Environmental Risks

The chaparral is the world's smallest biome, taking only 3% of the world's land. Although it is small, it still has plently if problems. The chaparral is dangered by the raging wildfires that dominate the scrub forest during the sweltering summer season. The fires, as they rage, dominating the land, evict the animals, who are helpless, from thier homes. Animals are forced to move and numerous different species plants and animals have becime extinct due to the fire. I lost my dear great-aunt to the fire of '06. The summer season is a time of terror for all in the chaparral.

Humans are also an environmental risk to my beautiful home. As most animals in the scrub land are herivores, we depend on the little vegitation we have. Humans come in and trample our food source, leaving us hungry.

So please, if you are a human reading this, remember as you step in grass and pull out those pesky weeds from your yard, that is food, to those who are really hungry.

-Hallie the 'Roo

Relationships are complicated

A symbiotic relationship is a close and long-term interaction between different species. There are 3 different types: mutualism, commensalism, parasitism. Commensalism is an interaction between two species in which one benifits and the other isn't affected.  Mutualism is an interaction between two species in which both species benifit.  Parasitism is an interaction between two species in which one species is harmed and the other benifits.  These may seem complicated, ( they were to me too, at first.) but, as soon as you get the hang of them, they are quite easy!

 A kangaroo eats plants, the kangaroo gains energy for the plant, the plant is spread around and then it begins it's reproduction process somewhere else. This is an example of a mutualistic relationship.

This is a kangaroo tick, found commonly on us, kangaroos. They live in scrub bushes until they find prey. They live off of our blood, causing redness and itchness to us and other animals. This is an example of a parasitic relationship.

A Redback spider and it's web live in branches of bushes and trees. This is an example of a commensalism. The spider benifits, as it has a place to nest, and the bush is not affected.

-Hallie the 'Roo

The boring stuff of life

A kangaroos diet consists of a varity of grasses and scrub bushes. If our food supply were to disappear, we would also disappear. This is called a limiting factor, which is something that prevents a population from growing. For a kangaroo, our limiting factors are seasonal wildfires, farmers, loss of food, loss of habitat and predators. We are hunted by both the farmers, because we drink from their water supplies and eat their crops. We live in a desert like biome, where we get less than 30" of rain a year, which is also a limiting factor.

In Australia, there are many different types of animal and plant species. Some are native species, the ones that were the original plants of the biome. Some are invasive, or non-native. The Maderia Vine, native to the rainforest in South America, has has traveled and slowly started to take over in the scrub forest. The vine is extremly strong and thick; eventually, the host will die off due to loss of food sources. The Red Imported Fire Ant has also been on the move, being introduced to Australia in 2001. This ant not only inflicts physical pain but also have a tendancy to build giant mounds. As they build the mounds, they also damage tree and scrub roots, causing the plants to die off. The ants also like to build their nests near crops, and slowly the crops will die. They reproduce quickly and although humans are trying to exterminate them, they are too quick.

The carrying capicity or the amount of life a biome is able to pertain. In the chaparral, the carrying capicity holds mostly herbivores. In order to calculate the carring capicity of an area, you would need to figure out the rate that an animal eats, the rate a plant grows, the amount of animals in an area and the amount of plants in an area. With this information, you can eventually figure it out! As a kangaroo, there isn't much need for math and, I haven't ever wanted to figure it out! Hehe.

I know that this may be a tad bit boring, but this part of my biome, my life!

-Hallie the 'Roo

Biotic & Abiotic

The chaparral biome is complex, a community of both living and non-living orginisms. Abiotic is a non-living orginism and biotic is a living orginism. I am a kangaroo, which is living or biotic.

 

 

 

-Hallie the 'Roo

Mama 'Roo's Job

When I was young, I was about the size of a cherry. Eventually, I was about the size of a apple, living in the pouch of my mama, with my brother, Joe. Joe and I spent the first 8 months in our pouch, being well protected and warm. Although the male kangaroos don't have much of job, they are the main protectors of the mob ( a group of kangaroos ). They will stand on their hind legs and "box". My mama, has protected us since we were young, that is every female kangaroos niche, or job. She has fed us, bathed us, taught us how to jump real high and of course, my mama has kept us well protected.



A baby stays in it's mama's pouch for up to 8 months. 



The Outback

No, not the resturant, unfortunately. My family and I live in in the Austrialian chaparral where there are no delicious steaks only dry grass and dirt. I am a Great Red Kangaroo, the biggest of all the marsupials. We are herbivores, eating mostly a varity of different grasses and scrub bushes. We do not need a great deal of water as we obtain most of it through the plants we eat. Although our main predator, the Thylacine or Tasmanian Tiger is now extinct, we are still hunted by dingos. The farmers of Austrailia, our natural habitat, also hunt us because we tend to eat their grass and crops during drought seasons. Because we are like hippes, and only eat natural, organic produce, we are only predators to grass.


Although I am not apart of this food web, it shows many of my surrounding inhabitants.




This is the biome that I live in. A chaparral is created in specific areas when there is a hot, dry climate and a high atmospheric perssure.



My main predator, the Tasmanian Tiger. The tiger  is now extinct due to hunting.



The chaparral is a  hot, dry biome, much like the dessert. The annual rainfall in a chaparral is about 17-30 inches a year. The average tempature during the summer is anywhere from 64-100 degrees F. In order The chaparral is a very for my species and frankly, any other type of animal to live in the chaparral, we need to have certain adaptations. The Great Red Kangaroo has adapted to the chaparral biome by adjusting it's size, 5 senses, posistion of eyes, parenting skills, feet, body structure and strength, and water preservation. Although the chaparral may seem boring, it is a treasure that you will love when it is opened!


-Hallie the 'Roo

hAlLiE the rOo

My name is Hallie. I am a Great Red Kangaroo and I have decided that nobody knows the true nature of  a kangaroo and as we are wonderous and beautiful mammals, and happen to live in an amazing biome, the chaparral, I want to share it. So here it is.

Here are some facts about my species:

Type-Mammal
Diet-Herbivore
Size- Head & Body 3.25 to  5.25 ft
         Tail 35.5 to 43.5 in

Size relative to a 6-ft (2-m) man:

When baby kangaroos are born, they are about the size of a cherry. We have strong hind legs, letting us reach speeds over 35 miles per hour. We can hop up to 25 feet in a single leap in distance and jump 6 feet high. Us girls, have a blue-ish tint to our coat and are sometimes refered to "Blue Fliers". Kangaroos are so interesting and I cannot wait to share!

-Hallie the 'Roo

Background Vocabulary

In order to uderstand my blog, here is a little background information.

Chaparral- a dense growth of scrubs or scrub trees

Abiotic- any non living peices of an ecosystem or habitat.

Biotic- Living pieces of an ecosystem or habitat

Niche- An animals talent, role or job

Habitat- The environment that holds necessities for the life of an animal

Decomposer- An orginism that breaks down living substances

Scavenger- An animal that searches for dead animals to eat

Consumer- An animal that feeds on plants and other animals

Producer- A plant that is able to produce it's own food through photosynthisis

Commensalism- An interaction between two species in which one benifits and the other isn't affected

Mutualism- An interaction between two species in which both species benifit

Parasitism- An interaction between two species in which one species is harmed and the other benifits

Food Chain- Tells or shows what orginisms eat and where the energy moves in an ecosystem or habitat

Food Web- Interconnected and overlapping food chains

Adaptation- A characteristic that enables an orginism to live and reproduce in a particular envirronment