2. Niche of the Great Blue Heron Blue Herons The Great Blue Heron can be found during the spring and summer through most of Central and North America. Great blue herons always live near sources of water, including rivers, lake edges, marshes, saltwater seacoasts, and swamps. They usually nest in trees or bushes that stand near water, breeding at elevations of up to 1,500 m. They tend to avoid marine habitats along the east coast and instead live inland. Also, the Heron breeds and lives in the temperate zone which covers our location of Ligonier, PA. The temperature ranges that they can withstand, range from 23.5 degrees to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. The Heron’s also feed on fish, crayfish, salamanders, frogs and other organisms in the lake area.
3. Niche of the Great Blue Heron During the reproduction cycle, the Heron has one mate per breeding session. Also, the females lay between 2 and 7 pale blue eggs. Birds that live further North tend to lay more eggs than the females in the South. Both of the parents keep the eggs warm during the incubation period. After two months, the chicks are able to fledge and live on their own and become sexually mature at twenty-two months.
4. Food Chain of Great Blue Heron Great Blue Heron Plant Raven Frog Primary Consumer Carnivore Secondary Consumer Carnivore Producer Autotroph Tertiary Consumer Carnivore
5. Food Web Associated with the Great Blue Heron Producer Carnivore Carnivore Carnivore Herbivore Omnivore Carnivore Producer
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7. Since there is such an abundance and variety of organisms in Class I (126), compared to the (49) in Class II and (0) in Class III, the stream is healthy because organisms in Class I are intolerant to pollution.
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9. The ideal range for Nitrates is 0, for dissolved oxygen is around 10, for pH 6.5-7.5 and phosphates should be low to trace amount. The possible ramifications that cause differences in levels of certain aspects could be caused by runoff, burning of fossil fuels, abandoned mine drainage and other factors. Also, the turbidity and temperature are very important factors because the ideal temperature is about 55F in the spring and it will maintain that ideal temperature year round, occasionally rising and falling. Turbidity is the clearness of the water and so a healthy stream will have low turbidity so it enables predators to find their prey. A high turbidity would disarray predator-prey relationships.
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11. Conclusion I learned how little things can have such a huge effect on how other organisms live and how it effects the riparian zone. I found it very interesting how it is possible to easily calculate and determine the health of the stream by using somewhat primitive and inexpensive tools. I am interested in researching the topic of how the population of one species is effected from one riparian zone.
