Deciduous+Forest


 *  || [[image:http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/fat_dormouse.jpg width="202" height="210" align="center"]]

||  || There are 21 different species of dormice. The fat dormouse is the largest dormouse in Europe. They can be found in Africa, Europe, Asia, and Japan. These rodents look like short, fat squirrels with bushy tails. The European and Asian dormice are the largest in the dormice family. Arik Garth ||


 *  || [[image:http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/viburnum-opulus.jpg width="216" height="162" align="center"]]

||  || The Guelder Rose prefers to grow at low altitudes and in semi-shade in Scotland and England. It is native to the woodlands of the European deciduous forest. It is found at the edges of woods, hedgerows and marshes. In the United States it is found in agricultural zones 3 to 8, which is a relatively cool climate. It grows in both heavy clay and acidic soil. It was first cultivated in Gelderland, a Dutch province, then introduced to England. Arik Garth ||


 *  || [[image:http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/images/pecantree.jpg width="194" height="235" align="center"]]

||  || The pecan tree can grow to enormous heights, sometimes to heights of 180 feet, and has an upright growing pattern. The bark is pale gray or whitish brown, scaly, and deeply furrowed. The bark on the pecan tree is rough and scaly, and is pale grey or brown. The heartwood is solid brown and black. Arik Garth || 
 * = Deciduous Forests can be found all around the world. From Asia to North America this Biome is wide spread. Deciduous Forests are found in Russia, Japan, China, USA, Chile, Paraguay, New Zealand, and even stretch to Australia. The climate of the biome is distinct due to the four seasons it experiences. It goes through a fall, a winter, a summer, and a spring. The temperature changes with the season as does precipitation. Animals of the biome have specific adaptations to deal with all of the season's conditions. The biggest threat to the biome is logging and the timber industry. Millions of acres are lost every day and the loss of trees are uncountable. With the loss of trees the worlds production of oxygen falls and the effects of the loss of oxygen can only be imagined.

Dan Cook ||   ||   ||
 * Temperate Deciduous Forest. ||


 * [[image:file/view/deciduous_location_map001.gif width="685" height="361" align="center" caption="World Location Deciduous Forests"]] ||
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__EUROPEAN RED SQUIRREL__ ** **Genus:** Sciurus
 * Species:** Vulgaris The European r[[image:euro_red_squirrel.jpg align="left"]]ed squirrel lives in forests, parks, and some gardens. It reaches maturity at around 9-10 months old. They have 2 litters; one in February and the other in June. Each litter contains around 3 or 4 babies. Baby squirrels weigh 8-12 g. (0.5 oz.) and are blind, deaf and naked at birth. At 4 weeks their eyes and ears open. Squirrels are finally independent by 8 weeks but stay near their mother for a while. They learn what foods they can eat from their mothers. When they get older they don't like to try out new foods. The male doesn't help take care of the babies. The red squirrel lives around 4-6 years. They don't hibernate but will stay in their nests, called dreys, for several days when it gets cold. Red Squirrels are not territorial and their homeranges overlap each other. They have strong teeth made to open pinecones and seeds. They have four toes on each foot with long, sharp claws to help it grab bark when climbing trees. They can support their entire weight when climbing. The red squirrel has a long bushy tail used to balance its weight while climbing a tree. -Katie Joslin

__**GUELDER ROSE **__ <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 128); font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: rgb(128, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">**Genus:** Viburnum
 * Species:** O <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><span style="font-size: 14pt; color: rgb(128, 0, 0); font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">pulus [[image:viburnum-opulus.jpg align="left"]] The Guelder Rose is a deciduous shrub and a member of the honey-suckle family. This shrub is also like the Common Elder. The Guelder Rose's flower is snowy white with flat heads which are 3 to 5 inches across. The flower is wheel shaped and the outer flowers have five petals and are sterile. The inner flowers are fertile and very small. They provide nectar for the insects that pollinate them. The flowers turn into red berries. The Guelder Rose is beautiful in August when the berries are ripe, and the leaves turn to a bright red or ric h purple before falling. -Katie Joslin

<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Flora: American Beech **<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Common Names: ** <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">beech, carolina beech, gray beech, red beech, ridge beech, stone beech, white beech, winter beech. **<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Genus ** <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">: Fagus  <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> **<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Species **<span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">: grandifolia The American Beech tree grows in the southern and eastern parts of the United States. It grows in deciduous forests all over Maine and northern Massachusetts. It grows best in deep, rich, moist, well-drained soils. The American Beech tree produces a lot of paper. The animals that feed on the nuts that grow on this tree are: the opossum, black bears, white-tailed deer, rabbits, ruffed grouse, red and gray squirrels, flying foxes, porcupines and others. Interesting Facts: 1. The American Beech tree helps people because the nuts that fall off the tree can be harvested and sold for food. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">2. The American Beech tree does not like city living, probably because of the carbon monoxide. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">3. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The mature tree size is anywhere from 90 to 100 feet tall, and spreads 50 to 70 feet. <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-size: 9pt; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_plant_page.htm -Summer Siddiqui

Vertebrate: American Bald Eagle **Genus**: Haliaeetus The Bald Eagle lives 45-50 years in captivity and 25 years in the wild. Its one of the largest flying birds seen in the US. It stands between 30.4 and 36.4 inches tall. It has 5.5-8 foot wing span. The Bald Eagle reaches maturity between four and six years of age. It chooses one mate for its whole life. The climate it lives in affects its reproduction. The Bald Eagle tends to breed during the winter in the south, and during the spring in the north. It raises its family in large nests that are usually built near water. Their diet is made up of mainly fish, but also includes small sea birds, mammals, and reptiles (mostly turtles). Interesting Facts: 1. It's name in Latin means "the sea eagle with a white head". 2. It is the national symbol of the United States of America. 3. Benjamin Franklin had suggested that the national symbol be the Wild Turkey, because the Bald Eagle was "a bird of bad moral character", but he was outvoted. http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_animal_page.htm -Summer Siddiqui
 * Species**: leucocephalus

