ChaparralEcosystemStudy

UnderstandingtheChaparral

Thechaparralecosystemisashrublandfoundeither30abovetheequatororbelowit.
Theweatherannuallyisusuallyverywarmanddry.Duringthewintersthetemperatureonly
dropstoaboutamild50F.Inthesummerhowever,thetemperaturecansoartoover100F.
Fireswhichareabigcomponentinthechaparralarevery
commoninthesummertimeduetothelackofwaterand
highheat.Thechaparralfeaturesplantswithsclerophyllous
leaveswhicharehardandwaxytoretainmoisture.
Thereareatotalof814organismsthatwehave
observedinourstudyarea.Thisdatareferstotheabundance
ofanimalsorthenumberofanimalsthatweredocumented.
Themostoverallthatweredocumentedhavebeeninsects
andplants,Whichtellsustheresalargeamountofprimary
consumerandproducersbothofwhomarenearoronthe
bottomofthefoodchain.Afoodchainisatieredseriesof
organismswhoaredependantonthenextinlineasasource
ofnourishment.Ofthose814organismsthathavebeen

categorizedintotheirrespectivespeciesofwhichthereare131.Thisdatareferstothe
biodiversitywhichpresentsaboutthevariationoflifewithinanecosystem.Fromthegraph

above,thechaparralecosystemispredominantlymadeupofplantsandinsects.Whichcan
supportawiderangeoflargeranimals.Thegraphalsostatesthattherearelittleamphibians
supportingthefactthatthechaparralisadryarea.
Interactions
Interactionsaresimilartoatransaction,Anexchangeofgoodsorservices.Sometimes
bothorganismsbenefitfromtheseinteractions.Sometimestheyloseorgainnothing.Likeabee
pollinatingaflower,thatisaninteractionbetweenorganisms.Theinteractionisthebeesneed
nectarfromtheflowersinordertosustainthemandtheirhive,andflowersneedthepollenthat
thebeesinadvertentlypickuptoreproduce.Inthiscasebothpartiesbenefitfromthisinteraction.
Thesearethekindofthingsanecologistwouldobserveoutinthefield.Insomeinstancesone
partybenefitsandtheotherpartyloses.Suchasinteractionsalongthefoodchain,which

indicateswhateatswhat.Apredator,likearedtailedhawkbenefitsfromeatingitsprey,maybe
aduskyfootedwoodratgainingenergytokeepongoingtofinditsnextprey.Theduskyfooted
woodrathoweverclearlydoesnotbenefitfromthiskindofinteraction.

Organismsalsointeractwiththeirenvironment.Itcontainstheirmeansforsurvival.Soit
becomestheirhomeandovertimetheybegintoadapttoittheirenvironment.Likecamouflage
forinstance,thechaparralisnotverygreensotheanimalshaveadaptedcoloringtomatchthe
sandyandrockygroundinordertoblendinbetterwiththeirsurroundings.Theyalsoadapttothe
weather,inthechaparraltherearewarm,drysummersandcold,wetwinters.Theplantshave
adaptedtohavesparse,small,andwaxyleavestobattletheoverabundanceofsunlight.They
alsocangodormantfromlackofwaterformonthsatatimeduringthelongdryspells.This
abilityisanadaptiontothedry,desertlikeenvironment.Whenitrainstheyrejuvenateandfocus
oncollectingasmuchwateraspossibletostoreforthenextdryspell.

HumanImpact
Humanshavealargeimpactonwhatgoesonintheirsurroundings.Thesecaneitherbe
negativeorpositive.Somenegativeimpactwehaveislargelyduetofeedinganimals.These
organismthenlearntoscroungeforfoodaroundhumans.Humansgenerallyreactvery
negativelytohavingwildanimalsinsuburbanorurbanareasandthenmovetodriveoutthese
animalswhomaynolongerknowhowtofindfoodinthewild.Wealsodevelopthelandwhich
giveshumansmorespacetoliveandroam,whiletakingawayspacefromtheoriginalhabitat
thatwasoncethere.
Howeverhumanshavealsopositivelyimpactedtheareaaswell.Throughconservation
efforts,suchasreplantingandreintroducingnativespeciesbackintothearea.Leavingthemto
reclaimthelandthatwasoncetheirs.Thechaparralisimportanttousbecausewehavethe
powertomakeachangeinthisfragileandrareecosystem.itsourresponsibilityaschaparral
nativestotakecareofourbackyard.