Part 1: Animal Profile
Common name: Flamingo
Scientific name: Phoenicopterus ruber
Scientific name: Phoenicopterus ruber
Interdependence
Habitat: Flamingos live in aquatic areas like lakes or coast lines
Interaction with ecosystem/environment: They normally live in areas with out much vegetation but a really important part of a habitat that affects a flamingo population is whether there are many fish or not. This is because if there are no fish then there is no competition for the microorganisms like diatoms and algae and crustaceans that they consume. This is specifically true in the behaviors of the Chilean flamingo which is shown in image 1. Interaction with biome: Flamingos always live in aquatic areas like lakes and according to seaworld.org "Remote breeding grounds make it difficult for terrestrial predators to feed regularly on flamingos. Land predators will, however, enter the flamingo breeding grounds when water levels are low". These land predators include birds of prey like vultures, big cats like lions and cheetahs, and in some areas even pigs. These predators will feed on the eggs, young, and adult flamingos. "Blue-green and red algae, diatoms, larval and adult forms of small insects, crustaceans, mollusks, and small fishes make up the main diet of flamingos (seaworld.com)". According to bioexpedition.com all of the different kinds of flamingos have different variations of diets which is good "because if they all ate the same thing, there would be high competition for food and feeding grounds". Interaction with other organisms within species: Different subspecies of flamingos can live together. Interaction with other organisms within a population of their species: A population of flamingos is also called flocks or colonies. The flocks don't just contain a few birds but rather tens of thousands in one area as shown in image 3. A major part of interaction between flamingos with in a colony is making noises. These noises help the flock stay together and many of these noises are vital to certain actions like those between chicks and their parents. Often flamingos man with in a colony will breed in a synchronize. There are also many movements involved in basic communication between two or more flamingos that include head-flag, wing-salute, and twist preen. Head-flag is being displayed in image 4 to the left. During this they wave their heads side to side in a flag like motion to communicate with other flamingos. Interaction with other species or their community: This is like the interaction with in biome but in smaller scale. See the "interaction with biome". |
Flow of Energy
To the left in image 5 is the basic food chain of the flamingo. In this case the red algae is the producer which is consumed by the flamingos who are omnivores because they consume both plants and animals. Then there is the carnivores or secondary consumers of the flamingos which are birds of prey. Specifically in this case it is the White-Headed Vulture. (I made the diagrams in both image 5 and 9.)
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To the left is an energy pyramid that shows how energy flows from the food the the flamingos eat to what eats the flamingos. According to seaworld.com Diurnal birds of prey ,like the ones that consume flamingos, are eaten by larger birds of prey like owls. As you go up on the energy pyramid the amount of energy decreases. There are many nutrients that cycle through both the food chain and the energy pyramid but the five main ones are carbon, oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and phosphate. According to marine.rutgers.edu phosphate is very important for flamingos because in the freshwater areas where the live phosphate plays a huge role in algae and phytoplankton which are both major parts of the flamingos diet. With out the phosphate these two food sources could not grow in such high volumes and that would take out an large part of the flamingos diet. Oxygen is made by plants through photosynthesis and in this case by plants I mean algae but in order to d this they must have carbon. Flamingos and all other creature need water to live and without the element of hydrogen there would be no water. Lastly according to epa.gov "nitrogen is also the most abundant element in the air" there for in order for flamingos and all other terrestrial creature to breath nitrogen is highly needed.
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Succession
The "McDougal Littell Georgia Biology" text book describes succession as "the sequence of biotic changes that regenerate a damaged community or create a community in a previously uninhabited area". There are two kinds of succession; primary and secondary.
Succession affect environments by making them inhabitable so that ecosystems and therefor organisms can flourish there.
Succession affect flamingos because if there was a terrestrial area that had become damaged but was then flooded or something else happened to make it result in an aquatic area then flamingos coming from another can live there. It the area had not been damaged but uninhabitable in the first place this could also occur. These are examples of secondary and primary succession.
- Primary succession (image 6) is when an area that has never been inhabited becomes inhabitable.
