BIO SCI 55 Chapter Notes - Chapter 4: Isle Royale National Park, Lymantria Dispar Dispar, Kaibab Plateau
28 Aug 2016
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Document Summary
In forests that are rich in acorns, white-footed mice carry microorganisms that cause lyme disease in their blood. When ticks attach themselves to the mice, they get those microorganisms and then attach themselves deer that transport the ticks to plants where there is often contact with humans. Years of high acorn are called bumper crops and between those times, mice populations decline. Mice also feed off of gypsy moth larvae and periods in between bumper crops cause an influx of gypsy moths which can eat most leaves of the trees. This allows sunlight to hit the soil and allow plants to grow and possibly overtake the forest"s composition. The acorn connection illustrates the relationships of ecosystems and ecological communities. Ecological communities: all the living parts in the ecosystem. These communities depend on the non-living parts of ecosystems just as much as the living parts. Some of these include sunlight, air, and water.
