Oak-Pine Northern Hardwood Forests of the Watershed Center

Identification
The newts start out about 1 inch long, but can get up to 4 inches long as a full grown adult. Red Efts are born an egg in the water, when they hatch they are bright orange with black dots. As they mature they grow lungs and leave the water to live on land. When the Newts become adults they become light green and go back to live in the water where they came from. Red Efts have 4 toes in the front and 5 in the back.

Niche
The Red Eft is a consumer because it eats other organisms such as insects to get its energy. The salamander is an omnivore; it eats plants and meats. Mainly the Red Eft eats insects, grass, and other small wetland animals such as snails or slugs. Because of the toxins in their skin, the Red Eft doesn’t have too many problems with predators. The most threatening predator for the salamander is us, humans.

Sources:
http://www.exploringnature.org/db/detail.php?dbID=43&detID=725
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnivore less ↑

Cicadas (/sɪˈkɑːdə/ or /sɪˈkeɪdə/), alternatively spelled as Cicala or Cicale, are insects in the order Hemiptera, suborder Auchenorrhyncha (which was formerly included in the now invalid suborder Homoptera). Cicadas are in the superfamily Cicadoidea. Their eyes are prominent, though not especially large, and set wide apart on the anterior lateral corners of the frons. The wings are well-developed, with conspicuous veins; in some species the wing membranes are wholly transparent, whereas in many others the proximal... less ↑

Identification

The Black Bear can be identified by the size and its color. It has black fur, larger ears, no hump on the back of its neck, and it has a straight face. The length of its body is 4-7 feet from nose to tip of tail. Males weigh an average of 150-300 lbs and the females are smaller than the average male. The average lifespan is around 10 years.

Niche
The Black bear is a consumer, because it eats another organism to get its energy. The American Black Bear is omnivorous, eating plants, fruits, insects, honey, salmon, and small animals. Also they occasionally kill young deer and moose. Also the black bears hibernate in the winter months. less ↑

Identification

Sciurus carolinensis or the Eastern Grey Squirrel is native to the eastern and midwest of the United States, and eastern Canada. The range of the gray squirrel coincides with that of the Sciurus niger (fox squirrel), they are often confused, although the fox squirrel's nativity is more to the west of the U.S.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_gray_squirrel

Niche

The Eastern grey squirrel is a consumer. We know this because it can not be producer because it does not produce for the other organisms in the ecosystem, and can not be a decomposer because it does not decompose the dead things that need to be decomposed. Grey squirrels are generally herbivores but will scavenge through our garbage for food.

http://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/46017-Sciurus-carolinensis

There is often the Eastern Grey squirrel in the Oak-Pine-Northern hardwood Forest. However we did not see and photograph this species while at the Watershed Center. Though we suspect it is there. That is why we are including it in the field guide for the Watershed Center. less ↑

Identification:
A white-tailed deer has ovalish scat and a heart-shaped track with a 30 in stride.
The whitetail deer has brownish fur. Fawns have brown fur with white spots. A male weighs about 150 pounds and female weighs about 130 pounds.

Niche:
A whitetail deer is a consumer. It eats plants to get its energy.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White-tailed_deer less ↑