Interaction | the-woodland

Animals Interacting with the Woodland

Have you ever wondered how animals contribute to their environment?

Animals contribute in many ways, from collecting seeds from other plants to keeping the balance between the numbers of each species in order. They are a major factor in plant growth in multiple ways. To narrow it down a few of the main ways they help out woodlands are listed below.

How do animals contribute to the woodlands?

1. When they run along plants they collect seeds on their fur that will later be dropped on the ground as they continue to walk. Other animals will walk on them, which will push them further into the ground. As time goes on and it rains, the seeds will grow. This is also the reason farmers wall their horses along recently planted fields in order to increase the survival of their crops.

2. Another way they contribute is every time that they have a bowel movement, their feces act much like manure or potting soil. They provide lots of nutrients to surrounding plants.

3. They maintain the balance between the predator and prey relationships they have as well. For example, the hawks eat the mice, which eat the insects. All in all, animals do a lot in their environments, and Earth wouldn't be the same without them.

-Jasmine Adkins

Woodland Food Web

In this food web, there are five trophic levels. Trophic levels are the positions an organism has in a food web. Grass, berries, and trees are all producers, being able to produce their own food and being a source of nutrients for organisms higher on the food web. Next are primary consumers: deer, rabbit, cardinal, beaver, and raccoon. These are usually herbivores but can also be carnivores. After primary consumers are secondary consumers: American badger, bat, skunk, raccoon, river otter, and the Great Gray Owl. These consumers are often carnivores that feed on primary consumers. The fourth trophic level is the tertiary consumers, brown bears and bald eagles. Tertiary consumers are the top predators in an ecosystem. Lastly, there's a decomposer, the Turkey Vulture.