Interactions Between Living Things; My Choice: Canis Lupus (the grey wolf)

The Gray Wolf 

Scientific Name: Canis Lupus

       The gray wolf is usually a misrepresented animal, but in spite of everything bad that is said about them, what is interesting to me is the symbiotic relationship they share with ravens. The ravens provide a sort of alarm system (thanks to their always hovering around wolves), if there is notable danger the ravens fall silent or fly away. The wolves have learned to interpret this as a threat so they are known to take shelter and protect their pups. The ravens also help the wolves find prey. The ravens need the sharp teeth of the wolves to tear open the carcass of carcasses, this is why they can't just find previously dead animals and eat them (the wolves tear open the carcasses of carrion and the ravens get the leftovers). Wolves are predators, they hunt prey ranging to smaller than them to much bigger than them. In the North (From Northern USA to various parts of the Arctic circle) they eat mainly dall sheep, caribou, deer, elk, and moose. They regergitate food for their young (primarily when in the first few months of life).

 

two gray wolf pups observed by Helen and Bill Thayer

Charlie (Helen and Bill's) husky mix interacting with a wolf (possibly the one they nicknamed Mother)

A typical successful hunt ending with a young elk, notice the ravens

Rabbit Bean Populatin Results

                                                                        
This graph shows how the rabbit population grows over the years. The population doubles yearly so the rise in population becomes more dramatic the longer the rabbits reproduce as you can see from 1 to 15 years the change is size of the population is little noticed, but 16 to 20 years the population dramatically rises.


This is a closer view on years 1 to 10. You can see that the population was changing with similar results.

These are the calculated results.

Current Event

     

Predators Drive the Evolution of Poison Dart Frogs' Skin Patterns

American Naturalist by University of Montreal biologist Mathieu Chouteau.

November 21, 2011

       Poison dart frogs develop different patterns in different areas to ward off predators. A scientist make little models of frogs of different patterns including that of the local frogs. The birds pecked primarily the strange patterns. They even pecked the pattern of frogs about 10 kilometers away. This was surprising for scientist Choteau. 

       I was surprised to learn that the frogs adapted differently from the frogs just 10 kilometers away. This goes to show you how amazing animals are. I notice that we seem to know less than we think about frogs, I see new discoveries all the time about frogs. There seems to be more to some animals than what we think. The frog's adaptation saves itself and any unlucky bird who would have otherwise ate it. That makes one lucky frog and several lucky birds.

Bibliography:

University of Montreal. "Predators drive the evolution of poison dart frogs' skin patterns."ScienceDaily, 21 Nov. 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2011.

Current Event

Whiskers Mark Milestone in Evolution of Mammals From Reptiles 
by: University of Sheffield
written November 10, 2011


       Whiskers appeared on the first mammals to help them use touch to  sense things in their environment event in the dark. This is an advantage to reptiles who are whisker-less. Even though not all mammals today have whiskers most of us have evolved from the early mammals with whiskers. This is interesting to see how we adapted to our environments, we were unable to see in the dark so somewhere along the way we mammals grew whiskers, It is neat how animals adapt to survive. It made me wonder if the maggots/flies in my project will have different behaviors in the different environments.


Bibliography:University of Sheffield. "Whiskers marked milestone in evolution of mammals from reptiles." ScienceDaily, 10 Nov. 2011. Web. 16 Nov. 2011

Russian and US Veterinarians Collaborate to Solve Mysterious Wild Tiger Deaths
September 30, 2011
Wildlife Conservation Society




Distemper (a virus that affects dogs and some wild animals) is a growing threat to Siberian Tigers. Distemper in these tigers seems to cause them to wander into cities and villages. The reports of tigers being spotted in areas highly populated by humans started around 2000, this behavior was not recorded before previously. Distemper may be being spread by wild dogs or another wild animal who has a large population of infected organisms. One or both may be acting as some sort of reservoir for the virus to reproduce and spread. Attempts will be made to lower the rise in tiger mortality rate due to the virus.

The tigers are already endangered with dwindling numbers so distemper is causing a lot of concern from all sorts of scientists. I am also concerned about the tigers some main causes of their rarity are poaching are habitat destruction. I think the tiger being endangered because humans not thinking about their actions is a bunch of crap. I think that things like tiger fur coats and rugs are worthless and pathetic.




Bibliography:

Wildlife Conservation Society. "Russian and US veterinarians collaborate to solve mysterious wild tiger deaths." ScienceDaily, 30 Sep. 2011. Web. 2 Nov. 2011.

Dirt the Movie!

       The movie helped me learn a lot about dirt. For one thing I had no clue that dirt had so many little biotic micro organisms in it. I did know that dirt was made up of decomposed/decomposing plant and animal mater though. I think maybe if we composted things like paper and plant scraps that we would have less waste and less need for landfills. Instead of using cement we could use hardened mud for things like flooring, mud also can make plaster, it would keep the houses cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter. In history if you pay attention civilizations rose to power when they began agriculture. They used methods so as not to use up all of the nutrients in the soil. This was smart but now we plant in the same fields one kind of crop and we plant in the same field every year. This can cause the soil to become less nutritious to the plants. We use nitrogen fertilizer and it causes the algae in the Gulf of Mexico to grow until fish are smothered and strangled in it. Now, I realize that dirt is important to daily life everywhere and if we treat it properly we can solve a lot of issues.

Current Event

Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Wolf? Coyotes
 Sept. 11, 2007
by the Wildlife Conservation Society 
 Studies show that coyote population in areas also inhabited by wolves can result in around a 30% decrease in population. Coyotes are beginning to form packs to increase their odds when attacked by wolves. Even wolves don't top the mortality rate that humans cause on coyotes. About 29% is the mortality rate caused by humans on coyotes, wolves have only caused a 39% decrease in the coyote population in Yellow Stone since their reintroduction but this new behavior seems to keep the numbers from too low.
       I really liked this article wolves are my favorite animal and studying their behavior is one of the debates I have when I think about what career I would like to have, so I found it easy to read this article. Wolves and coyotes will always be rivals but they both definitely contribute to their ecosystem(s).

Bibliography:Wildlife Conservation Society. "Who's Afraid Of The Big, Bad Wolf? Coyotes." ScienceDaily, 11 Sep. 2007. Web. 26 Oct. 2011.

Current Event

Tree Frogs Chill Out To Collect Precious Water
September 29, 2011
University of Chicago Press Journals



       Recent Studies show that tree frogs cause for climbing trees on cold nights is to retrieve dew that condenses on the leaves, by standing still the dew condenses on the frog, the frog then in the mourning when the sun warms it up crawls back to its den where the dew is absorbed by its skin. Studies show that the tree frog collects almost 1present of its body weight in water. This is enough for the tree frog to survive the dry season. 
       I thought this article was really interesting. Learning about animal survival instincts helped me make a connection with this article. I didn't know that tree frogs were that smart.

MLA Bibliography: University of Chicago Press Journals. "Tree frogs chill out to collect precious water." ScienceDaily, 29 Sep. 2011. Web. 9 Oct. 2011.