Chaparral

For this exercise, I hiked on the Tanglewood Path and the Stonewall Panoramic Trail in the Berkeley hills.

After turning over a log, I found an isopod. It was a small organism, which leads me to believe it was utilizing the wood covering for shelter, protection, or both. It seems like it would be extremely dangerous for one of these to wander outside of such an area because of the probability of either being eaten or squashed by some other organism. In addition, many species of isopods are found in marine environments, which might mean that this particular land species was interested in finding a cooler area in the dryer chaparral. Under this same log, I also found a spider. When I witnessed this spider it was on the move, scurrying around the area covered by the log. This area was filled with different insects, leading me to believe that this spider used the space in order to acquire food or, like the isopod, to gain shelter and protect itself from predators.

Later, I found Coyote Brush. It makes sense that I would find this organism because a chaparral environment is primarily a shrubland.The plant's sticky and small leaves also work to conserve water and thus survive in the hot and dry summers that characterize the chaparral.

As I moved through the chaparral, I saw a plethora of California Towhees situated within the brush. Some stayed in one spot for a while, while others moved freely throughout different areas of the brush. The bird's color is extremely similar to the brush and this could possibly be an adaption in order to evade predators and humans. Moreover, by living within the brush, the birds feed on seeds and insects in that area.

Finally, I found a plant which I was unable to identify. However, it was very low to the ground and located in an area with mostly dirt, dried up leaves, and logs. Therefore, maybe its leaves are long and thin in order to lessen the chance of losing water.

Posted on February 22, 2013 02:52 AM by