Ecology

Most organisms here fall into the animal kingdom (excluding the fungi and bacteria), with their classification becoming more specific as you move on to class, order, family, etc. They require food to develop and grow and are heterotrophs; They ingest living or dead organic matter for nutrients and energy. Fungi digest food externally, and plants use photosynthesis. All of these creatures share the ecosystem surrounding the East Coast of the Atlantic Ocean, as well as inland organisms that habitat near watery environments.

Even the environment they share has various features that make a suitable habitat for the Atlantic Sturgeon and many other animals.

This ecology list covers plants, invertebrates, birds, mammals, fungi/protists, and the environment itself.

American White Lily

Nymphaea odorata

The water lily, and other plants like creeping willow primrose (Ludwigia repens), are vascular plants as they have roots that transport and conduct water and sugars throughout the organism. This plant has both pistils and stamens that work together with pollinators and even precise timing to prevent self-fertilization.

Southern Magnolia

Magnolia grandiflora

The Magnolia grandiflora is a vascular, seed and fruit bearing plant that grows along the Eastern coast from Virginia, Florida, and as far as Texas. The fruit produced from these flowers are conelike seed-pods that open up and drop the seeds from long threads.

Nymphaea odorata Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum/Division: Magnoliophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Nymphaeales

Family: Nymphaeaceae Salisb.

Genus: Nymphaea L.

Species: Nymphaea odorata

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Magnolia grandiflora Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum/Division: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Magnoliales

Family: Magnoliaceae

Genus: Magnolia L.

Species: Magnolia grandiflora

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Hessel's Hairstreak Butterfly

Callophrys hesseli

We might not see insects as vital to the ecosystem, but as pollinators and feasters on dead animals and organic wastes, they take up a huge part of the food chain and contribute much to the ecosystem. Callophrys hesseli uses Chamaecyparis thyoides as a host plant for mating and egg-laying, and are most seen in Maine, although they can travel as far as Florida.

Bigclaw Snapping Shrimp

Alpheus heterochaelis

This shrimp is found in tropical and semitropical waters, from the Gulf of Mexico and the western Atlantic Ocean. It can be found as close as Cape Hatteras in shallow waters close to the seabed.

Callophrys hesseli Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthopoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Lepidoptera

Family: Lycaenidae

Genus: Callophrys

Species: Callophrys hesseli

Conservation Status: G3 (Vulnerable)

Alpheus heterochaelis Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthopoda

Class: Malacostraca

Order: Decapoda

Family: Alpheidae

Genus: Alpheus

Species: Alpheus heterochaelis

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

The Great Blue Heron is seen all over North America, from coastal regions to inland areas. It takes up habitat in freshwater and salt marshes, as well as lakes and estuaries. Its long legs allow it to stand in deep water to hunt for prey, and the species is adaptable to many changes in the environment.

Great Shearwater

Ardenna gravis

The Great Shearwater is a common bird seen throughout the coasts of the Atlantic Ocean, and return to the South Atlantic for breeding. They are unafraid of humans and willing to fight for food, even if that opponent is a fishing boat.

Ardenna gravis Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Procellariiformes

Family: Procellariidae

Genus: Ardenna

Species: Ardenna gravis

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Ardea herodias Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Aves

Order: Pelecaniformes

Family: Ardeidea

Genus: Ardea

Species: Ardea herodias

Conservation Listing: Least Concern

Atlantic White-Sided Dolphin

Lagenorhynchus acutus

These dolphins are found in temperate waters of the Atlantic Ocean, from Maine to North Carolina. Their population has risen since the 1970s and 1980s, and are under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, but populations are stable.

Fin Whale

Balaenoptera physalus

The Fin Whale is the second-largest whale species, found throughout the worlds oceans. Their population was hunted drastically in the mid-1900s as whaling became streamlined and technology upgraded to keep up with the Fin Whale. Today, the Fin Whale is listed in the Marine Mammal Protection Act as an endangered species.

