Final Obstervation #8

A. By the snake river

B. 5-29-08

C.6:50 PM

D.53 degrees Fahrenheit

E. Cloudy

F. some wind, 14 mph

G. Semi moist

H. Plants will continue to grow rapidly

I. Today I saw a bald eagle flying over the observation area for a while and then it left.  After lots of time in the observation site I have predicted a realistic food web that shows the transfer of energy.  It starts with the producers that photosynthesise and get energy in that matter, the antelope bitter brushes, the grasses and the trees are the main producers.  Then primary consumers such as the birds, geese, and moose, get energy by eating the producers.  Secondary consumers, like spiders, eat primary consumers, like insects such as bees, to continue the flow of energy.  The bald eagle would be the tertiary consumer in this web that eats fish, other birds, as well as secondary consumers.  Decomposers, like bacteria and fungi, then break down the dead and give nutrients to the plants, continuing the never ending cycle of energy that the ecosystem has.

Works Cited

Works Cited

Dewey, Tanya. "Information." Animal Diversity Web. 27 May 2008 . "Moose Facts." My moose. 27 May 2008 . "Purshia tridentata." Las pilitas. 27 May 2008 . "Purshia tridentata." Wikipedia. 9 Mar. 2008. 27 May 2008 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Antelope_bitterbrush.

Antelope Bitterbrush.5-27-08.<>
Moose.5-26-08.<>

Flora report: Antelope Bitterbrush

The antelope bitterbrush (Purshia tridentata) is native to Wyoming. Besides the name antelope bitterbrush, it can be called antelope brush, buck brush, quinine brush, grease wood, deer brush and black brush. An average antelope bitterbrush is one to five meters tall. It is a nitrogen fixing shrub that lives in the western part of North America and their flower color is white. Nitrogen fixing is when atmospheric nitrogen is taken from its original state and converted into nitrogen compounds such as nitrogen dioxide and ammonia. This is important because plants cannot use atmospheric nitrogen and they need the bacteria like ammonia and nitrogen dioxide so this further expands the antelope bitterbrush’s niche. This particular bush is one of the extremely of weather changes, especially droughts. It thrives in dry conditions with little water often living on bare ground. This is also beneficial because antelope bitterbrush bushes have high sunlight requirements. These sunlight requirements make the antelope bitterbrushes live in bare-ground conditions and the presence of species that block their sun would outcompete the antelope bitterbrushes and kill the population. Seeds from the bushes provide a food source for a variety of organisms such as squirrels and birds. Plants benefit from squirrels and birds because they must spread the seeds around and make the population grow. A few niches that an antelope bitterbrush bush can create are food for birds, food for squirrels and webs for spiders. Another niche, although not natural, is that the antelope bitterbrush is used for cough medicine.

Observation # 7

A. By the snake river

B. 5-27-08

C. 5:30 PM

D. 53 degrees Fahrenheit

E. Mostly cloudy

F. a bit of wind, 7 miles-per-hour

G. A little moist, but mostly dry

H. More bird species will inhabit the community

I. The first thing I noticed this time, was that the trees have lots more leaves, green leaves, most likely because of the rain. The sound of many birds chirping became apparent soon after I arrived upon the observation sight. Although I heard them it took me a while to spot them because there was an abundance of leaves and the birds were hidden throughout them. I think the rain has kept the river levels high and raised the diversity in flora. Overall, the observation sight looks greener.

Observation #6

A.By the snake river

B. 5-22-08

C. 3:40 PM

D. 41 degrees Fahrenheit

E. Raining

F. A little wind

G. Moist

H. River water levels will rise

I. Rain these past days has made a difference in the ecosystem of my observation location.  An organism has presented himself in the presence of this weather. The worm has risen up from the soil because of the rain.  This makes for a fine meal for the birds, a predator to the worms.  I think worms have a sort of defense against birds by not coming out of the soil which can be either phenological separation or masting but I am leaning more towards phenological separation.  Worms and soil have a symbiotic relationship of mutualism.  I believe this to be true because the worm fertilizes the soil and the soil provides a safe place for the worm to live in for a while.  Weather can really change things around, besides the worms and water levels in the river, the trees have started to grow leaves.  Overall the ecosystem has benefited from the weather this week.

