Lecture 13

Question 1

T/F: the Algonquin Highlands are located on a batholith

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Characteristics - west side of Algonquin

Answer 2

• High/rolling hills
• Received glacial till deposits; hold water
• Hardwood forest (maple, beech, ash)
• More precipitation, warmer

Question 3

Characteristics - east side of Algonquin

Answer 3

• Lower elevation
• Large sand beds
• Less precipitation, warmer

Question 4

A _____ _____ left ____ ____ on the east side of Algonquin

Answer 4

glacial spillway, outwash plains

Question 5

The sand beds in eastern Algonquin were left by water moving through a ____ _____

Answer 5

fossmill outlet

Question 6

What are the 3 layers of life in maple-dominated hardwood forests

Answer 6

• Canopy
• Shrub Layer
• Forest Floor

Question 7

Species - canopy layer of hardwood forests (9)

Answer 7

• insect gleaners (Scarlet Tanager, Red-eyed Vireo)
• Hawks (Northern Goshawk, Broad-winged hawk)
• Gray Tree Frog
• Barred Owl
• Martens
• American Beeches
• Black bears

Question 8

Species - shrub layer of hardwood forests (5)

Answer 8

• Striped/Moose Maple
• Beaked Hazel (a shrub)
• Hobblebush
• Black-throated Blue Warbler
• Wood Thrush (nests in shrubs)

Question 9

What are some issues for plants on the forest floor?

Answer 9

• Shady - influenced by maples

- Dead leaves are compressed due to snow, making soil inaccessible to seeds

Question 10

What is spring ephemeralism? What are the risks of this for wildflowers in Algonquin Park?

Answer 10

Refers to plants that bloom early in the spring. Risks include cold temp. and damage from snow.

Question 11

How do wildflowers in the forest overcome shade?

Answer 11

• Large leaves

- Spring ephemeralism

Question 12

How do wildflowers in the forest overcome the thick leaf layer?

Answer 12

• Chipmunks, ants, etc bury or bring seeds underground
• Grow on fallen/rotting trees
• Leaf layer burnt away by fire

Question 13

How do maple keys overcome the leaf layer?

Answer 13

• Small root grows through leaves

- Wings/spinning motion while falling

Question 14

What is a perched tree?

Answer 14

Grows on a dead log, has roots above soil; remains ‘perched’ when the log rots away

Question 15

Name 2 trees that depend on nurse logs and ground fires

Answer 15

• Eastern Hemlock

- Yellow Birch

Question 16

Animals in the forest floor layer (4)

Answer 16

• Springtails (insect, eats dead plant matter)
• Salamanders (e.g. Spotted Salamander)
• Ground-dwelling birds (e.g. Ovenbird, Ruffed Grouse)

Question 17

T/F: Maple seedlings on the forest floor live long lives

Answer 17

F: They’re only shade tolerant for a few years, and die unless an older tree dies, providing sunlight

Question 18

Do moose eat the bark of red maples or sugar maples?

Answer 18

Red maples

Question 19

Herbivores in the hardwood forest (2):

Answer 19

• Moose

- White-tailed deer

Question 20

What are polypores?

Answer 20

Fungi that decompose wood into basic nutrients

Question 21

Name a bark beetle that bores into wood

Answer 21

Sugar maple borer

Question 22

List woodpeckers in increasing order of beak size (3). Which one can dig deepest into wood?

Answer 22

• Downy
• Hairy
• Pileated - can dig the deepest

Question 23

How do woodpeckers exemplify niche partitioning?

Answer 23

They feed on insects at different depths in the wood

Question 24

Why can a larger diversity of birds survive in Algonquin Park?

Answer 24

Niche partitioning; feed on insects at different depths in the wood

Question 25

Name two other birds that eat insects under bark:

Answer 25

• Brown Creeper

- White-breasted Nuthatch

Question 26

T/F: Woodpeckers nest permanently in tree holes

Answer 26

F: they nest there to raise their young, and then abandon them

Question 27

What are some animals that use abandoned cavities in trees?

Answer 27

• Northern Saw-whet owl
• Barred Owl
• Great-Crested Flycatcher
• Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser
• Raccoons
• Flying squirrels

Question 28

What are some species of fungus that grow on dead trees?

Answer 28

• Blue-Stain fungus
• Turkey Tails
• Bird’s Nest Fungus

Question 29

How do Bird’s Nest fungi reproduce?

Answer 29

Spores are splashed out by raindrops