Lagenorhynchus acutus Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Cetartiodactyla

Family: Delphinidae

Genus: Laegenorhynchus

Species: Lagenorhynchus acutus

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Balaenoptera physalus Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Mammalia

Order: Artiodactyla

Family: Balaenopteridae

Genus: Balaenoptera

Species: Balaenoptera physalus

Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Atlantic White Cedar

Chamaecyparis thyoides

The forests that tend to surround and lead to beaches are in need of observation and protection as well, for the lakes and swamps that Atlantic Cedar trees tend to grow in are crucial to the neighbors of the sturgeon, and trees along the coast help the geographical aspect of erosion and flood protection.

River Reed

Phragmites australis

These plants are fast-growing grasses that are native to marshes and wetlands, brackish waters, rivers, and other diverse ecosystems as far as the coastal waters.

Chamaecyparis thyoides Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum/Division: Pinophyta

Class: Pinopsida

Order: Cupressales

Family: Cupressaceae

Genus: Chamaecyparis

Species: C. thyoides

Conservation Status: Threatened in New York State, G4 Global Rating (Fairly low risk of extinction, but concerns for future declines in local areas, threats and other factors)

Phragmites australis Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum/Division: Tracheophyta

Class: Magnoliopsida

Order: Poales

Family: Poaceae

Genus: Phragmites Adans.

Species: Phragmites australis

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Lion's Mane

Hericium erinaceus

Fungi play an important role in the decomposition of decaying organic matter, and the Hericium erinaceus can be found on rotting or dead trees in the Summer. This makes them saprobes, obtaining nutrients from decomposing organic (usually plant) matter. This species of mushroom are also edible, and are important in various cultures across the world where they are found.

Sea Lettuce

Ulva lactuca

Sea lettuce can be found growing on rocky shores, brackish waters, and in seas around the world. The thallus of this algae is comprised of thick cell sheets. Like Hericium erinaceus, this algae is also gathered and used in culinary dishes around the world.

Hericium erinaceus Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Basidiomycota

Class: Agaricomycetes

Order: Russulales

Family: Hericiaceae

Genus: Hericium

Species: Hericium erinaceus

Conservation Status: Least Concern (In the US)

Ulva lactuca Taxonomy and Conservation

Kingdom: Plantae

Phylum: Chlorophyta

Class: Ulvophyceae

Order: Ulvales

Family: Ulvaceae

Genus: Ulva Linneaus

Species: Ulva lactuca

Conservation Status: Least Concern

Ecology: Marine Environment and Niche

Benthic Zone

Atlantic Sturgeon (and many other species of sturgeon) swim along the seafloor in search of prey. In oceanography, the very bottom of the seafloor is known as the benthic zone. It stretches along the ridge of the ocean, from the very top (the epipelagic zone, less than 200 meters) all the way to the very bottom (abyssal zone and hadal zone, 4-6,000+ meters below)

Atlantic Sturgeon's Niche

An organism's population is always changing and being influenced by various factors, but can also influence others in different ways. A population can have exponential growth, regulation, and decay as factors change and force the population to adapt.

A niche refers to the environmental factors and interspecies relationships that help influence their surroundings and the species.

Atlantic Sturgeon are solitary carnivores, and documentation regarding relationships with other organisms is not well studied. However, because the Atlantic Sturgeon (and many other species) are bottom-feeders, they may compete for food at the bottom of the ocean in certain cases.

Bottom-feeders in general are useful to the ecosystem they inhabit, as they filter out and recycle organic material. (Detritivores are an example of animals that ingest falling debris, contributing to the decomposition and nutrient cycles) The process of consuming and recycling helps keep the chemical reactions in the ecosystem stable.

Interactions in the Water

Although symbiotic relationships are not well documented for sturgeon, there are some parasitic animals in the ocean that aren't just leeches. There are also benthic animals that share similar prey as sturgeon, so I will be talking about both a parasitic animal, the Sea Lamprey (scientific name) and other organisms that inhabit the ecological space as the Atlantic Sturgeon.

In a study done on the affects of bacteria and Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser Fulvescens), scientists hypothesize that certain species of "Pseudomonas and Rheinheimera genera could be egg mutualists, protecting the eggs against pathogenic fungi and bacteria such as certain species from the genera Aeromonas and Flavobacterium." (Angoshtari, 2018)

The relationship between a species that both benefit from a shared interaction is called mutalism. In the case of the bacteria, the eggs could potentially provide a place for the bacteria to form and survive, while the bacteria protects the eggs from pathogens.

