wigle maddie bio ii (h)

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Riparian Riparian Zone Retreat Zone Retreat and population studies and population studies Madelyn Wigle Madelyn Wigle BIO II BIO II Period 1 Period 1

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Page 1: Wigle Maddie Bio Ii (H)

RiparianRiparian Zone Retreat Zone Retreatand population studiesand population studies

Madelyn WigleMadelyn Wigle

BIO IIBIO II

Period 1Period 1

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North American PorcupineErithizon dorsatum

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Niche• The porcupine lives in the forest biome.

It will mostly live in hollow logs, holes in the ground, or hollow spots in trees. It eats the bark off the trees in the forest like maple and oak. By doing this they help create more homes for other animals. They also help get rid of unwanted animals occasionally that come into the area. The consume a good amount of forest vegetation which makes room for more re-growth, keeping the area healthy.

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Habitat• The porcupine uses a wide variety of habitats. Most

porcupines live in open tundra, deciduous forests, and deserts. Their habitat does vary. In the Pacific Northwest, these animals are primarily ground dwelling.

• Further up in North America, porcupines are mainly tree dwellers. The amount of time porcupines spend on the ground is correlated to the amount of cover on the ground that exists for foraging and protection from predators.

• In places of deer overpopulation, ground cover can be

scarce, thus keeping porcupines in the trees. Density of predators also determines time spent on the ground, because most porcupine predators are non-arboreal species. Porcupines will spend winter in dens, usually rock dens where available. When ground dens are not available, porcupines choose trees to rest in Southern populations of porcupines exhibit no seasonal use of trees..

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Food• leaves; roots and tubers; wood,

bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers.

• In addition, porcupines love wood as well as apples

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Defense Mechanism• The colors on the animal camouflage it against some

bark, woodland, grass, etc. The white-tipped quills on a black band on the tail and back stand out, and warn possible assailants of danger.

• Second, porcupines a sound that warns: a quiet clattering of the teeth. If both visual and audio warnings fail, a porcupine will stick up its quills, and release a nasty scent. Quills are only used if the threat has not been deterred by these other means.

The porcupine has around 3,000 quills that are each approximately 3 inches long. There are some porcupines that have hook shaped quills that are extremely difficult and painful to remove. The quills of the porcupine can kill the attacker by the germs injected with the quills or by damage to vital organs.

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Factors which Affect Birth Rate of Porcupine

• Mates in the months of October and November

• Mates once a year

• Gestation period is 205 to 217 days

• Offspring: 1-2 Each pregnancy

• When caring for their young, they nurture them and begin to wean them after approximately 127 days.

• The porcupine becomes sexually mature at 25 months for females, and 29 months for males

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Care for offspring• Parental care is provided by the mother. A mom provides her

baby with food. For the first six weeks of a porcupine's life, its mother is always near. They see each other and interact only at night.

• During the day the baby is hidden on the ground, while the mother sleeps in the trees. After six weeks, the baby porcupine follows the mother to feeding trees and waits for her at the bottom. Over the next couple months, there is an increase in separation between the young porcupine and its mother.

• By mid-October the baby completely loses contact with the mother and is left to survive its first winter alone. The father spends no energy in the raising of the offspring.

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Factors Which Affect the Death Rate of Porcupine

• Porcupines have a number of predators including: mountain lions, lynx, bobcats, coyotes, wolves, and owls. A porcupine’s first line of defense is escaping from danger by climbing up a tree. Porcupines are the only mammal in North America to use quills to deter predators.

• Porcupines are herbivores, they do not have prey per say, the do not hunt, but they look for vegatation and that is what their diet consists of.

• Porcupines have been able to live up to 18 years in the wild, however the average age they live to be is 6.

• In term of dangers to the porcupine, self-impalement is a hazard because they could possibly fall out of a tree and stab themselves, and not be able to remove them.

• Over population is not an issue with the porcupine. Many porcupines reach starvation during the winter; which helps balance the population.

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Food Chain of Porcupine

Producer

Autotroph

Primary Consumer

Herbivore

Secondary Consumer

Carnivore Tertiary Consumer

Omnivore

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Porcupine Food Web

Herbivore

Producer

Autotroph Carnivore

Parasite (consumer)

producers

Consumer

Omnivore

Omnivore (consumer)

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Population Sampling Techniques

• There are several population sampling techniques, some of which we used at Powdermill. Mark and recapture is a method, as well as predator-prey ratio.

