WHAT IS ECOLOGY?
In order to understand the pages about the coyote I have written, you must know a little about ecology. That's my job. I'm here to teach you! First lesson, memorize the following: Ecology is the study of organism's interactions with other living organisms and their environment. Got it? Next, you must learn that ecology is all about organisms interacting with each other whether it be predator, the hunter, and prey, the victim, or an interaction where both organisms benefit, it's all ecology. Next you should learn two words, biotic and abiotic. The word biotic means that this organism is alive or has been alive at some point , some examples are a lion, a fern, an ant, and even you or I. The word abiotic means that this factor has never been alive and never will be alive. Some examples are water, oxygen, and even a plastic bag. The next thing you'll learn about will be symbiotic relationships. A symbiotic relationship is an interaction between organisms that involves close physical association. The first symbiotic relationship we will learn about is a relationship called mutualism. Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit, such as the bacteria in the human intestines. The bacteria benefits by eating the food in our intestines and we benefit by the bacteria digesting the food for us. Another symbiotic relationship is commensalism, where one organism benefits and the other is not affected, such as the relationship between an egret and a cow. The egret benefits from eating food off the back of the cow, and the cow does not mind the egret being there but also does not benefit at all. The last symbiotic relationship is parasitism. An example of parasitism is when a deer tick enter a dog's body and sucks its blood. The tick benefits by getting nutrients from the cow, but the dog suffers because the tick may transmit disease making the dog sick.
This shows the symbiotic relationship commensalism, the bird gets
food from the back of the cow but the cow is not affected
This shows mutualism. The butterfly gains nectar and
the flower blooms! They both benefit!
This shows parasitism. The tick gets the blood it needs to survive, but the
dog is harmed by the tick transmitting disease into its blood.
Next let's move on to........
ECOSYSTEMS
An ecosystem is all the biotic organisms in an area and the abiotic factors of their environment. An ecosystem is a group of all the communities in an ecosystem. A community is a group of interdependent organisms of different species growing or living together in a specified habitat, in other words a community is a group of animals living in the same area. A community is made up of different populations, or the number of organisms of the SAME species living in one place. In an ecosystem there are limiting factors that keep the populations of different species down. A limiting factor may be not enough shelter or a lack of water. The limiting factors lower the carrying capacity of an ecosystem. The carrying capacity is the number of organisms that the ecosystem can support over time. In an ecosystem there are predator and prey, the prey is the animal who is being predated on. The predator is the carnivore (an animal who eats other animals) that kills the prey and then eats it. In an ecosystem one species may not be able to survive because there are too many predators or if they are predators there might not be enough prey for him to feed on. An ecosystem is a home to many different organisms, but without the abiotic factors of an ecosystem there is no the organisms inside it could survive. The abiotic factors fuel the ecosystem. They make all life possible. Some abiotic factors in an ecosystem are the water organisms drink and the air they breathe.
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is the number of different species that can live in an ecosystem. If an ecosystem has only a few habitats that are only suitable for a few organisms that the ecosystem does not have good biodiversity. The animals at the top of the food chain almost completely control the biodiversity of an ecosystem. If the animal at the top of the food chain can eat many different species of animals, the ecosystem will support more biodiversity (this is of course, if the ecosystem is also suitable for life) but if a top predator is picky about what it eats the biodiversity will suffer. This is because when an animal like a coyote, who very well supports biodiversity, eats different types of organisms it allows new organisms to come in to the ecosystem.
THE COYOTE'S ECOSYSTEM
A coyote's ecosystem could be anywhere from a desert to a marsh. The coyote's ecosystem primarily depends on where there is enough shelter and food for themselves and their family. A coyote lives almost everywhere in North America. The coyote's range is from southern Mexico to Northern Canada. The coyote has doubled in the last twenty-five years meaning it can thrive in urban areas. In fact, recently in the heart of Chicago a medium sized healthy looking coyote came through the front of a coffee shop and went out the back and crossed the busy streets of Chicago. It was seen running later near the edge of the city. Imagine that!
Here are some examples of a coyote in its many ecosystems!
