Winter Ecology
Name the term for traveling to a new area to avoid temperatures and find food; triggered by the length of daylight
What is migration
Describe a food chain
A food chain shows how each living things gets food, and how nutrients and energy are passed from creature to creature. Food chains begin with plant-life, and end with animal-life. Some animals eat plants, some animals eat other animals.
Describe hibernation
An inactive state resembling a deep sleep for long periods of time where an animals' breathing, body temperature, and heart rate slows to conserve energy
Name parts of a tree you can use to identify the species
Bark, leaves, fruits/seeds
What are two reasons why birds migrate
Name three specific winter animal OR plant adaptations
Fat storage, food storage, changes in fur/feathers, shedding leaves, torpor, dormancy, hibernation, migration
Name the three categories of organisms in food webs (hint: what are the different trophic levels)
Producers, consumers, and scavengers/decomposers
Name three characteristics of mammals
Covered with fur or hair, warm-blooded, young are born alive and relatively well-developed, young are fed with milk produced by their mothers, vertebrates (have internal bones)
Name two trees we found on our scavenger hunt
Sycamore, Black Birch, Sassafras, Black Walnut, Tulip Poplar, White Pine, Holly, Beech, Sweetgum, White Oak, Douglas Fir
Name a winter bird you've seen at Fernbrook
Dark-eyed Junco, Blue Jay, Cardinal, House Finch, White-breasted Nuthatch, Canadian Goose, Snow Goose, Turkey Vulture, Red-tailed Hawk
Name the hibernation-like state used by cold-blooded reptiles and amphibians
What is brumation
What is the difference between scavengers and decomposers?
Scavengers and decomposers both consume dead organic matter but differ in size, method, and function. Scavengers are typically larger animals (vultures, hyenas) that eat carcasses, breaking them into smaller pieces. Decomposers are smaller microorganisms or fungi (bacteria, mushrooms) that break down those smaller pieces, returning nutrients to the soil.
Name a New Jersey animal that goes into torpor
Name three products from trees we guessed in our Headbandz game
Sponge, tape, nail polish, pencils, chocolate chips, cinnamon, tires, apples, yarn, glue, woodchips, erasers
Name one ingredient in birdseed
Sunflower seeds, oats, cracked corn, millet, milo