habitat trips

The two ecosystems I visited were a grassland and a salt marsh at the Berkeley Marina. The grassland contained mostly flowering, leafed out and bare plants. I also spotted many lady bugs crawling on leaves. Since this grassland was out in the open and next to the freeway, its environment has been more harsh for these organisms. They must have adapted to withstand high amounts of natural and urban influences such as direct sunlight, wind, fog, rain, animals, exhaust and smog. The plants had characteristics such as thick stems, sharp leaves, and other thorny, bristle-like features. The biodiversity in the salt marsh adapted to different environmental factors. The seaweed and ice plants must have had to develop sturdy stems and leaves to withstand high amounts of salt water. Mollusks developed shells to help protect themselves from predators in the low tides. The plants here were not as directly exposed to the sun and thus have had to adapt to a more shady and sheltered ecosystem.

Posted on March 4, 2014 08:23 PM by kat14