Transcript CHS Food Web Power Point

Broom Snakeweed
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledons
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Gutierrezia
Species:
Gutierrezia sarothrae
Broom Snakeweed
Yellow, tiny flowers, but masses of them. In
the sunflower family (see picture to
right).
Animals, like pronghorn antelope, eat it,
but it is toxic to others, such as cattle,
sheep and small herbivores.
Habitat: Overgrazed and disturbed areas .
The Comanche Indians bound the stems
together to make brooms, and Navajo
used chewed plants to apply to
wounds, snakebites and insect bites.
Sagebrush,
Artemisia filifolia
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledons
Order: Asterales
Family: Asteraceae
Genus: Artemisia
Species:
Artemisia filifolia
Sagebrush,
Artemisia filifolia
This light grayish-green colored shrub
looses its narrow threadlike silvery
leaves in the fall and into the winter.
The shrub has medium-to-fine texture
in summer and coarse in winter.
Yellow bloom colors producing copious
amounts of pollen, which when briefly
displayed, the white seed heads seed
heads are showy.
It is known to grow in sandy soils and is
often consequently found in gullies and
arroyos.
An important part of the habitat for many
animals, such as this jackrabbit.
Four-wing Saltbush
Atriplex canescens
Kingdom: Plantae
Division: Angiosperms
Class: Dicotyledons
Order: Caryophalles
Family: Chenopodiacae
Genus: Atriplex
Species:
Atriplex canescens
Four-wing Saltbush
Atriplex canescens
Goosefoot Family - Perennial
Tiny whitish, inconspicuous flowers
followed by masses of four-winged
seeds.
This is a very important plant in our area.
The plant is salt-tolerant, is an
excellent erosion-inhibitor, and provides
wonderful habitat for wildlife. The
seeds are edible by humans, birds and
mammals. The foliage tastes salty.
Males and females are separate plants
which is why you see plants with
masses of seeds (females) next to
plants with none (males).
These rare butterflies (from So.
California) need this plant to lay their
eggs.
Desert Cottontail
Sylvilagus audubonii
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Lagomorpha
Family: Leporidae
Genus: Sylvilagus
Species:
Sylvilagus audobonii
Desert Cottontail
Sylvilagus audubonii




Desert Cottontails eat mainly grass, but will eat many other plants, herbs,
vegetables and even cacti.
To avoid overheating, desert cottontails have higher activity periods at night;
light-colored fur to minimize absorption of solar heat; and large ears, with blood
vessels just below the skin level, that can radiate body heat to the air. When
temperatures climb above eighty degrees Fahrenheit, the cottontails’ activity
level decreases significantly.
Cottontails can breed at eighty days old, then mate again soon after giving
birth. Adults live to about two years old.
The cottontail's tail functions as an alarm signal. When a rabbit raises its tail, the
large white patch of fur on the bottom is exposed, serving as a warning signal to
other cottontails.
Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys sp.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Family: Heteromyidae
Genus: Dipodomys
Species:
Dipodomys spp.
Kangaroo Rat
Dipodomys sp.


Small, seed-eating rodents that are
adapted for survival in an arid
environment:

Have the ability to convert the
dry seeds they eat into water.

Neither sweat nor pant like other
animals to keep cool.

Have specialized kidneys which
allow them to dispose of waste
materials with very little output
of water.
Are eaten by birds of prey, snakes,
bobcats, coyotes.
Differential Grasshopper
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Orthopteraa
Family: Acrididae
Genus: Melanoplus
Species:

Melanoplus
differentialis
Differential Grasshopper
Found throughout most of
the United States except for the
east coast and northwest.
Within its range the M.
differentialis is most often found
in heavily weeded areas and
grasslands, they can even be
spotted in vacant lots and other
urban areas. This species is not
migratory but can travel within
a few miles to search for food.

Food source for lizards and
some birds, and other
animals.
Greater Roadrunner
(Geococcyx californianus)
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Cuculiformes
Family: Cuculidae
Genus: Geococcyx
Species:
Geococcyx californianus
Greater Roadrunner
(Geococcyx californianus)
Roadrunners eat snails, lizards, mice
and are quick enough to catch and
eat rattlesnakes.
Prefer walking or running and attain
speeds up to 17 mph. hour
Also called the Chaparral Cock.
Reabsorbs water from its feces before
excretion.
The Roadrunner’s nasal gland eliminates
excess salt, instead of using the
urinary tract like most birds.
New Mexico Whiptail Lizard
Cnemidophorus neomexicanus
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Telidae
Genus: Cnemidophorus
Species:
Cnemidophorus
neomexicanus
Three species of whiptail: little striped whiptail,
(C. inornatus), New Mexico whiptail (C.
neomexicanus) and western whiptail (C. tigris)
Whiptail Lizards



In 15 of the Cnemidophorus species there are no males. They
reproduce without fertilization, a process known as parthenogenesis of
"virgin birth". The offspring of parthenogenic lizards are clones,
identical to the mother.
There are some advantages to a parthenogenic lifestyle:

All members of your species can lay eggs and reproduction is more
efficient

Good mutations are passed on more efficiently in clones than in
sexual species

You don't waste a lot of time and energy searching for a mate
Like most other whiptail lizards, the New Mexico whiptail is diurnal and
insectivorous.
Red Tailed Hawk
Buteo spp.
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Acciptriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Buteo
Species:
Buteo spp.
Red Tailed Hawk
Buteo sp.
Hawks are carnivores (meat eaters) who
belong to the category of birds known
as raptors.
85 to 90 % of the Red-tailed Hawk's diet is
composed of small rodents, but can eat
other things like snakes and insects.
Like all hawks, the Red-tailed Hawk's
talons are its main weapons.
The eyesight of a hawk is 8 times as
powerful as a human's.
The Red-tailed Hawk has hoarse and
rasping 2- to3-second scream that is
most commonly heard while soaring.