J.+Panteloukas

​ My family is well... pretty funny. theres my mom and shes really cool. She thinks shes funny, but shes not as funny as she thinks she is. =) Then theres my dad. He's a workaholic =( but thats ok. He's mid-thirties and he's really fun to hang out with. Those are my parents. =) I also have a brother. 2 actually. Jared and Josuhua. I've never talked to Joshua, but I text Jared all the time. I love my family.

My hobbies? I really don't have any hobbiees. I do collect old records though.I have about 50+ records. I also collect cassettes and cds. I love music. Sports? Well i played soccer for about 5 years but i stopped because it got boring. i played baseball for about a year. Then I tried out for basketball. I didn't make the team, but the try-outs were fun. =) Next year (against my own will) I'm going to play football. That will be horrible and fun at the same time. Activities? I tutor, in TLC and I tutor my friends, and I play chess alot. That's about it =)

My pets? Well I have 1 dog and his name is Max. He is pretty loud and obnoxious. I had another dog, Abby. She died about a year ago. She had liver problems, so we put her down. =( She was an awesome dog. Those are and were my pets

My favorite color? Green. I LOVE green. Specifically forest green. Favorite food? Taco salad with ground beef, doritoes, black olives, cheese, and ranch dressing. It is extremely delicious. My spare time? When i have free time, which i barely do, i usually listen to music. I really don't have anything better to do. =)

Something intersting about me? I have straight A's and well... I can't think of anything else. But i am pretty odd. =)

I guess that I relate to the black bear =) Mostly because i couldn't think of anything other than the black bear. =) I also relate to the black bear because I'm big and ferocious. =) Hahahaha

__** My Facts: Climate **__
 * In the taiga, summers are warm and rainy, and the winters are very cold. There is lots of snow in the forests, too. During the summer, it is usually around 70 degrees Fahrenheit. In the winter, the high temperature averages around 30 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas the low temperature is 65 degrees BELOW zero! Now that is very cold! BRRRRRR!
 * The taiga gets about 12-33 inches of rain in one year. Look at the chart below to compare the rainfall in the taiga to the other biomes.
 * During the summer months, the taiga is prone to wildfires because of the hot temperatures and the small amount of rain.


 * The winters are up to six months with mean temperatures and short summers. They have 50-100 frost free days.



> - short and stocky arms and legs. > - thick, insulating cover of feathers or fur. > - color changing feathers or fur: brown in summer, and white in winter. > - thick fat layer gained quickly during spring in order to have continual energy and warmth during winter months. > - many tundra animals have adapted especially to prevent their bodily fluids from freezing solid. > - resident animals like the ptarmigan and the ground squirrel use solar heating to stay warm and save energy. Both animals stay out in the sun to warm up and during the summer when the weather is warm, seek shade to cool off.
 * __ My Facts: Animal and their Adaptations __**
 * There are many animals that make the taiga their home. Many birds breed in the taiga in the spring and summer. As the snow melts in the spring, insects lay their eggs in the water. The insects attract a wide variety of species of birds to the taiga like the [|spruce grouse] and mammals like pine marten, [|moose], wolf, [|fisher], [|Canada lynx], and[|grizzly bear] can be found in the taiga. These mammals all have thick coats that protect them from the cold.
 * Some animals have structural adaptations that help them survive in the taiga. The Canada lynx's wide paws work like snowshoes. They distribute the lynx's weight, and help it move in the snow. Grizzly bears avoid the coldest weather by going into their dens in the fall and staying there until the early spring. They have a protective layer of fat that allows them to stay in their dens while the weather is cold. They don't hibernate but just sleep lightly and stay out of the cold!
 * In some instances, the adaptation of a seasonal change in color of feathers or fur protects the animal from its predators. The ermine, a small mammal, is a good example of this adaptation. Its dark brown summer coat changes to white in the winter. This adaptation helps the ermine blend into its surroundings and makes it more difficult for the ermine's predators to spot them.
 * Some common adaptations of resident animals in the arctic and alpine tundra:

__** My Facts: Plants and their Adaptations **__
 * Coniferous trees like spruce, hemlock, pine and fir are commonly found in the taiga. Most coniferous trees are **evergreen** and are specially adapted to survive in this biome. Evergreen trees are cone-shaped to help snow slide off them so the branches won't break. The leaves or needles of evergreen trees lose less water than other kinds of leaves. This also helps them survive. Some broad-leaved trees like birch and aspen have adapted to the taiga, too. Both trees are very flexible and don't break easily when covered with ice and snow!


 * Many trees are evergreen so that plants can photosynthesize right away when temperatures rise, and many trees have needle-like leaves which shape loses less water and sheds snow more easily than broad leaves
 * Waxy coating on needles prevent evaporation, and the needles are dark in color allowing more solar heat to be absorbed.
 * Many trees have branches that droop downward to help shed excess snow to keep the branches from breaking.


 * [[image:http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/images/pine.jpg width="191" height="167" align="center" caption="Needle-like Leaves"]] || [[image:http://www.mbgnet.net/bioplants/images/conifer.jpg width="150" height="198" align="center" caption="Conifer Tree"]] ||
 * Needle-like leaves help reduce water loss and aids in the shedding of snow. || The shape of many conifer trees helps shed heavy snow to save branches from breaking. ||