• To estimate the population size of porcupines, mark and recapturing them works very well. If you mark the animal, you can observe where most of them go, live, etc…which provides insight into how many of the porcupines are in a certain area.

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Stream Quality Data & AnalysisStream Quality Data & Analysis

0

100

200

300

400

500

No. oforganisms

Class IClass IIClass III

• This graph represents an incredibly healthy stream

• The number of organisms in each class correlates with stream quality directly. The more living things from class I in the stream, the healthier it is. Class I organisms need an EXTREMELY clean, cold, water source to live, and Powdermill Run fit the bill.

• These stream conditions would benefit the porcupine in the sense that the better the stream, the better the plant life and vegetation surrounding the stream, and the better food source for the porcupine.

• If the majority of organisms were in Class III, the porcupine may be unhealthy or unable to live if it would be feeding on plants that are soaked in nitrates and phosphates. It would almost be like poison to a porcupine.

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Water Testing Data & AnalysisWater Testing Data & Analysis

• A large amount of nitrates and phosphates in the water samples indicate an unhealthy stream. A large amount of dissolved oxygen indicates a very healthy stream

• There should be a large amount of dissolved oxygen, a pH that is neutral, and the least amount possible of nitrates and phosphates. If any of the latter aren’t true, the environment will suffer. If there isn’t enough dissolved oxygen, the organisms can’t breathe or function. If there are too many nitrates and phosphates in the water, it will result in a descending amount of Class I organisms.

• In terms of the porcupine, stream quality is important because the plants that it eats grow along stream and river beds, and if those areas aren’t healthy, the porcupine would suffer.

• A very cold temperature with low turbidity makes for a very healthy stream. Turbid waters interfere negatively with predator-prey relationships, ability of organisms to cling to rocks, ability of organisms to breathe through gills.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

Nitrate

Oxygen

pH Phosphates

StreamMarshMine

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Soil Testing & AnalysisSoil Testing & Analysis

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0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

3.5

4

4.5

5

Riparian

School Site

• P encourages plant growth, and it is a nutrient that is important in root development. N is essential for a plant’s metabolism to be stable. K stimulates flowering, and PH levels affect how plants will flourish.

• Soil should be slightly acidic with a range of 6.5-7

• Too many nitrates and phosphates in the soil isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but if it’s in the water, that is negative and detrimental to the organisms living there

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Positive and Negative Factors• Marsh- not the healthiest place for my porcupine to eat

•Mine- really bad place for porcupine to feed

•Stream- Prime quality place for a porcupine to live and eat.

•Cold Water, normal pH, low turbidity and a large amount of Class I organisms are indicators of a healthy Riparian Zone in an ecosystem

•Common sources of pollution in PA streams are agricultural runoff, abandoned mine drainage, and septic tank leakage. To prevent these things, it’s important to make sure we have properly working septic systems, clean farms, settling ponds, etc.

•Pollution of streams would most definitely negatively effect a porcupine. Porcupines feed on vegetation, and the vegetation could be scarce, poisoned, or unhealthy if it’s along a polluted stream-which would induce sickness for the porcupine

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Conclusion•I learned several new things involved with the ecosystem. Most importantly, I gained a bigger understanding of the importance of all organisms to each other. One thing will affect the other indefinitely. Everything in the ecosystem is connected one way or another. Even the tiniest of organisms has it’s own role in the environment that will affect numerous other living things.

• There were many things in this particular ecology unit that I found interesting, mainly the effect water pollution has on the ecosystem, and how much more careful we need to be in order to protect stream life. Our world basically depends on the sun, plants, and water…and if we don’t become more aware of our actions that affect the ecosystem, there will be catastrophic results.

• Topics I would like to research further:

-riparian zones of different places around the world

-plant and animal life that are endangered due to pollution

-ways to really help improve the environment

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Works Cited

lsb.syr.edu/projects/cyberzoo/porcupine.html

“Porcupines" The World Book Encyclopedia. 1995 ed

“The Porcupine." Compton's Encyclopedia. 1996 ed.