands of the Arctic
· Special Features
· Did You Know?
· Wild Side
· Cause for Concern
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Islands of the Arctic

This is a land of permafrost and polar bears. These relatively flat arctic islands are among the least known in the world.

Special Features

Located between the Laptev and Eastern Siberian Seas off the northeastern coast of Russia, the New Siberian Islands are an example of arctic desert in the eastern Russian Arctic. Several small rivers and numerous lakes dot these islands, which have only a few small hills. Kotelny, the largest island, is almost completely covered by a flat, sandy area with little to no vegetation. Areas of tundra are created on all the islands by permafrost, with vegetation containing dwarf-shrub, moss, grass communities, and willow species. In boggy areas tussocks of cotton grass species grow out of the murky landscape.

	Sanderlings can make do with surprisingly little vegetation. This circumpolar species makes nests on barren arctic tundra, using only a few leaves in a slight depression in the ground.

Wild Side

Both plant and animal communities have less diversity on these harsh arctic islands than in areas farther south. However, this ecoregion provides some of the only breeding grounds for two species of migratory sandpiper: red knots and sanderlings. Red knots are chunky shorebirds that prefer the mud flats and sandy beaches of arctic islands. As one of the world’s most recognized sandpipers, sanderlings can often be seen running along the edge of waves in search of food. This ecoregion also provides important denning areas for polar bears and is home to a productive wolf population, whose numbers are on the rise.

Cause for Concern

Although somewhat protected by their isolation, these islands are threatened by a proposed northern shipping route. This route would open oil, gas, and other natural resources to extraction and export by sea.

For more information on this ecoregion, go to the World Wildlife Fund Scientific Report.