- Secondary succession (image 7) is when an area used to be inhabitable but it was damaged but then it is "reestablished" because of the leftover soil from the past.
Succession affect environments by making them inhabitable so that ecosystems and therefor organisms can flourish there.
Succession affect flamingos because if there was a terrestrial area that had become damaged but was then flooded or something else happened to make it result in an aquatic area then flamingos coming from another can live there. It the area had not been damaged but uninhabitable in the first place this could also occur. These are examples of secondary and primary succession.
Human Impact
![Picture](/uploads/4/3/5/2/43529003/5991784.jpg?277)
There are few resources that give an in-depth look into the human impact of the lives and environments of flamingos but a very credible one is seaworld.com. This resource outlines four ways that humans influence flamingos.
- Through mining, low flying aircraft carriers, desert irrigation, and construction of roads humans have polluted or destroyed places where flamingos eat, live, and breed.
- Flamingo eggs (shown in image 8) are considered a "delicacy" in many parts of the world and are consumed. Flamingo fat is used for medicinal purposes among Andean miners . These things have decreased flamingo numbers.
- In the 1960's flamingos were unsuccessfully tracked or banded in an attempt to see how Flamingos live and migrate. Few birds were successfully tracked.
- Human activity has actually helped the environment of flamingos in certain areas. For example "human activity on Great Inagua Island in the Bahamas has helped flamingo populations. Salt production has added many acres of suitable habitat, stabilized water levels, and provided additional food sources."
Plant Adaptations
1. Adaptation: Holdfast for algae
According to bioweb.uwlax.edu algae has the ability to make a "root-like structure at the base" so that the waves cannot carry it from the rock or surface it is attached to. This is because the algae grew in that specific ecosystem so if it is taken somewhere else with that is different the changes in pH for example can kill the algae. This is clearly displayed in image 12 to the right. This is an example of thigmotropism because the waves are touching or pulling the algae and in response the algae develops the holdfast. It can also be considered hydrotropism because the holdfast occurs in response to the water. 2. Adaptation: blend into surroundings for algae According to ehow.com algae adapts to bland in with the rock or surface that it is living on so that fish do not completely eradicate the organism by eating all of it. This is orthotropism because it is simply in response to stimulus. 3. Adaptation: change chemical make up to surve in polluted water ehow.com also states that it has been observed that if algae is subjected to pollution then it can adapt its chemical makeup so that it can survive among the new chemicals from the pollution. This is chemotropism because it is in response to the chemicals from the pollution. |
Animal's Physical and Behavioral Adaptations
1. Adaptation: Ability to consume hot or salty water
According to wisegeek.org this is possible because "During the course of normal feeding, the birds take in salty water, and they will also drink it. They are able excrete the excess salt through special glands next to their beaks. This is very good for them because "it allows flamingos to stay in open salty lagoons for long periods to avoid predators, since they do not need to seek out fresh water frequently. These birds do, however, need some fresh water, and in some cases, the only source is from hot springs. Unusually, they are able to drink water at very high temperatures." Flamingos and other bird have this ability and it it visually explained in the diagram to the right. |
2. Adaptation: Living in very large groups
Wisegeek.org also point out that the fact that flamingos live in extremely large groups or colonies is a behavioral adaptation. This simply protect them from predators because if many are together and feeding and a few realize there is a predator near they can let the rest of the colony know. This adaptation is shown in image 3 at the top of the page.
Wisegeek.org also point out that the fact that flamingos live in extremely large groups or colonies is a behavioral adaptation. This simply protect them from predators because if many are together and feeding and a few realize there is a predator near they can let the rest of the colony know. This adaptation is shown in image 3 at the top of the page.
![Picture](/uploads/4/3/5/2/43529003/7730162.jpg?248)
3. Adaptation: long legs
According to seaworld.com flamingos' long legs are helpful because they can wade into much deeper water (shown in image 11). This may help them get away from predators on the land.
According to seaworld.com flamingos' long legs are helpful because they can wade into much deeper water (shown in image 11). This may help them get away from predators on the land.