Josh Patrick Pd. 4
- 1. Vulpes vulpes Josh Patrick Biology I Period 4
- 2. Red Fox lives alone until the mating season starts. Once they mate they will find make a den from either an old woodchuck borrow, a hollow log, a stream bank, a rock pile , an old cave, or a dense shrub. The dens are approximately three feet in diameter at the entrance and on the inside are lined with grass and dried leaves. The dens usually have one to two escape holes so the they can exit out quickly if needed.
- 3. A Red Fox litter can have one to ten pups. When the pups are very young they feed off their mothers milk. As they become older and bigger and are able to eat meat their mother will regurgitate (throw up) the meat she has eaten so that the pups can it eat safely. At the next stage of their live their mother will bring them back live prey that she has captured and let them kill it themselves so they learn how to do it and she can teach them the proper ways. Then after they learn the methods of killing she will allow them to go on a hunt with her . Pups leave the den when they are about seven months old. Once they have left the den the parents (m0m and dad) will separate and go off on their own. And the will each live their own lives.
- 4. Red Fox eat anything that is available to them. They are considered omnivores but they eat many different things besides meat. Their diet regularly consist of small mammals such as rabbits, raccoon, voles, and squirrels. They can also eat turkeys, snakes, turtle, and many different insects. They mainly hunt at night, sunset, or dawn. And they use the method of stalking their prey. Which's means they try to get as close as possible to them and then they try to run them down. They have very few predators. The main ones are humans, hawks and owls, which both eat their young newborn pups.
- 5. Producer Autotroph (Grass) Primary Consumer Herbivores (Rabbit) Secondary Consumer Carnivore (Baby Fox) Tertiary Consumer Carnivore (Hawk)
- 6. Producer Grass Omnivore Raccoon Carnivore Hawk Carnivore Owl Producer Moss Producer Grapes Carnivore Baby Fox Herbivore Rabbit Herbivore Sucker-Mouth Catfish Omnivore Mouse
- 7. It represents the stream condition is very good. Because there is a large number of organisms in Class I and none in Class III. We had the most number of organisms in Class I and all the organisms in Class I are generally pollution-intolerant so having a great number of these indicates Good Water Quality. And we had an medium number in Class II and these organisms are somewhat intolerant to water pollution. Then in Class III we had zero organisms and all the organism that are in this class are tolerant of pollution and they indicate Poor Water Quality. And we had none of these. These conditions effect my organism (Red Fox) because my organism drinks the stream water and sometimes feeds off some of the things that live in it, such as fish. And if the water is bad and the fish are bad then my organism can get sick and possibly die.
- 8. You want all the Levels to be where they are supposed to be or somewhat close. Because if each one is close to the estimated amount it supposed to be then that means the stream will be really healthy. then that allows for many different organisms to live and it helps the economy. The Nitrate Level (how much nitrogen there is) should be low, along with the Phosphate Level and turbidity (the clearness of the water). The pH Level should be around a 7 (neutral) (not to acidic or not to basic) and the Dissolved Oxygen (how much oxygen is in the water) should be high. And the one that is the healthiest of the ones we tested was the stream. The temperature of the water shouldn’t be to cold or to warm> it should be around 55 to 60 degrees. Powdermill Run was at a temperature of 57 degrees Fahrenheit when we tested it, also you want the turbidity to be low because if it is high then that means the water is to cloudy and that can cause predator-prey problems or it can clog the gills of organisms and suffocate them. So the lower the turbidity the better. If my organism didn’t have a stream to survive off of it would probably die. The stream is its easiest way of getting water. If the stream didn’t exist then it would have to go to either the Acid Mind Pond or the Waste Water Pond then it would be drinking terrible water and it would get sick and die. So it is good that my organism has the stream to get its water and some of its food.
- 9. .Stream water is a main resource that allows my organism to survive. It allows it to get water to drink and it also gives it a source of food. For example fish. Marsh and Mind waters aren't good for my organism. They don’t have the right qualities like the stream does. The waters would make my organism sick and it could possible kill it if it takes in to much of it. Pollution is the number cause to negativity to the riparian zone. To prevent this people should try to take time to clean out local streams and water ways. And farmers should try not to use and fertilizers for their plants because that can absorb through the ground and enter into the waters and negatively affect the environment. So positive factors are how if the stream is untouched or unharmed the streams can maintain itself on its own. By doing this they can make the riparian zone stay clean and healthy. Also it allows my organism to stay healthy too.
- 10. I learned many things from this project about the ecosystem. Such as, there is more to the life cycle and how organism live than what people normal expect. Also that one little problem in a stream, can effect the whole ecosystem around it. Also there is many different organisms and things that make up the whole ecosystem. I found interesting, that how many different things play different roles in the ecosystem and if one of them fail then others fail too. Also that foxes separate after they mate and they go on their own until next mating season. I want to research more about how stream quality effects the organism around it. And if its good or bad what will it do to the organisms that live in it, and drink it.