Ecology

The habitat for Southern Sea otter includes the sea bottoms that are normally muddy and rocky, and such areas that are full if kelp canopy, which they use if for resting or foraging.  Given the water environment, a big challenge faced by Southern sea otter is the high rate of heat conductivity which means that it losses body heat quite rapidly than mammals such as Kangaroo Rat. The metabolic rate for the otter is higher than Kangaroo, which is a land mammal, so as to generate high amount of body heat, and the higher metabolic rate explains the need for higher intake of calories (Simon, 2010).   The water habitat may be 15.5 degree Celsius bellow their body temperatures which  , and they do not have a insulating fat layer that is found in Kangaroo rat and hence they have to depend on their higher level of metabolism and  dense far that traps air.  Each hair has ratchet-like and scaly cuticle, with some scales running to the tip from the root and others running in opposite direction an arrangement which allows interlocking of hairs. The little spaces between these hairs enable effective trapping of air which forms an insulating layer preventing penetration of water into the skin and therefore heat loss (Simon, 2010).  

 

The southern sea otter can have a countercurrent system of heat exchange, where its veins and arteries are close so that part of the heat in blood travelling through these arteries is transmitted to blood in veins instead of being transferred to the environment. This adaptation assists otters in body heat conservation. It also holds its   feet out of the water, a behavior which enable a reduction in heat loss and absorption of radiant heat coming from the sun. The sea otter normally groom itself continuously at the water surface which helps maintaining water repellant and insulating fur properties which is important for survival (Simon, 2010).  The animals also forage during day and night to keep up with the required energy for heat supply. The otter has smaller tails which reduces its surface area while its base is quite plump and flattens towards the tip so that it can swim rapidly under water. It has webbed feet which allows floating and movement in the water.  Moreover, the lung capacity is larger than that if mammals like kangaroo rat, which makes it to be buoyant, so that they are able to sleep and rest normally on water surface.  They have front paws which allow them to find food and the whiskers around the muzzle can detect fish movement making it easier for them to hunt in a water environment (Simon, 2010).

 

On the other hand, Kangaroo rat lives in open grasslands, desert scrub, and sandy soil and in washes. Such areas have very little water but this animal has to maintain the same water content in their body just like other mammals. Unlike the Southern sea otter which has plenty of sea water for consumption, the desert and semi-arid environment present a water challenge to the animal given that it has not ability to store water. The rat’s body is adapted to converting dry seeds they consume into water, while they do not pant or sweat so as to keep them cool In (Feldhamer, 2015). While Southern Sea otter’s body is adapted to generate more heat, the kangaroo rat strives to stay as cool as possible.  The skin of the kangaroo rat is covered with oily coats, an adaptation which prevents loss of water through sweating. In relation to this, the animals mostly stay inside burrows they dig with their feet during the day when there is much heat and only emerge for food foraging after sun set to prevent water loss.  Moreover, its kidneys are very efficient so they can lose little water while execrating waste and this allows it to survive in their dry habitats without drinking water. The metabolic process yield enough water from the seeds required in the body. Given the sandy grounds in the environment, their feet are large and hairy which facilitates jumping soft and loose sand. Its nasal passage allow water conservation and moisture re-absorption from own breath. The eyes of the rat are large and luminous and adaptation which help in night vision since these nocturnal (Feldhamer, 2015). 

The production of nutrients in temperate terrestrial forests involves the input of a community of organisms and their interaction with biotic factors. The primary producers of nutrients in this process are the autotrophs, organisms that are able to produce their own food by use of light energy, carbon dioxide, water and other chemicals. The main autotroph includes the plants and some bacteria types and they are the ultimate supporters of other organisms in the forest ecosystem. These organisms normally feed as detritivores and form a key link between the consumers and primary producers in the ecosystem.  These primary producers decompose the organic materials and then transfer various chemical elements to abiotic reserves like water, air and soil and later recycle the elements to form organic compounds (Wehr, Munger, McManus, Nelson, Zahniser, Davidson & Saleska, 2016).  The primary production, therefore, involves autotrophs fixating energy into this ecosystem, with terrestrial production of food being limited by moisture and temperature. This involves a decomposition process, where chemical and physical interaction occurs inside the organisms and it result from leaching, fragmentation and chemical alteration of this organic matter due to the activities of the organisms. The processes make various nutrients to be available in the soil, water and air so that they can be absorbed by plants (Wehr et. al 2016).

