Rainforest Ecosystems of Texas
By: Hari, Maggie, Aaron, and Kirsten
What is a rainforest and its characteristics?
Food Chain
But what is it?
A food chain is a sequence of organisms in a community where each member feeds on the one below it
Energy Pyramid
Secondary Consumers: The Secondary Consumers are snakes, bobcats, ducks, frogs (they eat flies), woodpeckers, spiders, wolves, etc. In the energy pyramid, they come 3rd after primary consumers and producers. These animals eat the consumers that eat plants. For example, a woodpecker pecks the trees and chips off enough bark so they can consume the energy within the various types of bugs they eat. They get 1% of the energy in the pyramid.
Primary Consumers: Some Primary Consumers would be field mice, wild hogs, fish, hummingbirds, flies, caterpillars, deer, raccoons, etc. These animals would be located on the second level of the energy pyramid. Primary Consumers only eat producers, nothing else. They are basically vegetarian. Animals like caterpillars eat the leaves from plants for food while hummingbirds usually feast on berries. These animals get 10% of the energy in the pyramid.
Producers: Different types of Producers are Live Oak Grove Trees, Pecan Trees, Berry Bushes, grass, orchids, shrubs, flowers, moss, Oak Trees, etc. Producers happen to be at the very bottom of the energy pyramid. Since they are at the bottom, they are the ones who receive all of the energy from the sun, 100%. They get their energy by photosynthesis. Producers like trees, grass, flowers, shrubs, moss, berries, and bushes are how the energy pyramid starts, and without these, the rest of the pyramid will eventually fall and go into extinction.
Relationships
Another animal that is very uncommon, is an animal that has adapted to ALL of it's surroundings, including the suburbs, such as the coyote. This ferocious animal is the all too common texas bobcat, that occasionally wanders in to hunt the native forest deer or raccoon. The deer and raccoon have moved in due to the abundance of fruit and grasses due to large rainfall, even though there are many unseen dangers of the oakland rainforest.
One animal in the habitat isn't even from Texas, as it has moved in from the nearby Louisiana swamps. These reptiles are alligators, and have found the dense underbrush good for snatching up unwary passerby's and travelers.
There are predator prey relationships in the oakland rainforest, similar to those of a regular forest, as the both have to track or avoid each other in a forest like environment. The local populations of predators thin out such as bobcat's and wolves, minimize the local prey such as deer and raccoon, reducing the food sources for the predators. In return, the predators starve, giving the prey a Chance to grow back up in size, which then bring's back the predator's, and the cycle repeats.
Food Web
Big Snakes (eats other snakes, ducks, spiders {sometimes}, and deer)
Eagles and Hawks (eats snakes, spiders {if big enough}, bobcats, and ducks)
Tigers (eats fish, deer, and wolves)
Alligators (eats fish, deer, snakes, eagles if wounded)
Secondary Consumers:
Snake (gets eaten by other snakes, eagles, hawks, alligators {only a few types of snakes})
Spider (gets eaten by a few snakes, eagles or hawks if big enough)
Wolf (gets eaten by tigers)
Bobcat (gets eaten by wolf, eagle and hawk {sometimes})
Duck (Gets eaten by snake, eagle or hawk)
Primary Consumers:
- Field mice (gets eaten by snake and bobcat)
- Caterpillars (gets eaten by spider)
- Raccoons (gets eaten by bobcat, sometimes snakes, wolves)
- Bugs (gets eaten by frogs {flies}, woodpeckers, spiders)
- Fish (gets eaten by ducks and bobcat)
- Hummingbird (gets eaten by snake, frog {rarely and will cause in frogs death})
- Deer (gets eaten by snakes and tigers)
Producers:
- Grass (gets eaten by deer, wild hogs)
- Leaves (gets eaten by caterpillars)
- Berries (gets eaten by hummingbird, raccoons, squirrel, field mice, and wild hogs)
- Fruit Trees (gets eaten by hummingbird, raccoons, field mice, wild hogs, squirrel, flies or bugs if rotten)
- Algae (gets eaten by certain fish)
Biblography
- "Texas Rainforest Preserve - Brazoria County Texas." Texas Rainforest Preserve - Brazoria County Texas. N.p., 14 Apr. 2007. Web. 06 Sept. 2013.
- "Rainforest Biomes." Rainforest Biomes. Blue Planet Biomes, 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
- "Fun Rainforest Facts for Kids - Interesting Facts about Tropical & Temperate Rainforests."Fun Rainforest Facts for Kids - Interesting Facts about Tropical & Temperate Rainforests. Science Kids, 13 July 2013. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
- "A FOOD WEB WEBSITE FOR KIDS!" WHAT EATS RSS. What Eats, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.
- "About Hummingbirds." About Hummingbirds. Hummingbirds, n.d. Web. 09 Sept. 2013.