Flora and Fauna
(8p-28p)
Producers:
●Firs: Firs grow to be about 30-120 ft tall and procuce pine cones. They have needels for leaves and when they sheed they add to the aciditiy of the soil.(7) ●Hemlocks: These trees grow best in cold damp climates. they grow from about 100-150.(7) ●Larches: The larch produces flowers, fruit, and pines cones. It grows in moist soil and has flat needles as leaves. the needles help the snow to slide of to the ground.(7) ●Mosses: The mosses help with moister and pioneer areas that have experienced fires or full destruction.(7) ●Whitebark pine tree:The trees produce nuts for bears and squirrels, and are major habitats for organisms and because they can grow in many areas also help with pioneering animals.(7) ●White spruce: They can 300 years old and produce pine cones. they are also conifers and grow year round. (7) ●Aquatic grass: This is a food source for moose and deer and several insects. it grows great in moist environment(7) ●Scots Pine: these trees grow pine cones and needles as leaves. they grow to be relatively the same size as furs. (7) ● Grass: This is the majority of vegetation that grows on the ground considering the little amount of light that reaches down to the ground. (7) |
Consumers:
Primary: ●Ground Squirrel: They eat grass and nuts from trees. They stand up on their hind legs and screech to aleart their families of danger. (7) ●Insects: They eat grasses and leaves of trees. they also help with pollonation. (7) ●Moose: They eat aquatic grass and their long legs allow them to wade through the snow. Also they can digest pine needels. (7) ●Mule deer: They eat grass and aquatic grasses. Their long legs also give them the advantage of being able to move in the snow. (7) ●Porcupine: They eat nuts from trees and have their quills to protect them from predators.(7) ●Snowshoe hare: They have wide feet that allow them to jump over the snow without sinking. They eat grass and they are a major food source for many organisms.(7) ●Sierra Nevada Bighorn Sheep: They eat grass and are a big food source to mountain lions. They havebig horns to protect themselves from predators.(7) Secondary: ●Mountain lion: They eat the the bighorned sheep and they eat deer.(7) ●Great horned owl: It has great hearing so it can locate prey beneath the snow such as snowshoe hares and it has sharp talons and a sharp beak.(7) ●Passerine birds: They eat insects and can perch because of the way their toes are. (7) ●Lynx: They are sneaky animals that can creep on its prey for a quick kill. (7) ●Fisher: The fisher is a small animal that can flip a porcupine over to its stomach and scoop out the insides. (7) ●Sierra Nevada red fox: This is an endagereed speicies and eats snowshoe hares.(7) Tertiary: ●Northern hammer hawk: They swoop down and grab smaller birds to eat. (7) ●Wolves: They are very feirce predators and consume red foxes, mooses, deer and fishers. They have a very keen sense of smelling and hearing which allows them to locate their prey. (7) ●Black bears: They have thick coats and eat deer, fishers, and nuts. (7) |
Keystone species: An example of a keystone species in Yosemite National Park is the Whitebark Pine tree(8). If this tree was removed form the ecosystem then bears and squirrels would loose a food source in the ecosystem(9). The bear and the squirrel both eat the nuts that are grow on the tree(10) . The bear stashes a large amount of them away before hibernation to eat after the winter. The tree also provides a home and food source to many insects when it is alive AND dead. Also, due to the wide range of conditions the tree can grow under, it often pioneers areas and are the leading organisms to bring life to a barren area. Because the tree can cause high elevation snow accumulation and slow snow melt the periods of ephemeral stream flow are extended. The Whitebark Pine tree plays a major role in the ecosystem of the Yosemite and the biome of the taiga, but because of the exotic pest known as White pine blister rust, the population of the tree is starting to decrease. If this tree disappears then a major ecological necessity will be striped from the animals and environment that needs it for survival.
Predator-prey relationships
2 examples of Predator-prey relationships are the porcupine and the fisher, and the snowshoe Hare and the Sierra Nevada Red Fox.
1.) The Fisher is the predator and the Porcupine is the prey. The Fisher will quickly flip the porcupine over and get to the squishy belly of the animal to avoid the sharp, pointy quills.
2.) The Sierra Nevada Red Fox is the predator and the Snowshoe Hare is the prey. The Fox will sneak up on the quick and clever rabbit to snag it for a tasty meal.
Role of predation:
Predation keeps the populations of prey from growing to an overwhelmingly large number. When populations of the prey get large the predator have a larger food source allowing their population to expand and bring the population of the prey back down to a lower number. Predation also helps with natural selection. The slower, weaker, or lacking organisms will be the easiest to hunt, and therefore at a genetic disadvantage. These organisms will be preyed upon and taken out of the gene pool, and those organisms that have traits to avoid being the main course will reproduce and pass those traits on to their offspring. Two examples of predation controlling the population size would be that the Snowshoe Hare population is prey to the Great Horned Owl, the Sierra Nevada Red Fox, the Wolves, the Lynxes, and the Fisher. The Snowshoe Hare population multiplies very rapidly and with all these organisms as its predators it keeps the population of the Hare relatively constant. Another example would be the Fisher population. The Fisher is prey to the Lynx, the Wolves, and the Black Bears. All these predators keep the Fisher population stable.
(7p-28p)http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/boreal.htm
(29p) http://envirosysso.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
(7) "Animals." nps.gov. n.p. may 2, 2014.
(8)'Whitebark pine.nps.gov. n.p. may 2, 2014
(9) "Whitebark Pine Communities." nrmsc.usgs. n.p. may 2013.
(10) Kendall, Katherine. "use of pine nuts by grizzly and black bears in the yellowstone area." science n.d. 166-173. n.p. Web. March 4, 2014
Predator-prey relationships
2 examples of Predator-prey relationships are the porcupine and the fisher, and the snowshoe Hare and the Sierra Nevada Red Fox.
1.) The Fisher is the predator and the Porcupine is the prey. The Fisher will quickly flip the porcupine over and get to the squishy belly of the animal to avoid the sharp, pointy quills.
2.) The Sierra Nevada Red Fox is the predator and the Snowshoe Hare is the prey. The Fox will sneak up on the quick and clever rabbit to snag it for a tasty meal.
Role of predation:
Predation keeps the populations of prey from growing to an overwhelmingly large number. When populations of the prey get large the predator have a larger food source allowing their population to expand and bring the population of the prey back down to a lower number. Predation also helps with natural selection. The slower, weaker, or lacking organisms will be the easiest to hunt, and therefore at a genetic disadvantage. These organisms will be preyed upon and taken out of the gene pool, and those organisms that have traits to avoid being the main course will reproduce and pass those traits on to their offspring. Two examples of predation controlling the population size would be that the Snowshoe Hare population is prey to the Great Horned Owl, the Sierra Nevada Red Fox, the Wolves, the Lynxes, and the Fisher. The Snowshoe Hare population multiplies very rapidly and with all these organisms as its predators it keeps the population of the Hare relatively constant. Another example would be the Fisher population. The Fisher is prey to the Lynx, the Wolves, and the Black Bears. All these predators keep the Fisher population stable.
(7p-28p)http://www.marietta.edu/~biol/biomes/boreal.htm
(29p) http://envirosysso.blogspot.com/2010_08_01_archive.html
(7) "Animals." nps.gov. n.p. may 2, 2014.
(8)'Whitebark pine.nps.gov. n.p. may 2, 2014
(9) "Whitebark Pine Communities." nrmsc.usgs. n.p. may 2013.
(10) Kendall, Katherine. "use of pine nuts by grizzly and black bears in the yellowstone area." science n.d. 166-173. n.p. Web. March 4, 2014