Fauna Report

The scientific name for the moose is Alces alces. It’s height at the shoulders can reach seven feet. An adult moose can weigh over one-thousand-three-hundred pounds and moose are the largest animals of the deer family with the largest antler worldwide. They are mainly solitary animals but sometimes two feed can along the same stream. Moose are excellent swimmers and can keep up a speed of 6 miles per hour. Both male and female moose reach reproductive maturity at the age of 2 years. Moose mate in fall in September and October and moose reach their reproductive peak at 4 or 5 years of age.
A moose’s survival needs consists of food, water, shelter, space and a comfortable temperature (23-80 degrees Fahrenheit). Their eating habits are eating lots of wood like bark, twigs, and roots. They prefer willows and aspens and when it gets warm, moose look for water plants like pondweed, water lilies, and bladderworts. Their eating habits change in the winter when they start eating needle-like leaves and conifers such as balsam fir. They like to live in early successional areas that have been logged or recently burned down. In winter they like areas where the snow is sixty to seventy centimeters deep. Moose usually stay in cool place because of their inability to sweat and large size. In the summer they can’t tolerate 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so they seek streams and ponds. Moose tend not to get preyed on but they are rarely preyed on when they are sick or when they are calves by grizzlies or wolves. Their niche is to eat the twigs and bark off trees which can damage trees and to kill and damage grass when they sleep. This destroys the grass’s niche and in turn they are not able to photosynthesise.Moose play an important part in the ecosystem in which they live in. Without them, things can go wrong.

Observation #5

A. By the snake river

B. 5-19-08

C. 5:30 PM

D.68 degrees Fahrenheit

E. Partly cloudy

F. A little windy.  8 mph wind

G. Dry, a bit firmer

H. If bird feeder were to be removed the bird population would go down like by 30%

I.  The warmer temperatures this weekend had an effect on the river. At 80 degrees Fahrenheit, the snow was melting fast and creating erosion since the river had more water and traveled at greater speed.  As I was walking along by the river I kicked a rock and saw a couple spiders run across the rock and out of site.  At first they were hard to see, this was because of their camouflage which made them look the same color as the rocks.  The camouflage serves them as a good adaptation against predators like birds that seeked live prey.  Spider populations are most likely in check because of the predator vs prey situation involving the birds and spiders.  

Observation #4

A. By snake river
B.5-14-08
C.3:30
D.48 degrees Fahrenheit
E.It was cloudy and I felt a couple rain drops. The temperature was a little cold.
F. A bit of wind
G. Soft, and moist
h. The moose won't come back because soon it will get warmer and more hot.
This time when I came to make my observation I focused on the birds. I have not paid very much attention to them before but now as I observed them more closely I have found one of their food sources. This food source I speak of is a bird feeder. The birds crowded around the bird feeder. Interspecific competition exists between these birds over the bird feeder because there is at least two types of birds, Sparrows and an unknown species to me that I could not identify. From a distance you could barely see that some birds were slightly heftier than others, which I am sure is a result of the competition between the birds although it could also be that they are different species of birds. Soil conditions were moist because of little rain we had recieved. I expect worms to rise because of the rain and this could provide birds with a new source of food, expanding their niche.

Observation #3

Not much has changed in my observation spot by the snake river. I made my observation on May, 12 at 3:40 PM. It was cold that day, the temperature was around 45 degrees Fahrenheit. The sun was shining but it was partly cloudy and a bit windy. Soil conditions were dry and soft, It doesn't really support very much flora. I think what really brings some life to this area is the abiotic factors like the river because biotic factors like the bushes and grasses are not yet very alive. I am pretty sure that I saw gooslings but I am not sure how old they were. They looked big so maybe they migrated from somewhere else. I also saw a new population of sparrows.

Observation #2

I did my observation in the same spot again at the snake river at 6 PM May 7. It was about 53 degrees outside and it was partly cloudy and not windy. The soil was soft. I saw a population of three geese swimming in the river. I predict that those geese will stay in that ecosystem for a pretty long time because of the water. I also found some type of bacteria growing in the dirt. The biodiversity is at a medium level I would say because of the organisms in the community found there like, moose, geese, birds, bacteria, trees and bushes.

Observation #1

My first observation took place over by the snake river May 5th at 6:50 PM. The weather was nice and warm, it was partly cloudy but most the time it was sunny. The temperature was at 57 degrees Fahrenheit. It was not really windy and there was just an occasional light breeze. There were bushes there but they had no leaves. The soil was soft but most plants are still leafless. The area has like two seperate areas in which one there is lots of rocks by the river and on the other side there is grass and trees. I found moose scat and I think that moose sometimes go there to drink water. I hypothesise that the bushes will grow leaves and stuff that moose can eat and the moose will come back and eat in there. There were birds in the trees but I didn't know what kind of birds there were. There weren't many bugs but I saw a couple spider webs. The river water was calm by the edge and that supports my hypothesis of moose drinking water there. I also found tracks by the river which I suspect are moose tracks.