 The distribution in the terrestrial forests occurs under the influence of climate, abiotic properties that include parent material and topography and biotic communities.   A fast phytomass accumulation is linked to the movement of nutrients into the vegetation into the soil.  The nutrients produced in the decomposition process and which are distributed to the plants includes phosphorous, nitrogen, carbon and so much more.  The distribution of these nutrients involves their uptake to the root surface and these are later absorbed by trees and other vegetations (Wehr et. al 2016).  Nutrient content is more in forest floors of tropical forests due to slow decomposition during cold seasons. When the temperature is low, there is lower nutrient turnover because of low soil temperature and hence low primary production.  Low temperatures are known to reduce the activity of microorganisms which makes nutrients accumulation in soil to reduce.  The biotic factors affect distribution of the nutrients in these forests, so that they will be limited due to low production and trees can absorb the nutrients prior to adverse climate conditions reducing their dependence on forest soils for inorganic nutrients (Wehr et. al 2016). 

The abiotic factors influence the distribution of nutrients and the difference in parental material elemental content influence the capacity of soil to supply nutrients. For trees in the seasonal temperate forests, the precipitation happens throughout the year although most of it may occur as a result if severe storms.   During autumn, the plants drop their leaves, which decompose and make the soil in temperate forest to be quite deep and rich with different nutrients. The decomposed foliage especially from plants that are low lying adds the nutrients characteristic to the soil (Röhrig, 1991). When winter comes, the ground is blanketed by snow and the various organism under the layer break down the foliage into humus that contain nutrients such as nitrogen that are important for plant growth.  In the fiscal cycle, the plant tress changes their color during autumn, fall of during winter and then grow back during spring. During the winter, the plants go into a form of dormancy where little nutrients are taken up as the foliage is being decomposed by organisms. The spring days makes the plants to start growing new leaves which begin the cycle all over again (Röhrig, 1991).

The cyclic behavior of animals includes the circadian rhythms, migration and reproductive cycle.  The migration cycle is mostly annual and is closely related to seasonal cyclical patterns. Mostly, those animals with longer life span normally return to their birth place where they reproduce and die. In other cases where the animals have a shorter life span and rapid reproduction such invertebrates, migration may fail to occur in all generations. The horizontal migration involves the animals traversing a shorter disrance while vertical migration (Southward, 2005). Many of the aquatic animals normally make vertical migration which involves travelling very short distances up and down a water column while some make horizontal migrations where they travel across lakes, sea or ocean.  In circadian rhythm, animals portray certain cyclic behavior such as forage behavior during different seasons and bird’s morning songs.  These rhythms are mental, physical and behavioral changes taking place at about 24-hour cycle and are normally in response to darkness and light in the environment.  The cycle can also be seen during the onset of animal’s seasonal hibernation, where the circadian rhythms of body activity and temperature are normally entrained at the time of transitions between various seasons and at the time of 24hr sunlight of summer months(Southward, 2005). 

Diverse patterns are seen where there is extreme seasonality in Polar Regions and vertebrates experiencing such conditions show high diversification in patterns ranging from arrhythmicity to entrained circadian rhythms. Such diverse patterns are also shown by species of migratory birds occupying high latitudes at the time of breeding seasons. Some animal behavior and patterns have been associated with lunar cycle, so that during the full moon animals seems to be restless, wolves and dogs howl , cats hide and birds become disoriented and agitated ;  during the new moon , animals tend to chill with their sensitivity and senses being heightened; during super moon , magnetic filed  in animals interact with electromagnetic fields which increase  their capacity to feel stress in their surrounding which serves to alert them to avoid danger. Animals tend to gather food, hunt more and build homes at the waning moon phase.  The blue moon repeats the cycle (Zimecki, 2006).   Animals reproductive cycle include;  Oestrus cycle where female mammals sexual cycle period a part from, high primates ,  when such animals are on heat and are ready accept a male for mating.  Monstrous cycle is where animals such as dog have one heat during the breeding season. Polyestrous cycle is where when animals such as squirrels come into head many times during the breading season if nit impregnated (Boden  & Kennaway, 2006)..

