North American Webquest

Introduction

Welcome to the North American Webquest! Today we will be looking at different animals of North America! I hope you're ready to explore,   lets get started! 

Process

Oh no! While you are on your quest, you run into this strange creature building something in the water. It is the largest rodent in North America, with a big, flat tail and sharp teeth. Click Here to learn more and remember to fill out your journal about your findings!  

Beavers are known for their buck teeth and large, flat tail. These well-known features are what help the beaver live life from day to day. This animal, from the rodent family, has a thick brown fur coat and a soft grey undercoat that protects it from all climates. The beaver's tail is large and shaped like a paddle. It functions like a boat rudder, helping steer the beaver as it moves logs to its dam. The black scaly tail is also used for balance on land when carrying heavy tree branches. Beavers are excellent swimmers and are built for underwater work. They have valves in their ears and nose that close when they swim underwater. They also have a clear layer that covers their eyes when swimming, in order to protect them from anything floating in the water. Their front teeth stick out in front of their lips, so that they may cut and chew wood that is submerged underwater without getting water in their mouth. A beaver's teeth never stop growing and chewing on tree trunks and branches helps to keep the teeth from getting too long. They are strengthened with iron compounds.

Beavers spend most of their time building dams and lodges — large cone-shaped pile of branches in the middle of a lake. They enter the lodge through an underwater entrance, which leads into a dry living area. As the colder months approach, they spread a thick layer of mud on top of the lodge to keep out any predators. If a beaver feels threatened, it will slap its tail on the surface of the water to warn other beavers in the area, then it will dive deep underwater to stay safe.Beavers are vegetarians and feed on non-woody-type plants — such as cattail shoots — during the spring and summer and then switch to eating shrubs and trees in the autumn and winter. They build canals along the ground to float sticks and twigs to their lodges for winter storage




Roudolph the Red-Nosed... Oh wait! That's not one of Santa's reindeer! This endangered animal comes from the deer family, and is called a Caribuou. This animal can weigh more than a piano! Click here to learn more about Caribou.

Caribou are mammals that live in the northern regions of Europe, North America, Asia, and Greenland. When snow begins to fall, caribou move south and travel to more sheltered climes where they can feed on moss or lichens. These members of the deer family dig for food using their large hooves. The underside of each hoof is hollowed out like a big scoop and allows the caribou to dig through snow in search of food. Caribou can weigh anywhere from 240-700 pounds! They are also between 3 and 5.6 feet long!

Caribou trek north in the summer in one of the largest animal migrations on Earth. They travel more than 600 miles (965 kilometers) along well-traveled routes. They spend the summer feeding on grasses, mushrooms, and plants in the tundra. They begin to move south in the winter and over one year they will have migrated over 1,600 miles (2,574 kilometers). One adult caribou eats about 12 pounds (5 kilograms) of food each day. Caribou are hunted by indigenous northern people throughout much of their range. Woodland caribou are listed as endangered, but other caribou populations are stable. 

Polar bears are marine mammals, and spend much of their time on Arctic sea ice. Many adaptations make polar bears uniquely suited to life in icy habitats. Their fur is thicker than any other bears’ and covers even their feet for warmth and traction on ice. A thick layer of blubber beneath their fur provides buoyancy and insulation. The long neck and narrow skull of the polar bear probably aid in streamlining the animal in the water while warming the air that they breathe, and their front feet are large, flat and oar-like, making them excellent swimmers.

Did You Know?

Polar bears have black skin to absorb heat and white fur to blend in with their environment.

Diet

Polar bears feed almost exclusively on ringed seals and bearded seals. They are also known to eat walrus,beluga whale and bowhead whale carcasses, birds’ eggs, and (rarely) vegetation. Polar bears travel great distances in search of prey.

Population

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) estimates that there are between 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the world.

Range & Habitat

Polar bears are only found in the Arctic. The most important habitats for polar bears are the edges of pack ice where currents and wind interact, forming a continually melting and refreezing matrix of ice patches and leads (open spaces in the ocean between sea ice). These are the areas of where polar bears can find the greatest number of seals.