A coyote in a forest
A coyote in a residential area
A coyote in a marsh
A coyote in a desert
In order to understand the pages about the coyote I have written, you must know a little about ecology. That's my job. I'm here to teach you! First lesson, memorize the following: Ecology is the study of organism's interactions with other living organisms and their environment. Got it? Next, you must learn that ecology is all about organisms interacting with each other whether it be predator, the hunter, and prey, the victim, or an interaction where both organisms benefit, it's all ecology. Next you should learn two words, biotic and abiotic. The word biotic means that this organism is alive or has been alive at some point , some examples are a lion, a fern, an ant, and even you or I. The word abiotic means that this factor has never been alive and never will be alive. Some examples are water, oxygen, and even a plastic bag. The next thing you'll learn about will be symbiotic relationships. A symbiotic relationship is an interaction between organisms that involves close physical association. The first symbiotic relationship we will learn about is a relationship called mutualism. Mutualism is a symbiotic relationship in which both organisms benefit, such as the bacteria in the human intestines. The bacteria benefits by eating the food in our intestines and we benefit by the bacteria digesting the food for us. Another symbiotic relationship is commensalism, where one organism benefits and the other is not affected, such as the relationship between an egret and a cow. The egret benefits from eating food off the back of the cow, and the cow does not mind the egret being there but also does not benefit at all. The last symbiotic relationship is parasitism. An example of parasitism is when a deer tick enter a dog's body and sucks its blood. The tick benefits by getting nutrients from the cow, but the dog suffers because the tick may transmit disease making the dog sick.
This shows the symbiotic relationship commensalism, the bird gets
food from the back of the cow but the cow is not affected
This shows mutualism. The butterfly gains nectar and
the flower blooms! They both benefit!
This shows parasitism. The tick gets the blood it needs to survive, but the
dog is harmed by the tick transmitting disease into its blood.
Next let's move on to........
ECOSYSTEMS
An ecosystem is all the biotic organisms in an area and the abiotic factors of their environment. An ecosystem is a group of all the communities in an ecosystem. A community is a group of interdependent organisms of different species growing or living together in a specified habitat, in other words a community is a group of animals living in the same area. A community is made up of different populations, or the number of organisms of the SAME species living in one place. In an ecosystem there are limiting factors that keep the populations of different species down. A limiting factor may be not enough shelter or a lack of water. The limiting factors lower the carrying capacity of an ecosystem. The carrying capacity is the number of organisms that the ecosystem can support over time. In an ecosystem there are predator and prey, the prey is the animal who is being predated on. The predator is the carnivore (an animal who eats other animals) that kills the prey and then eats it. In an ecosystem one species may not be able to survive because there are too many predators or if they are predators there might not be enough prey for him to feed on. An ecosystem is a home to many different organisms, but without the abiotic factors of an ecosystem there is no the organisms inside it could survive. The abiotic factors fuel the ecosystem. They make all life possible. Some abiotic factors in an ecosystem are the water organisms drink and the air they breathe.
BIODIVERSITY
Biodiversity is the number of different species that can live in an ecosystem. If an ecosystem has only a few habitats that are only suitable for a few organisms that the ecosystem does not have good biodiversity. The animals at the top of the food chain almost completely control the biodiversity of an ecosystem. If the animal at the top of the food chain can eat many different species of animals, the ecosystem will support more biodiversity (this is of course, if the ecosystem is also suitable for life) but if a top predator is picky about what it eats the biodiversity will suffer. This is because when an animal like a coyote, who very well supports biodiversity, eats different types of organisms it allows new organisms to come in to the ecosystem.
THE COYOTE'S ECOSYSTEM
A coyote's ecosystem could be anywhere from a desert to a marsh. The coyote's ecosystem primarily depends on where there is enough shelter and food for themselves and their family. A coyote lives almost everywhere in North America. The coyote's range is from southern Mexico to Northern Canada. The coyote has doubled in the last twenty-five years meaning it can thrive in urban areas. In fact, recently in the heart of Chicago a medium sized healthy looking coyote came through the front of a coffee shop and went out the back and crossed the busy streets of Chicago. It was seen running later near the edge of the city. Imagine that!
Here are some examples of a coyote in its many ecosystems!
A coyote in a forest
A coyote in a residential area
A coyote in a marsh
A coyote in a desert
WARNING: IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO LEARN ANY MORE, AND DEFINITELY HATE HAVING FUN....
DO NOT CLICK BELOW
Otherwise, check out my other pages!
My Coyote Page
My Food Web Page
My Bibliography:
http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/mammal/cala/all.html
http://www.northern.edu/natsource/MAMMALS/Coyote1.htm
http://library.thinkquest.org/05aug/00260/fact.html
http://www.naturepark.com/coyinfo.htm
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Canis_latrans.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coyote
http://www.desertusa.com/june96/du_cycot.html