Bellarmine Ecology

Ecology of the Bellarmine Campus 

The organisms: 

Producer: Grass (Agrostis):



    Grass not only covers the majority of the quad at Bellarmine, but "about one quarter of the Earth's land is covered with grasslands" -National Geographic. There are around ten thousand different species of grass, but the grass seen in the lawns at Bellarmine is known as Agrostis. According to the Lawn Institute, a 50 by 50 feet lawn of Agrostis releases enough oxygen to fuel a family of four! Not only is this fascinating organism able to sustain a family of four with oxygen, it is also in the beginning of the food chain, fueling almost every other organism on this blog. Grass is extremely versatile, allowing it to be located in many different diverse climates, the most prominent being grasslands, as we stated before.

Primary Consumer: Slug (Arion distinctus)



   Slugs are mollusks that are considered primary consumers because they absorb the nutrients directly from the plant producers that they eat. Slugs live in moist, cool environments, which explains why we found it under one of those concrete covers amongst the pipes, where it is very damp.

Secondary Consumer: House Sparrow (Passer domesticus)



   House Sparrows are carnivorous birds that eat small insects, making them secondary consumers. This bird was very shy and flew away from me, which explains why my picture is so poorly taken and from a distance. House sparrows are found in nature in grasslands, deserts and woodlands, but their local habitat is, as their name suggests, near human development, such as in the Bellarmine campus trees.

Tertiary Consumer: Cat (Felis catus)



   House cats are carnivores that each small animals such as mice, squirrels, birds, etc., making them tertiary consumers. Small house cats like this one are highly domesticated and are a product of selective breeding. Their local habitat is anywhere where there are humans, because humans keep them as pets. However, cats can escape and thrive in the wild, away from humans. In this case, the cat is roaming the streets near Bellarmine.

Decomposer: Mold (Stachybotrys)



   Black Mold is a decomposer because it grows on dead food, such as the lemon in this picture, and then breaks it down into its fundamental nutrients that can then be recycled into the food chain. Mold's local habitat is on numerous different foods such as bread, fruits, or pretty much any place that provides a source of food and moisture.

Herbivore: Garden Snail (Cornu aspersum)

 

   Snails are herbivorous mollusks, meaning they eat plants, which explains why we see this one chowing down on a leaf. The reason why there was an abundance of snails when I was taking pictures is because it was raining lightly. Some snails come out from their hiding places to prevent from drowning, others know that snails will be coming out of their hiding spots when it rains, so they too come to search for a mate. Finally, some simply come out because it is usually dark when it rains, and snails are nocturnal and need moisture. These snails are found nearly everywhere where there is vegetation for them to eat. This sometimes becomes a problem for people such as farmers whose crops get ravaged by snails.

Carnivore: Black Widow Spider (Latrodectus)

 


   Black widow spiders are carnivorirous archnids that feast on the poor insects that manage to get entangled in the spider's web. Not only do they eat small insects, the female black widows are also known to eat their mate. Black widows are considered to be one of the most venomous spiders in North America and most dangerous to humans. Unlike the brown recluse, they deliberately jump onto and bite humans. They live in temperate climates in dry, dark places. This is why they are often found in sheds or garages. I found the spider in the first picture under a stepping stone, and the second under one of those concrete covers.

Omnivore: Humans (Homo Sapiens)



   Humans are omnivores, meaning we can eat both plants and animals. One feature that helps us achieve this is our teeth; we have pointy canines for tearing meat, sharp incisors for cutting, and dull molars for grinding. Humans live pretty much everywhere worldwide, but the ones captured in this rare photo live somewhere in the San Jose area.

Threatened Species: Golden Bamboo (Phyllostachys aurea)

This species of bamboo, as well as most other species of bamboo is nearing endangerment, unfortunately. The reason for this is none other than Homo Sapiens. We have been deforesting bamboo forests because of how versatile bamboo is for building. You can even see in this picture that this mini-forest of bamboo has been slightly ravaged by humans. Destroying these bamboo forests is also harmful to the inhabitants, which explains why pandas are classified as endangered. Golden bamboo is not native to this area; it is mostly found in Asia, Australia, and South America. This specific bamboo patch is located between Sobrato and Liccardo.

Endangered Species: Ginkgo Tree (Ginkgo biloba):

 


   Ginkgo trees used to be extremely prevalent, but have dropped dramatically, leaving only two populations of Ginkgo trees: in the ian Mu Shan Reserve and the Zhejiang province in eastern China. Many thought that this tree was extinct. The reason for this tree's endangerment surprisingly has nothing to do with humans. These trees are gymnosperms, which are the earliest seed plants. Ginkgos are extremely old, older than dinosaurs. They are only tree ancient tree species that survived the extinction event, which is why they are often called "the living fossil." These trees live in temperate places with moist soil, such as the temperate climate and rich soil of the Bellarmine Campus.

Non-Native Species: Palm Tree (Arecaceae) 



   Palm trees are non-native to this area. There are some species of palm tree that are native to southern California Oasis's, but there aren't many of those. These trees prefer a tropical climate and often live near water. They are extremely versatile trees and can withstand harsher environments than other trees. When they live in places such as deserts that lack an abundance of water, they often aren't as tall so there is less water and energy loss during the transport of it to the leaves.

