Grassland & River/Stream Biome Project

River/ Stream Symbiotic Relationships

• Mutualism- Midwestern turtles are cleaned by leeches. The leeches get their food from cleaning the turtles' shells.
• Commensalism- Barnacles that attach themselves permanently to rocks, shells, or anything they can grab onto.
• Parasitism- There is a small catfish that locks on to the gills of fish in the Amazon river system. They feed on the fish, much like the mosquito.

Groundhogs in the Grasslands

Buffalo in the Grasslands

• To avoid being attacked or killed, they use camouflage.

• Buffalos communicate through their herd, & alert them of danger.

• They burrow many holes that offer escape routes.

• Staying in herds helps to see approaching danger. When the herd scatters, it confuses the predator.

• Camouflage allows them to be hidden in an open landscape

• They have short limbs & sharp teeth or claws that tear away at the dirt.

Grassland abiotic factors

• The climate of the grasslands range from cool to hot Summers & may even range to ice in Winter in higher altitudes.

• Natural disturbances (floods & fires)

• Topography (landscape)

• Precipitation is important to the grassland as it determines the amount & types of plants & trees that grow.

River/Stream Abiotic factors

Chipmunks in the Grasslands

• The currents determine what substances are at the bottom of the river/stream.

• Adapted to have pouch-like cheeks. Which allow them to stockpile a large amount of food.

Grassland &

River/Stream Biome Project

Grassland Biotic Factors

• Fast paced currents will remove all but the heaviest material, & send it down the stream.

• They take the stored food back to their burrows & store it for the Winter months.

• Slow paced currents will cause deposition of materials

• When sensing danger, they hide in their burrows.

• Temperature influences metabolism & therefore the ability of cold-blooded creatures to function.

• The primary & secondary consumers include the rabbits, moles, hares, elks, & in some places there are snakes & preying birds.

• Producers (plants) provide energy for many species of organisms such as insects, fungi, & larger animals.

• Herbivores- hares (only eats plants)
• Carnivores- coyotes (only eats meat)
• Omnivores- foxes (eats both plants & meat)
• Decomposers- Fungi & bacteria ( breaks down organic materials to obtain nutrients)

Crayfish in

Rivers/Streams

Freshwater Plant Leaves in River/Streams

• Adapted to tolerate low oxygen conditions and exposure to the air.

• Underwater leaves are very thin in order to be able to absorb as much diffused light as possible.

• Adapted to live for extended periods in burrow systems under mud in case there is an absence of surface water.

• Floating leaves are also common. These leaves are broad and have lacunae that contain gas to offer the leaves buoyancy.

• Willow trees adapt long, narrow leaves with tapered tips. They grow above water but drape down so that their tips are sometimes submerged.

The Inia Dolphin in Rivers/Streams

• The Inia has no dorsal fin, only a dorsal ridge. This ride, along with larger flippers, are an adaptation used for swimming and living in shallow river waters.

• The Amazon River Dolphin has stiff hairs on its beak. These hairs are a sensory organ that help the Inia sense pray in muddy rivers.

• The Amazon River Dolphin, or Inia, has an unfused vertebrae in its neck. This gives the Inia the ability to turn its head 180 degrees to either side, giving them greater flexibility to catch prey in flooded forest floors, shallow waters, and tributaries

River/ Stream Biotic Factors

• The producers include phytoplankton, nostoc, etc.
• Some of the primary & secondary consumers include, salamanders, worms, crawfish, small/large nymph, roach fry, etc.
• Tertiary consumers include, rainbow & brown trout, steelhead, etc.
• Herbivores- Snails & freshwater shrimps
• Carnivores- Alligators & water snakes
• Omnivores-Catfish
• Decomposers- Bacteria & fungi

Grassland Symbiotic Relationships cont.

• Parasitism- Rattle is a genus herb that is considered semiparasitic. Rattle lives on the roots of grasses & gains sustenance from feeding on he flow of nutrients & water through the roots.

• Competition- During dry seasons, animals must compete for the dying grass, as well as the diminishing water hole.

Grassland Symbiotic relationships

• Mutualism- Cellulose is found in grass, & is difficult to break down. Bacteria ruminants that live in the stomachs of large herbivores helps to break down cellulose. In this way, the bacteria thrives in the stomach of the herbivores & the herbivores are able to metabolize cellulose.

River/Stream Limiting Factors

• Commensalism- Cattle grazing on grass, while they stir up insects for cattle egrets to eat. The cattle receives no benefit, but the cattle egrets benefit from the food source.

• Predation- Wolves prey on hoofed animals, such as moose, deer, & elk.

• Pollution of water
• Insufficient water depths
• Lack of hiding spaces
• Lack of nutrients from a simplified food webs

Grassland Limiting Factors

• Water- particularly during dryer times of the year, or extended periods without rain
• Fire- Long-term growth in the grassland biome is often kept in check by a cycle of natural fires
• Temperature- Temperature also varies geographically according to altitude, so many species might not be found in the same abundance, or at all, at higher altitudes.