Organisms in the Niche

Sea Anemone (Actiniaria)

Sea anemones are cnidarians, invertebrates like coral and jellyfish. They are made of a soft, cylindrical stalk with their mouth in the center of many venemous tentacles.

Sea anemones have various symbiotic relationships with other animals, such as clownfish.

They are benthic creatures, and their diet may clash with the Sturgeon as they both eat various fish and low-dwelling organisms.

(As a theory, there have not been any sea anemone/sturgeon studies conducted as of making this)

Sand Lance (Ammodytes americanus )

Many species of sand lance serve as a necessary part of the ecosystem and food chain, consuming plankton until it becomes prey for other species like Chinook Salmon and Atlantic Sturgeon.

Sand lance burrow into the ground to hide from predators. Their place in the niche goes to show that even the smallest animal can have an impact for many other organisms in the environment, both as a consumer and prey animal.

Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)

The fish that continuously haunts my nightmares, the Sea Lamprey is not an eel, but a species of sea fish that latch onto cold-blooded prey, taking off chunks of flesh with their many rows of teeth.

This kind of relationship with other fish is seen as a parasitic relationship: The benefit of one animal while actively harming the other party.

The Sturgeon are no different, and can fall victim to these blood-sucking, flesh-eating animals. Their teeth are strong enough to break through tough skin and a Sturgeon's scutes.

Ecology Works Cited

U.S. Forest Service. Forest Service Shield. (n.d.). Retrieved April 12, 2023, from https://www.fs.usda.gov/wildflowers/plant-of-the-week/nymphaea_odorata.shtml

State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry. (2012, February 29). Atlantic White Cedar Chamaecyparis thyoides (L.) B.S.P. New York Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved April 13, 2023, from https://guides.nynhp.org/atlantic-white-cedar/

Maine's Endangered and Threatened Wildlife . (2003). Hessels hairstreak 108-109 - maine.gov. Hessel's Hairstreak. Retrieved April 13, 2023, from https://www.maine.gov/ifw//docs/endangered/hesselshairstreak%20_108_109.pdf

Ratliff, S. 2014. "Alpheus heterochaelis" (On-line), Animal Diversity Web. Accessed April 14, 2023 at https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Alpheus_heterochaelis/

Heronconservation. HeronConservation " Great Blue Heron. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2023, from https://www.heronconservation.org/herons-of-the-world/list-of-herons/great-blue-heron/

Great Shearwater. Audubon. (2023, April 13). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/great-shearwater

Lion's mane hericium, Hericium Erinaceus Russulales: Hericiaceae. Forestry Images. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.forestryimages.org/browse/subinfo.cfm?sub=2253&cat=35

Lagenorhynchus acutus (Atlantic white-sided dolphin). Society for Marine Mammalogy. (2014, December 4). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://marinemammalscience.org/facts/lagenorhynchus-acutus/

Fisheries, N. O. A. A. (2022, September 15). Fin whale. NOAA. Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/fin-whale

The mighty phragmites (non-native) - island ecology 2017. Google Sites: Sign-in. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://sites.google.com/site/islandecology2017/home/the-mighty-phragmites

Fowler, S., Roush, R., & Wise, J. (2013, April 25). 13.3 evidence of evolution - concepts of biology. OpenStax Concepts of Biology . Retrieved April 7, 2023, from https://openstax.org/books/concepts-biology/pages/11-3-evidence-of-evolution

Mlblevins. (2014, May 9). Interesting facts about the benthic zone that are beyond awesome. Science Struck. Retrieved April 28, 2023, from https://sciencestruck.com/interesting-facts-about-benthic-zone

Baltimore National Aquarium. (n.d.). Anemones. National Aquarium. Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://aqua.org/explore/animals/anemones

BACTERIAL COMMUNITY ASSEMBLY AND STABILITY ON THE SURFACE OF THE LAKE STURGEON (ACIPENSER FULVESCENS) EGGS. Angoshtarir phddissertation 2018 - ggs.natsci.msu.edu. (2018). Retrieved April 30, 2023, from https://ggs.natsci.msu.edu/sites/_genetics/assets/Abstracts/AngoshtariR_PhDDissertation_2018.pdf

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