Pollution source: Leaf Blower



   Leaf blowers such as the one in this picture, as well as millions of other leaf blowers worldwide contribute greatly to pollution and increasing our carbon footprint. It burns fossil fuels in the form of gasoline, and releases nasty pollution into our atmosphere. The habitat of these beasts are in places full of leaves and other debris that need to be blown away.

Discussion Questions:

1. Define and differentiate between ecology and environmental science and discuss the Bellarmine campus in the context of both: Ecology is the study of how different organisms interact with each other and their environment, and how they are effected by abiotic and biotic factors, while environmental science is a much broader term that incorporates the information of numerous different sciences such as Ecology, Biology, Physics, Chemistry, soil science, and so on. They are both analyzing the environment and organisms in it, however, environmental science is a more in-depth analysis. We can use Ecology to analyze the Bellarmine campus by observing how a spider interacts with a tree by building a web on it, and with a fly by capturing and eating it. We can study the Bellarmine campus using environmental science by measuring the impacts humans pollution has on the organisms chemically or physically. 
2. Define and describe any population, community, ecosystem, biome and aquatic zone that you find on campus; and discuss the biotic and abiotic factors that contribute to that ecosystem: A population defines as a group of a species of animals living together. I found numerous populations. For one, I discovered a population of slugs, all living together under a rock. I also found a huge population of bees in a tree, all working together and thriving. Communities differ from populations because they are not limited to the same species; they can consist of many different types of species living together. Every organism on the Bellarmine campus could be considered part of a community because they are all living together in the same area. An ecosystem is the communities as well as the nonliving materials all living in conjunction. For example, the trees at Bell are nourished by the water and soil, or the gardener interacting with the non-living lawnmower, which interacts with the grass. The largest biotic factor of this ecosystem is humans. We pretty much have control over the ecosystem, whether we choose to help it thrive or destroy it. Some other biotic factors include predators such as cats eating populations of squirrels. Abiotic factors include the rain that nourishes the plants, the wind that spreads the seeds of plants, the sun's heat and light intensity, and so on. Biomes are classified by their temperature and vegetation. Because Bellarmine's climate is temperate, and there are trees and shrubs on campus. Therefore, the biome Bellarmine is located in is the Mediterranean forest or shrub biome. You could also break up Bellarmine's campus into mini-biomes. The football field could be grasslands, the place behind the chapel could be wetlands, the pool would be an aquatic zone, and the rest would be a mix between taiga and grasslands.
3. Construct and discuss a food chain, a food web, and an ecological pyramid based on the trophic levels that you observe. 

   As you can see in this food chain I constructed, the flow of energy begins from the sun and is captured by the leaves of the plants. Then, when the primary consumers eat the plant, they absorb a certain amount of the energy. When the secondary consumer eats the primary consumer, he absorbs a small amount from that organism, and so on. By the time the decomposer gets to the food, depending on which trophic level the organism was from, there will be very little energy left. Each time, 10% of the energy is available to the next trophic.



This ecological pyramid is a different way to view the food chain.



This food web makes it clear how the sun is the reason for all life, and how everything can be decomposed. It also shows that not all trophic eat only the immediate lower trophic, they can eat organisms from multiple trophics.

     4.  Investigate and discuss any endangered, threatened, and invasive species on campus: 
    On our campus, we have many different species of trees, flowers, and organisms that are either endangered, threatened, or invasive. I think that it is good we have these on our campus, as long as we take care of them. By taking care of them, we help slow down the process of extinction by increasing the number of living organisms in the species. After discovering the threatened and endangered species on campus, I discovered the causes of their loss in numbers. It was really sad to see that a large amount of them were endangered because of deforestation. For example, the bees are endangered because we are killing all the flowers and killing them with pesticides. This is again why it is good that we have a sort of safe haven for them to live in here at Bellarmine.

      5.  Define pollution, and describe and discuss the various types that you observe on campus.
   Pollution is when humans introduce a substance into the environment that is harmful or poisonous. While looking for sources of pollution, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the majority of carts being driven around were electric. This showed me that Bellarmine is somewhat trying to fight the pollution. We are far from pollution free, however. The dozens of cars that litter the parking lot all were gas guzzling. Also, the leaf blowers and lawnmowers used by the gardeners were gas-powered and releasing pollution. In the future, I would hope to see more solar panels and other forms of non-polluting energy implemented into the Bellarmine campus so we can help aid in the effort to save not just endangered species but all species from extinction.

Works Cited:

http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/grassland-profile/
http://www.countrysideinfo.co.uk/grass_facts/
http://www.thelawninstitute.org/pages/education/lawn-facts-and-stats/lawn-and-turfgrass-facts-and-stats/
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/invertebrates/mollusk/gastropod/Slugprintout.shtml
http://www.softschools.com/facts/animals/sparrow_facts/322/
http://feline-nutrition.org/answers/answers-raw-diets-and-cats-what-about-eating-bones
http://web.utk.edu/~mtaylo29/pages/mold%20on%20wood.html
http://www.snail-world.com/garden-snail/
http://www.livescience.com/39919-black-widow-spiders.html
http://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/giantpandas/pandafacts/
http://www.softschools.com/facts/plants/bamboo_facts/563/
http://ginkgobilobatheendangeredplant.blogspot.com/
http://www.kew.org/science-conservation/plants-fungi/ginkgo-biloba
http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/2011/lehrer_brit/habitat.htm