As the sea ice advances and retreats each season, individual polar bears may travel thousands of miles per year to find food. Polar bears are distributed throughout the Arctic region in 19 subpopulations, including Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway.

Did You Know?

The polar bear is the largest and most carnivorous member of the bear family.

Behavior

Polar bears are highly dependent on older stable pack ice in the Arctic region, where they spend much of their time on the ice hunting, mating and denning. They are generally solitary as adults, except during breeding and cub rearing. Polar bears are strong swimmers, and individuals have been seen in open Arctic waters as far as 200 miles from land, although swimming long distances is not preferred since it requires so much energy for adults and can be fatal to younger bears.

Unlike brown bears, males and non-breeding females do not hibernate in the winter.

Physiology

Contrary to what its name suggests, the flying squirrel cannot fly. Instead, it glides with two furry membranes, called patagia, loosely stretched between its wrists and ankles. The membranes act as a parachute to support the squirrel while jumping from tree to tree. The flying squirrel normally glides diagonally downward from one branch, scurries to the top of the tree and jumps on a downward slant to the next one. The flying squirrel also has a flat, furry tail that it uses as a rudder while gliding. The squirrel uses both its tail and membrane to steer left and right, and even to make 180-degree turns.

The flying squirrel is normally brown on its back, and white on both its belly and the bottom side of its furry membrane. The northern flying squirrel equals in size to a red squirrel, and the southern species is comparable to a chipmunk. Nocturnal mammals, they have large, dark, bulging eyes that are well adapted for night vision. They also has something called "feelers," which are sensitive whiskers used to make nocturnal travel easier. To mark forest routes, the squirrel uses scent glands in its cheeks.

Habitats/Behaviours 

click for larger imaThe squirrels are most active between dusk and dawn. Omnivorous, it eats nuts, seeds, berries, insects, tree buds and sometimes eggs or nestlings. Although the northern and southern flying squirrels are mainly found in trees, they forage the forest ground for food. They run slowly and clumsily on the ground and, if startled far from a tree, will try to hide.

The northern species lives in mixed or coniferous forests, while its southern counterpart occupies hardwood forests of oak, maple, beech and hickory.

Range


The southern flying squirrel is found throughout eastern parts of North America and the southeastern parts of Canada. It is found mostly in the Carolinian deciduous forests of southern Ontario, but can also be seen north to Muskoka and the Ottawa Valley, as well as in parts of Quebecand Nova Scotia. Its range partly overlaps that of the northern flying squirrel, which can generally be found from the U.S.-Canada border north to the tree line. The two species, however, do not interbreed.

The population of the northern species is unknown as there is very little monitoring data available. The southern species, however, is listed as vulnerable in Canada. The southern flying squirrel was once common in Point Pelee National Park in Ontario, but it slowly disappeared as its forest habitat was changed to farms, cottages, and heavily used campgrounds. In the past few decades, however, most of these invasions have been stemmed, making it possible for the squirrel to return.

Alligator, Gator, American alligator, Florida alligator, Mississippi alligator, Louisiana alligator.

Alligator mississippiensis

What do they look like?

The average size for an adult female is just under 3 meters (9.8 feet), while the adult male usually falls between 4 and 4.5 meters (13 to 14.7 feet). American alligators reaching lengths of 5-6 meters (16 to 20 feet) have been reported in the past, but there have been no recent recordings equaling those lengths. (Britton, 1999; Ross, 1989)

American alligators have very short legs, but they are still able to run very quickly over short distances. The two front legs each have 5 toes, and the two back legs each have four webbed toes. The snout of America alligators is also very important. It is much broader for those animals kept in zoos and parks than for those that live in the wild. This is because of the animal's diet.(Britton, 1999)

Alligators have nostrils at the end of their snouts. This makes it easy for the alligator to breath while it is under water. All it has to do it stick the tip of it's snout into the air. During the winter alligators do this and let the top half of their body to freeze in the ice. (Britton, 1999)

Both males and females have an "armored" body with a muscular flat tail used for swimming. The skin is so tough because of hard bony plates called scutes. Adults have an olive brown or black color with a creamy white underside. Young alligators look different only because they are smaller and have yellow stripes on their tails. American alligators usually have silverish eyes.(Britton, 1999; Ross, 1989)

  • Sexual Dimorphism
  • male larger
  • Average mass
    150000 g
    5286.34 oz
    AnAge
  • Range length
    3 to 4.5 m
    9.84 to 14.76 ft
  • Average basal metabolic rate
    0.1539 W
    AnAge

Where do they live?

