Lecture 18 Flashcards
Birds in the Prairie GLSL
- Franklin’’s Gull (fish-eating)
- American Pelican (fish-eating, breeds inland)
- Yellow-headed Blackbird
What are the two regions of the GLSL Forest Region on the GLSL physiographic region?
- Ottawa-St. Lawrence Lowland (OttSL)
- Great Lakes Lowland (GLL)
Characteristics - GLSL Forest Region on the GLSL physiographic region
- Bedrock is marble/crystalline limestone
- can find calciphilic plants
- flat (sedimentary rock, glacial deposits)
Rivers flowing through the OttSL (2):
- Ottawa River
- Mississippi River
What causes decomposition in the wetlands along the rivers in the OttSL?
Bacteria (either anaerobic or aerobic)
Periodic flooding/drawdown
Cattail marshes are flooded due to melting snow; nutrients/oxygen flow in/out
Characteristics of marshes
- Shallow, lentic systems
- Type of wetland
- Dominated by cattails
Types of cattails
- Broadleaf Cattail (native)
- Narrow-leaved Cattail (non-native)
- Hybrid is invasive/the most common
Cattail roots + dead organic matter form a floating mat on water. How is this different from peatlands?
More decomposition, as the GLSL is warmer
Animals that eat cattails (2):
- Cattail moth
- Muskrat
Plants in marshes (2):
- Marsh fern
- Blue flag/wild iris
Birds in marshes (6)
- Red-winged blackbird
- Common Yellowthroat
- Marsh Wren
- Swamp Sparrow
- Rails
- Pied-billed Grebe
Why are rails (the birds) able to walk through plants in marshes?
Give one example of a rail
- Bodies are compressed laterally
Virginia Rail
Which bird has lobed toes that help it swim through aquatic vegetation?
Pied-billed Grebe
3 layers of life in cattail marshes (+ example for each)
- Emergents that stick out above water (e.g. cattail)
- Submergents that are underwater (e.g. greater bladderwort)
- Floating vegetation on the water’s surface (e.g. duckweed)
This common marsh damselfly lives on water as larvae:
Marsh bluet
What is the main predator of dragonflies?
Bullfrogs
Dragonflies living in lentic water systems are usually _____
skimmers
Turtles in the GLSL (2) - which one is freeze-tolerant?
- Painted turtle (freeze-tolerant in their first winter)
- Snapping turtle (northern limit in GLSL, found in Carolinian)
Cedar Woods/Swamps
Mostly wetland, with trees adapted to wet conditions (Eastern White Cedar, Black Ash)
- calcium-rich
How do plants in cedar swamps - which are shady habitats - get food?
- Large leaves (e.g. round-leaved orchid)
- Mycorrhizae on roots
This lady’s slipper is found in cedar swamps
Yellow lady’s slipper
Most common wetland habitats in the lowlands (2):
- Cattail marshes
- Cedar swamps
Why are peatlands rare in the lowlands?
- Higher decomposition rate due to warmer climate
- More nutrients
