Adventure #5:
The Big Four
Hey there, my name is Kelly the Ecologist! I'll be leading the way through Adventure #5!
We will be discussing the role of water in our ecological environments--also known as ecosystems. An ecosystem is described as the physical environment and all the organisms contained within that environment. To simplify this definition, ecologists have determined a set amount of ecosystems that are present in our world today. This way, instead of memorizing every organism in an environment, we can remember a few key features that define each of the ecosystems we know!
Let's explore the different ecosystems in Idaho, and see how those ecosystems fit into our water story.
Take some time to look at the images below and try to figure out what type of ecosystem each would be!
Once you've made your guess, click the drop-down arrows to see what ecosystem in Idaho it is.
Think about where water plays a role in each of these ecosystems...
Forest Ecosystem
Grassland Ecosystem
Desert Ecosystem
Aquatic Ecosystem
This type of ecosystem is known for its large trees, thick plant and animal life, and in Idaho they are mostly found in the mountains.
Idaho's forests contain many different types of plants and animals such as large and small trees, shrubs, deer, elk, moose, bear, wolves, birds, and so many more!
These areas survive off of the winter snowpack in the mountains, or large amounts of rain in the areas that are at a lower elevation.
This type of ecosystem has many types of grasses and low lying vegetation. In Idaho, only about 1% of our grasslands ecosystem is still untouched. Today, most of our grasslands are used to farm!
There are many small plants and animals that survive in this ecosystem such as grasses of varying length and type, some small trees, rabbits, coyotes, prairie dogs, deer, antelope and more!
This type of ecosystem receives the least amount of moisture of any of the ecosystems in Idaho! They are known for the sagebrush that covers most of its landscape and the large variety of plants and animals.
The most common plant you will find in this ecosystem is sagebrush, but there is also still variety. There are cacti, many smaller animals, the occasional tree, and even larger animals such as elk, deer, and moose!
One unique aspect of this area is the xerophytes or desert plants that can survive with very little water and very hot temperatures.
This type of ecosystem contains the largest amount of water! Rivers, streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, bogs, swamps, wetlands, etc. are all part of this ecosystem. These are known as riparian areas which are the areas with large amounts of water.
To be considered a riparian area, there must be water, soils that can hold onto water well, and water loving plants.
There are many types of plants and animals such as beavers, otters muskrats, minks, fish, birds, and thick vegetation.
Where's the water?
"Wait! I thought we were talking about water? There only seems to be water in the aquatic ecosystems."
I'm sure you were wondering that too! However, there is actually plenty of water in each of these ecosystems! Even the desert!
Water presents itself in many different forms. In some ecosystems it could be snow, ice, rain, groundwater, glaciers, or standing water such as rivers and lakes.
In fact, life depends on water to exist so wherever you can find life, there's most likely water somewhere.