American alligators are found from the southern Virginia-North Carolina border, along the Atlantic coast to Florida and along the Gulf of Mexico as far west as the Rio Grande in Texas.(Britton, 1999)

What kind of habitat do they need?

American alligators are usually found in freshwater, slow-moving rivers. They are also found in swamps, marshes, and lakes. Unlike some crocodile species, American alligators can only live in salt water for a short time. (Britton, 1999; Ross, 1989)

American alligators are also known to modify their enivironment by creating burrows. These are created using both snout and tail and are used for shelter and hibernation during freezing temperatures. If the water they live in dries out, alligators will swim or walk to other bodies of water, sometimes even taking shelter in swimming pools. (Britton, 1999)

How do they grow?

The temperature at which American alligator eggs develop determines their sex. Those eggs which are hatched in temperatures ranging from 90 to 93 degrees Fahrenheit turn out to be male, while those in temperatures from 82 to 86 degrees Fehrenheit end up being female. Intermediate temperature ranges have proven to yield a mix of both male and females. After hatching, alligators can grow rapidly, espectially during the first four years of life, averaging over 1 foot of growth for each year of life. Both sexes reach sexual maturity at around 6 feet in length, however, this occurs earlier in males because they reach this length sooner than females. (; Ross, 1989)

  • Development - Life Cycle
  • temperature sex determination

How do they reproduce?

Breeding takes place during the night, in shallow waters. Females usually start the courtship process. Attracting a mate often involves rubbing, touching, blowing bubbles, and making sounds. The sounds made by males create bubbles and ripples in the water. To test eachothers strength, both male and female will often try to push each other under water. (; Ross, 1989)

Alligators are polygynous. That means that each male mates with many females. During breeding season males alligators are very territorial, and they will defend their area against other males by headramming or attacking one another with open jaws. (; Ross, 1989)

Both males and females reach sexual maturity when they are about six feet long, a length attained at about 10 to 12 years, earlier for males than females. Courtship starts in April, with mating occuring in early May. After mating has taken place, the female builds a nest of vegetation. Then, around late June and early July, the female lays 35 to 50 eggs. Some females have been reported as laying up to 88 eggs. The eggs are then covered with the vegetation nest through the 65-day incubation period. (Britton, 1999; )

Around the end of August the young alligators begin to make high pitched noises from inside the eggs. The alligators then break free from their eggs. They are about 6-8 inches long when they are born. Most of these baby alligators will be eaten by predators before they reach one year of age. Mother alligators, though, stay with their young for a few months, and occasionally, a few years. (Britton, 1999; )

  • Key Reproductive Features
  • gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate) 
  • oviparous
  • How often does reproduction occur?
    American alligators breed once yearly.
  • Breeding season
    Breeding occurs in early May, with egg laying occuring in late June and early July.
  • Range number of offspring
    35 to 88
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    10 to 12 years
  • Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    10 to 12 years

Males provide no parental care, and parental care by the female is limited to the first year of life. She is responsible for removing any vegetation covering the nest when her young are ready to hatch, and she will often bring them to water after hatching. During the first year or so she will defend her hatchlings from predators. After the first year, the female leaves her young to tend to new hatchlings of the next breeding season. ()

  • Parental Investment
  • pre-weaning/fledging 
       
    • protecting 
      • female 

How long do they live?

