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Plants and Animals Interacting With Their Environment by Ryan Motto
Photo by Shajal1 (updating my contact )
This alligator in the photo copes with dry weather in a different way by digging gator holes. These holes collect water from the surrounding swamps and marshes. So the holes almost always have water, even during dry weather. Alligators hunt the animals that come to drink from these pools of water.
Photo by whalt
The bird shown here is Roseate spoonbill.Like other birds, they build a nest to get ready to lay eggs. Most birds build their nests in early spring because the weather is getting warmer. Warm weather helps young birds survive. However, spoonbills start building nests in November. This is the beginning of the dry season in Florida, where most spoonbills live. With less rain, the water level in lakes and rivers goes down. That makes it easier for the birds to gather fish and insects to feed their young.
Photo by rkramer62
Have you ever heard the saying, "April showers bring May flowers"? At different times of the year, you can see how changes in the environment have changed plants. During the spring, flowers bloom and leaves grow on trees. Some plants grow fruit during the summer. In the fall, leaves on some trees change color. Then the leaves drop. The trees stay bare during the winter. Trees may not change this way where you live. Trees and other plants change more during the seasons in the northern part of the United States than in the southern part. However, even some southern plants show seasonal changes. Some grasses in Florida, for example, turn brown or purple in the fall. The green leaves of dogwood trees and red maples turn red and purple.
Photo by raelb
Plants are not the only living things that change with the season. Animals also must adapt to seasonal changes in order to survive. Some animals, such as deer, grow thick coats of fur to keep warm in the winter. During the summer, they shed some of their fur to stay cool. The fur of some animals changes color with the seasons. The change of color helps the animal blend in with its surroundings. Animals change in other ways to survive changes in seasons. During the late summer,some animals eat large amounts of food. Their bodies store the extra energy. They use that energy during the cold winter while they hibernate, or go into a deep sleep. Other animals migrate, or move, to warmer places during the fall. Many northern birds migrate because there is not enough food in their summer homes during winter.
Photo by Mark Dumont
The changing seasons show how the environment affects plants and animals. But this cause-and-effect relationship works both ways. Plants and animals also affect the environment. Even something as simple as grass affects the world around you. The grass and other green plants give off gases that we use to breathe. The grass roots also hold
the soil in place. The tiny roots form a net that keeps the soil from blowing away or washing away. Plant roots not only keep soil in place they help build it up. The roots trap tiny pieces of rock and decaying plant and animal matter. These materials slowly add to the soil. Roots even break apart rocks. Roots often grow into the cracks of rock. As the roots grow, they push against the sides of the cracks. The cracks widen and split the rock.
Photo by voyageAnatolia.blogspot.com
The water hyacinth plants shown below have beautiful flowers. That's why people first brought these plants from South America to the United States in the 1880s. The plants float on water, and people thought they looked nice in ponds. But water hyacinth grows quickly. It can cover a pond or marsh and kill fish and other plants. Water hyacinth is an invasive organism a living thing does not belong in a place and can harm it.
Photo by Tony Frates
Another invasive plant is Kudzu. People brought kudzu to the United States from Asia. They wanted to use it to cover bare hills and stop soil from blowing and washing away. It worked. But kudzu grows so quickly that it crowds out and covers other plants. Kudzu has spread all over the southeastern United States.
Photo by Martin LaBar