Invertebrate: Praying Mantis Species: Mantis religiosa Praying Mantises range from colors green to tan. They are voracious predators. They have sharp serrated forelegs, useful for capturing and butchering a great variety of butterfly adults and caterpillars, moths, flies and other various insects. Praying Mantises are known for their risky sex lives. Some females kill and eat the males after copulation. Interesting Facts: 1.  Their slender bodies effectively camouflage them as they lurk among old-field shrubs and wildflowers. 2.  Praying Mantis have excellent eye sight and they can see up to 18 meters (60 feet) away. 3.  They’re the only insect with a neck, this allows them to turn their head back and forth. http://books.google.com/books?id=fUUj6xbh_SUC&pg=PT369&lpg=PT369&dq=praying+mantis+deciduous+forest&source=bl&ots=P8Z5kBGCjG&sig=vqkCm1PxreYxmGeTzRwXsB3ftkM&hl=en&ei=oUDnSbzsCpSS9QTM5fjkDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3 -Summer Siddiqui



This bird becomes mature between the ages of 4 and 6 years. Bald Eagles breed between the months of April and August. They have a eggs two around the same time or a clutch of two eggs. The parents live with the eggs for nine to fourteen weeks. Lauren Penrod
 * The Bald Eagle or** <span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Haliaeetus lives to be 45-50 years old and as tall as 30.4-36.4. On a Bald Eagle the colors don't appear until they are 5 years old. They are brown and yellow until that five years comes. In a case of the Bald Eagle the Female is bigger than the Male which is odd because the Male is usually bigger. The Female is bigger because of reverse sexual dimorphism.

The northern arrowwod or <span style="font-size: 11pt; color: black; line-height: 115%; font-family: 'Georgia','serif';">Viburnum are 3 to 4 inches long. They like to live by wet areas. It is a good plant to have because of its beauty. They are found all along the east coast because it likes to be along the water by the beaches in New Jersey. Lauren Penrod


 * The black rat snake or** // Elaphe obsoleta is an impressive snake that while young it has black and gray spots when young. The snake can grow to be 90-180cm in length. The eggs are incubated for 68-77 days then they hatch to be 10- 16 inches in the fall. They become mature between the ages of 3 and 4. The snake can live 10-15 years in its natural environment. This snake its frogs, lizards, birds and other eggs. Lauren Penrod

// The Quercus Alba, or commonly known as the White Oak is found in the deciduous forest. The tree lives 500 to 600 years undisturbed and it flowers every June. These flowers help spread seeds fro the tree. It is a plant so photosynthesis is a process used for food. the tree is often used for its timber, which is used for furniture, barrels, and the tree also produces acorns which provides food for animals. ( [| http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_forest.htm] ) Dan Cook
 * [[image:whiteoak_leaf.jpg width="227" height="202" caption="LEAF!!!!!!!!"]] ||
 * LEAF!!!!!!!! ||

Ursus Americanus, commonly known as the the American black bear are found in deciduous forests. the bear lives to be 25 years old and reaches sexually maturity at 4-5 years for females, and 5-6 years for males. Bears usually have 2-3 young and mating season is n the summer. 75% of the bears diet is vegaterian and 25% of its diet is protein rich sources such as meat, fish, and honey. Bear cubs are blind at birth. Bears are commonly found climbing large trees. Black bears hibernate in the winter.( [| http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_forest.htm] ) Dan Cook
 * [[image:blackbear.jpg width="229" height="195" align="center" caption="BEAR!!!!!!"]] ||
 * BEAR!!!!!! ||

//**Lumbricus terrestris**// or commonly known as the earthworm inhabit deciduous forests. The earthworm lives 4-8 years. Both sexes of worms have multiple sex organs. Sex is needed to produce worms cocoons that afte 60-90 days are almost full grown. Worms eat minerals and things fond in dirt to give them energy. I captivity worms commonly also eat simple carbs such a s bread and even newspaper. 30% of worms in America were introduced into the environment. There are 6000 species of worm. In some countries earthworms are a delicacy referred to as Noke. ( [| http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earthworm] ) ( [| http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/deciduous_forest.htm] ) Dan Cook A threat to the deciduous forest is logging. Logging takes the trees down and then the trees grow slower. The trees are then not there affecting the habitat.Lauren Penrod
 * [[image:597px-Regenwurm1.jpg width="357" height="360" align="center" caption="WORM!!!!!!!"]] ||
 * WORM!!!!!!! ||


 * __BLACK RAT SNAKE__ ** **//Elaphe Obsoleta//** [[image:black_ratsnake_cu2_6111.jpg]]

<span style="line-height: normal; font-size: 11pt; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The Black Rat Snake is medium-sized, averaging 42 to 72 inches (106.7 to 183 cm) in length. The rat snake is covered with scales, and has a powerful slender body with a wedge-shaped head. The black rat snake have a pale grey background with black blotches along the back. As the snake matures, the color becomes darker until the snake reaches its adult phase. Hatchlings are often mistaken for copperheads because their skin patterns are similar. The Black Rat Snakes are found from New England south through Florida and west through the eastern half of Texas and Nebraska and north again to southern Wisconsin. The black rat snake is the most widely distributed common rat snake with a range from New England south through Georgia and west across the northern parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, and north through Oklahoma to southern Wisconsin. -Katie Joslin <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">