While there are currently no methods for determining the age of an alligator while still alive, it is known that those in the wild tend to live to between 35 and 50 year, while those in captive generally live longer, around 65-80 years. Factors which can lead to earlier mortality include successful predation early in life and hunting by humans. ()

  • Typical lifespan
    Status: wild
    35 to 50 years
  • Typical lifespan
    Status: captivity
    65 to 80 years

How do they behave?

Young alligators remain in the area where they are hatched and are generally a social species when young. This method of group living is associated with greater protection from predators. Adults do not display such close knit bonds, however, they do tend to associate loosly in social groups. When forced to live in tighter areas as a result of drought, though, these animals tend to ignore each other. (Britton, 1999; Levy, 1991; Ross, 1989)

One interesting aspect of alligator biology is that even though they don't hibernate, they undergo periods of dormancy when the weather becomes cold. They may excavate a cave in a waterway and leave a portion of it above water during this time. In areas where water level fluctuates, alligators dig themselves into hollows in the mud, which fill with water. These tunnels are often as long as 65 feet and provide protection during extreme hot or cold weather.(Britton, 1999; Levy, 1991)

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of alligator behavior is its means of locomotion. Besides swimming, American alligators walk, run, and crawl. Most often they will use a "high walk". In this walk alligators keep their legs almost directly beneath them, as opposed to most reptiles which keep their legs to the sides at a diagonal. This "high walk" results in greater elevation, allowing alligators to almost entirely lift their tales up off of the ground. (Ross, 1989)

When alligators wish to increase speed they diagonally opposite limbs move forward almost simultaneously. This allows for faster movement, but it also decreases the animal's stability. When the eqilibrium is lost an alligator begins moving in a new way, moving its limbs out to the sides and crashing onto its chest. In this manner an alligator quickly crawls along. This method of movement is most useful when going down steep shorelines into the water. (Ross, 1989)

Home Range

Female alligators usually remain in a small area. The males occupy areas greater than two square miles. Both males and females extend their ranges during the courting and breeding season. (Britton, 1999; Levy, 1991)

How do they communicate with each other?

American alligators are the most vocal of all crocodilians, and communication begins early in life, while alligators are still in eggs. When they are ready to hatch, the young will make high pitched whining noises. Alligators commonly bellow and roar at one another. The bellow is loud and throaty, and can be heard from up to 165 yards away. Alligators also emit sounds called chumpfs. These are cough like purrs made during courting. (; Levy, 1991; Ross, 1989)

Other communication during mating season includes non-verbal forms such as lifting the head out of the water to show honorable intentions, headslapping by males as a sign of aggression to ward off intruders, and perhaps most notably, the virbrations, bubbles, and ripples seen in the water as a result of subaudible noises.

What do they eat?

Alligators are basically carnivores, but they eat more than just meat, feeding on anything from sticks to fishing lures to aluminum cans. Mostly, they consume fish, turtles, snakes, and small mammals. When they are young they feed on insects, snails, and small fish. (Britton, 1999;Levy, 1991)

Alligators hunt primarily in the water at night, snapping up small prey and swallowing it whole. Large prey are dragged under water, drowned and then devoured in pieces. Alligators have also been known to hold food in their mouth until it deteriorates enough to swallow. They also have a specialized valve in the throat called a glottis, which allows them to capture prey underwater.()

With regards to hunting animals on land, alligators are usually considered idle hunters, waiting offshore for unsuspecting prey to drink at the water's edge. With this approach an alligator is likely to grab the drinking animal's head, slowly pulling it underwater until it drowns. In this way alligators exert minimal energy in capturing prey.

  • Animal Foods
  • birds 
  • mammals 
  • amphibians 
  • reptiles 
  • fish 
  • eggs 
  • insects 
  • mollusks
  • Plant Foods
  • wood, bark, or stems

What eats them and how do they avoid being eaten?

The first few years of a hatchlings life are the most dangerous, as anything that can eat a small alligator will. Snakes, wading birds, osprey, raccoons, otters, large bass, garfish, even larger alligators will feed upon young alligators. Once the alligator reaches about 4 feet, its only real predator is man. Extremely thick skin protected by bony plates called scutes prevent harm from most attacks. It is this skin, though, which attracts man to alligators. It is commercially used for the creation of wallets, purses, boots, and other textiles. (; Ross, 1989)

What roles do they have in the ecosystem?

