Prairies
By: Ashrita and Natalya
Prairies are temperature grasslands with moderate rainfalls and grasses, herbs, and shrubs as the dominant vegetation.
Climate Explaination
climate explanation: prairies
Plant Species
- needlegrass or Stipa spartea
- indian grass or Sorgnastrum nutans
- stiff goldenrod or Solidaga rigida
- tall coreopsis or Coreospsis tritpteris
- rattlesnake master or Eryngium yuccifolium
Plant Adaptations
- Prairie grass have narrow leaves that lose less water
- Roots extend donwards as much as 3.5 meters to get water during dry periods
- Bright flowers attract insects for pollination
- The growing point of some plants is underground to survive fires and re-grow
- Many plants adapt to the wind by using it as self pollination
Animal Species
- Antelope or Antilocapra americana
- Gopher Snake or Pituophis catenifer
- Rabbit or Oryctolagus cuniculis
- Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly or Papilio glaucus
- Red-Tailed Hawk or Buteo jarnaicensis
- Many animals have front legs and paws that allow them to burrow in the ground
- flat topped teeth and digestive system adapted to feed on grasses
- Many are nocturnal which helps hide from predators
- Small mammal have claws to help dig into the ground
- The different colors like broken help them blend in with the grass
Food Web
Interactions
- Parasitism- birds lay their eggs in other nests, then leave
- Commensalism- cattle egrets eat insects out of grass, the cattle that graze don't eat the insects
- Mutualism- ox picks parasites off of buffalo for food, the buffalo no longer has parasites.
- Predation-prairie dog (prey) snake (predator)
- Competition- antelope and grasshoppers compete for bluestem grass
Food Pyrimid
Human Influence
human influence: prairies
Stages of Succession
Interesting Facts About Prairies!!
- Prairies once covered 40% of the United States.
- Prairie chickens can be found in prairies, but there are only 400,000 left
- Prairies formed 8,000 years ago.