ARCTIC
Polar Desert

This is about as desolate as it gets in the northern hemisphere, but there is still life here! 

As you travel further north on land, or in places where the colder water and wind currents are stronger, even the tundra plants starts to peter out. These are the areas that are mostly covered in ice during winter. During the summer, you can see that the land is typically carved clean by ice, and there are mounds of rubble dumped by glaciers. There is barely even lichen. However, there is some animal life....  


The ‘Ivory Gull’ is an Arctic breeding endemic, and usually placed in it’s very own genus. This gull is usually found around desolate rocky beaches, glacial walls and sea ice, with the genus name meaning ‘sea-ice lover’. They may scavenge off dead seals and around Polar Bear kills. It often goes unnoticed due to it’s white colour and blending into their icy habitats.

ivory-gullIvory Gull (Svalbard)

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About the author

me-lake-king

Written by Damon Ramsey. All photographs by author (unless credited otherwise). This is not AI written. Images and information are added to this website continuously as of 2026. Feel free to copy photographs for educational purposes, but please acknowledge with: www.ecosystem-guides.com.  Ecosystem Guides posts pretty shots on Instagram and some sillier photos on Facebook.  Contact Email: damon@ecosystem-guides.com

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