American alligators have proven to be an important part of the environment, and therefor, are considered by many to be a "keystone" species. Not only do they control populations of prey species, they also create peat and "alligator holes" which are invaluable to other species. Red-bellied turtles, for example, incubates its own eggs in old alligator nests. Alligators also are good indicators of environmental factors, such as toxin levels. Increased levels of mercury have been found in recent blood samples. (Britton, 1999)

Do they cause problems?

Since the alligator will feed on almost anything, they pose a threat to humans. In Florida, where there is the greatest alligator population, there were five deaths to alligator attacks from 1973 to 1990. Dogs and other pets are also sometimes killed. (University of Florida)

How do they interact with us?

Alligators are hunted mostly for their skin, but also they are hunted for their meat. Today, there is a multimillion dollar industry in which alligators are raised in captivity for the production of their meat and skin. Also, alligators are a tourist attraction, especially in Florida.

  • Ways that people benefit from these animals:
  • food 
  • body parts are source of valuable material 
  • ecotourism

Are they endangered?

American alligators are listed as threatened by the federal government because they are similar in appearance to American crocodiles (Crocodylus acutus). American crocodiles are endangered and the government does not want hunters to confuse the two species. Hunting is allowed in some states, but is is heavily controlled.

Cougars, also known as mountain lions or pumas, are native to Washington state. About 2,500 live in Washington state, double the populations of the early 1980s, and their numbers are growing.

What they look like: Cougars are carnivores (meat eating animals). They are very good at hiding and are rarely seen in the wild.

Cougars are mammals and the young drink their mother's milk. This animal is identified by its large size, cat-like appearance, uniformly gray to reddish-tan body color, and long tail - nearly three feet (1 m) long and a third of its total length. The muzzle and chest are white and there are black markings on the face, ears and tip of the tail. Cougar kittens have black spots until they are about 6 months old.

Adult males weigh up to 200 pounds (about the weight of an adult man), and adult females up to 120 pounds.



Where they live: Other than humans, cougars are the most widely distributed land mammal in the Western Hemisphere. Cougars range from northwestern Canada to Patagonia, South America. Click on a range map to see where cougars live in Washington and California.

Cougars make their dens in rocky ledges, dense thickets and under uprooted trees. They are highly territorial— a male cougar may use a home range of 50 to 150 square miles (for comparison, the City of Seattle is 92 square miles).

What they eat: Cougars hunt primarily from dusk till dawn (sunset to sunrise). Their primary prey is deer, but they also eat porcupines, raccoons, birds, small mammals, foxes, mice, and grass.

After the cougar is finished feeding on prey, it will cover the carcass (dead animal) with leaves and sticks to save it for another day.

How they develop: Cougars begin breeding at about 3 years of age. Typical litters have 1 to 6 kittens born after a 3-month pregnancy (people have a 9-month pregnancy). Their eyes open in 8 or 9 days and the young are weaned from the mother in 2 to 3 months. The kittens may remain with the mother into their second year.

How long they live: Cougars live about 10 to 20 years in the wild and over 20 years in captivity.

NatureMapping - Project CAT (Cougars and Teaching)Project CAT in designed to provide research on cougars in rural and suburban settings to better understand cougar-human interactions. K-12 students, teachers and local community members will assist researchers in this study of regional cougar populations. Learn more >>

Did you know?

  • A cougar can jump upward 18 feet from a sitting position. They can leap up to 40 feet horizontally.
  • Cougars cannot roar like a lion, but they can make calls like a human scream.
  • Generally, adult cougars are solitary animals (they live alone).
  • Kittens are born with their eyes closed like the domestic cat. Their baby-blue eyes open at around two weeks and change to greenish-yellow in about 16-months.
  • Natives of Puget Sound called cougars "fire cats" and believed that each fall the cat carried fire from the Olympic mountains to Mt. Rainier, starting a forest fire along the way.
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