The life cycle of anadromous , pacific salmon strategy  starts in freshwater where eggs are fertilized and remain in gravel during winter when embryos develop , harsh during spring and alevins emerge and live close to the redd and after consuming the whole York they come out of gravel. This takes a few month and they are now referred as fry. The fry then swim to water surface where they start feeding and can spend up to one or more years in the natal stream (Zydlewski & Wilkie, 2013).  Using environmental clues, the fry start migrating downstream, where they develop as they move towards the ocean and their body begins adjusting to new conditions.  Some remain in coastal waters while others migrate to the feeding grounds where they spend 1-7 years and then journey back to natal stream for spawning. After reaching freshwater, they stop feeding while their body prepares for spawning and the whole journey drains energy from organs, muscles and fat storage apart from reproductive organs.  The life cycle of American eel begins when they are hatched in the ocean, and later migrate to areas with fresh water and they spend most part of their lives here maturing. When they grow to adulthood, they go back to the sea for spawning and they die having spawned once (Zydlewski & Wilkie, 2013).

 The origin of birds’ migration arose in order to satisfy various needs in different birds’ species simultaneously. The emergence of patterns, routes and traditions is happening today even as some are disappearing.  The current observable migration patterns and tradition is due to various historic influences together with current influences. The migratory behavior can further be explained physiological and anatomical features of the birds which make it possible for them to develop diversified migratory behavior than other animals (Allen, 2016). They include the potential to sustain long flights as the basic aspect, and migration becoming a hereditary habit that recur in annual cycles. The physiological changes cause the birds to search for suitable survival and reproductive environments. Some scientists have proposed that birds tend to have a global positioning system that makes it possible for them to follow similar patterns annually, others propose that they can recognize landmarks and also that birds individual organs enable the navigational ability.  It has been argued that these birds exploit the magnetic fields using their internal compass to follow the same migratory pattern (Allen, 2016).

Guild refers to a group of species exploiting same types of resources in comparably, and form relationships that are an important part of food chains and webs that shape biological community’s organization.  The species comprises of groups with a common ancestor and exploit resources in same manner due to their shared ancestry.  Guilds may comprise of different species of insects that normally use similar ways of collecting nectar, different bird species that use corresponding techniques for foraging insect and fish in coral reef that they use as their habitat (Beeby & Brennan, 2008).  Various species that are unrelated may also exploit those resources in the same ways even if they do not have a common ancestor .The guild may also both animals and plants. Competition may be reduced due to the differences in species so that for instances animals may feed on different food sources or plants may flower at varying times of a season. Niche refers to how species relate and fit in their environment.  Keystone species are those species whose effects on communities are disproportionately large and they help in maintaining local diversity in that community by controlling other species’ populations (Beeby & Brennan, 2008).

References

Simon, V. A. (2010). Adaptations in the animal kingdom. 93-96

In Feldhamer, G. A. (2015). Mammalogy: Adaptation, diversity, ecology.

Wehr, R., Munger, J. W., McManus, J. B., Nelson, D. D., Zahniser, M. S., Davidson, E. A., ... & Saleska, S. R. (2016). Seasonality of temperate forest photosynthesis and daytime respiration. Nature, 534(7609), 680-683.

 

Röhrig, E. (1991). Temperate deciduous forests. Amsterdam u.a: Elsevier.

Southward, A. J. (2005). Advances In marine biology: [Volume 47]. Amsterdam: Elsevier/Academic Press. 139-143

Zimecki, M. (2006). The lunar cycle: effects on human and animal behavior and physiology Cykl księżycowy: wpływ na zachowanie ludzi i zwierząt i ich fizjologię. Postepy Hig Med Dosw.(online), 60, 1-7.

 

Boden, M. J., & Kennaway, D. J. (2006). Circadian rhythms and reproduction. Reproduction, 132(3), 379-392.

 

Zydlewski, J., & Wilkie, M. P. (2013). Freshwater to seawater transitions in migratory fishes. Fish Physiology, 32, 253-326.

 

Allen, G. E. (2016). Scientific process and social issues in biology education. Place of publication not identified: Springer International Pu.

Beeby, A., & Brennan, A.-M. (2008). First ecology: Ecological principles and environmental issues. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 166-168