Concept 1 Envirothon
Wildlife: Undomesticated species of living organisms interacting with non-living factors in an ecosystem.
Ecosystems:
(Large scale) Biomes: Certain species living in a location with a certain climate and soil type.
(Small scale) Contains a variety of habitats.
Habitat: A local environment. Must supply 5 key things:
Food, water, shelter/cover, space (territory), and arrangement (how these things are placed in the habitat).
An organism may spend its entire life in one habitat or must move to different ones based on their stage of life.
Generalist: Can live in almost any habitat, eat a variety of different foods, and can easily live in close association with people.
Specialist: Require very particular habitat elements or diets. Are more likely to go extinct. Often become endangered due to habitat fragmentation. (Red-cockaded woodpecker).
Keystone species: Create a habitat for other animals (beavers).
Indicator species: Warn of problems in the environment such as pollution (amphibians and songbirds).
Endemic species: Species that only inhabit particular areas.
Symbiosis: Exists when an organism lives in, on, or in close association with another
organism. There are three types of symbiosis:
Mutualism: a relationship in which both organisms' benefit.
Commensalism: a relationship in which one organism benefits while the other organism is neither helped nor harmed.
Parasitism: A relationship in which one organism benefits and the other organism is harmed.
Resource partitioning: When a species specializes in a particular layer of habitat or time of day for hunting.
Territories: Smaller areas that are defended, used for reproduction and feeding.
Home ranges: Larger than territories, they are roamed through but not defended.
Succession/biotic change: Habitats will naturally change over time from one type of vegetation to another.
Primary succession occurs on new land that has no developed soil, such as a volcanic island.
Secondary succession occurs in areas that were previously covered with vegetation but have experienced disturbance.
Climax community: The final community of natural vegetation that does not change unless disturbed. (Oak-hickory Forest in North Carolina).
Biodiversity: Species diversity. Can be categorized as genetic biodiversity (the diversity of genes in a population), species diversity (the diversity of different species in a given area), and ecosystem diversity (the diversity of all the habitats, communities, and processes in an ecosystem).
Ecotones: The area between two habitats where two or more communities meet and combine.
Edge effect: The change in variety of species and the number of each species in these transition areas.
Interior species: Require large expanses of the same type of habitat, do not benefit from the edge effect. (Wood thrush, oven bird, various warblers).
Wetlands: Have large areas of edge-effect, semi-aquatic species are dependent on these areas. In our highly developed Piedmont cities, they may be the only remaining habitat for many organisms. Multitudes of insects and amphibians spend the egg and larval or nymph stages of their lives in these wetlands.
Riparian Areas: Function as filters to help prevent water pollution. Vegetation along the waterway helps catch sediment and chemicals in runoff. Additionally, fallen leaves provide detritus, an important food source for aquatic invertebrates. Vegetation also cools down water as it acts as a shade.
Grassy fields and Meadows: Provides food when it is unavailable in other places, due to the sun directly hitting it.
Forest clearings: A field-type ecosystem. These are also temporary habitats. May be naturally made via wildfires or man-made (clear-cutting).
Fire-maintained Ecosystems: Some habitats have been naturally maintained or kept in a certain stage of succession, such as the longleaf pine forests of eastern North Carolina. The fire-induced stabilization of the coniferous forest has preserved a habitat in place for several species adapted to live there, which include the red-cockaded woodpecker, gopher tortoise (in the Gulf region), fox squirrel, and Bachman’s sparrow, among many others.
Prescribed burns (controlled burns): Are conducted to help keep these forests healthy and provide a good variety of wildlife habitats.
Prescribed burns also help provide diversity within a habitat by opening areas for different stages of successional growth and creating more edge effect.
Longleaf pine forests and pocosins are examples of these ecosystems in North Carolina.
Snags and Downed-logs: Provide areas for nesting, roosting, foraging, denning, or escape cover. Snags, downed logs, and woody debris from them are natural occurrences in a mature forest (over 60 years old).
Snag: A standing dead or dying tree.
Downed log: A fallen tree or snag that is lying on or near the forest floor.
Snags are used by black bears for their dens and are important for cavity nester such as woodpeckers and owls. Amphibians such as salamanders will live and feed beneath the decaying log and some species, such as the spotted salamander, will lay its eggs in a jelly-like mass in this area. The dead and decaying wood provides food and homes for insects.
Carrying capacity: The maximum number of individuals of a species that a habitat can support without degradation of that particular habitat.
Limiting Factors: The quality and quantity of food, water, or cover. Limiting factors can
also include predation or disease.
Humans are included in both carrying capacity and limiting factors.