Select Location on Arda
Stingrays are well adapted to live in oceans off of lands with tropical climates. For example, on present day Earth, the blue-spotted ribbontail ray lives off the coast of Australia, where there is a tropical climate and is hot most of the time. The stingray has to live in water to survive, so it must therefore live in water even on planet Arda. In the maps, I have circled the place where the blue-spotted ribbontail ray would most likely live considering the placement of the biomes. It would live off the coast of the Hither Lands, where it is a green color. The green represents the tropical biome, so the stingray would most likely survive off the coast there because of the water temperature and conditions. It could probably find food sources and everything it would need to live in the marine biome on Planet Arda, more specifically the coral reef biome. Surface waters vary from 70-100 degrees Fahrenheit (21-38 degrees Celsius), off the coast of tropical areas. The coral reefs provide plenty of small crustaceans to feed on, places to hide such as caves, and correct conditions for many marine plants to grow that serve as the basis of the food chain.
Environmental Changes
Looking at the maps showing the changes in ocean temperature, the red generally stays around the same area, so the stingray could live there almost all the time. However, during the ice age around ten million years ago (on Planet Arda), it would have been more difficult for the stingray to survive. It needs a warm climate, and does not do well in cold climates. It would have been hard to survive because of the ice but if an average day was indeed around 13 degrees Celsius (58 degrees Fahrenheit) it could have survived if it stayed in the warmest parts of the ocean, near the Hither Lands where the ocean has a red color in the maps. The planet increasingly got warmer because the ice melted, and that would have been good for the stingray. The stingray thrives in warm water environments and the increasing temperature after the ice age would’ve helped it. Global warming helped the biome become more tropical, which was a positive thing for the blue-spotted ribbontail ray.
Impact on Other Organisms
The changes experienced on Planet Arda over time would have impacted the stingray population. In the Ice Age, the populations of the stingrays would have dwindled because the cold climate makes it harder for them to survive. If the stingrays died off, so must have their predators, the humans and sharks because they couldn’t have gotten the stingrays for food since they died off. This is good for the stingrays if their predators died off to, that way when the climate becomes warmer again, the stingrays will be able to rebuild their population without interference. However, when the stingray population grows drastically, their prey (small crustaceans) will run out faster. With more stingrays, there needs to be more food. Without an abundance of small crustaceans, there will be much interspecies competition between the blue-spotted ribbontail rays, and eventually the fit will survive and the population will even itself out again.
Stingrays are well adapted to live in oceans off of lands with tropical climates. For example, on present day Earth, the blue-spotted ribbontail ray lives off the coast of Australia, where there is a tropical climate and is hot most of the time. The stingray has to live in water to survive, so it must therefore live in water even on planet Arda. In the maps, I have circled the place where the blue-spotted ribbontail ray would most likely live considering the placement of the biomes. It would live off the coast of the Hither Lands, where it is a green color. The green represents the tropical biome, so the stingray would most likely survive off the coast there because of the water temperature and conditions. It could probably find food sources and everything it would need to live in the marine biome on Planet Arda, more specifically the coral reef biome. Surface waters vary from 70-100 degrees Fahrenheit (21-38 degrees Celsius), off the coast of tropical areas. The coral reefs provide plenty of small crustaceans to feed on, places to hide such as caves, and correct conditions for many marine plants to grow that serve as the basis of the food chain.
Environmental Changes
Looking at the maps showing the changes in ocean temperature, the red generally stays around the same area, so the stingray could live there almost all the time. However, during the ice age around ten million years ago (on Planet Arda), it would have been more difficult for the stingray to survive. It needs a warm climate, and does not do well in cold climates. It would have been hard to survive because of the ice but if an average day was indeed around 13 degrees Celsius (58 degrees Fahrenheit) it could have survived if it stayed in the warmest parts of the ocean, near the Hither Lands where the ocean has a red color in the maps. The planet increasingly got warmer because the ice melted, and that would have been good for the stingray. The stingray thrives in warm water environments and the increasing temperature after the ice age would’ve helped it. Global warming helped the biome become more tropical, which was a positive thing for the blue-spotted ribbontail ray.
Impact on Other Organisms
The changes experienced on Planet Arda over time would have impacted the stingray population. In the Ice Age, the populations of the stingrays would have dwindled because the cold climate makes it harder for them to survive. If the stingrays died off, so must have their predators, the humans and sharks because they couldn’t have gotten the stingrays for food since they died off. This is good for the stingrays if their predators died off to, that way when the climate becomes warmer again, the stingrays will be able to rebuild their population without interference. However, when the stingray population grows drastically, their prey (small crustaceans) will run out faster. With more stingrays, there needs to be more food. Without an abundance of small crustaceans, there will be much interspecies competition between the blue-spotted ribbontail rays, and eventually the fit will survive and the population will even itself out again.