ON TOP OF OLD SMOKY THERE IS NO CHEESE
On top there is a Mountain Island. This “Island” has Spruce Firs, Indian Bats and other species. Did you know that the Great Smokey Mountain National Park holds 75% of the Spruce Fir Forests. On our fun 4/5 class trip to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park I discovered the top of Clingman’s Dome is a Mountain Island.
A Mountain Island is a cold and moist habitat at a high altitude. This allows lots of northern species to thrive, such as the northern Flying Squirrel, Red Squirrel, Common Raven and the Canadian Warbler.
An unwelcomed guest in the Mountain Island habitat is the Woolly Adelgid. Sadly, the Woolly Adelgid is killing the Spruce Firs. First it sticks a needle into the Fir and starts sucking the water out of the Fir and then the Spruce Fir dies.
Also Global Warming is destroying the Mountain Island Habitat because it is changing the temperatures and the animals aren’t use to the new environment. This causes problems with the Habitat’s systems. I hope some day we can fix this.
Click on the link below to see Rangers in Great Smoky Mountains National Park as they release biocontrol beetles.The beetle, a species called Laricobius nigrinus, is a predator of the Hemlock Woolly Adelgid, an invasive insect from Asia that has wreaked havoc on many hemlock forests in the eastern United States.
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/video-dispatch-hwa.htm |
| Bella and Maja, Sovah, and Caroline experience what it is like to be a Woolly Adelgid and a tree! Every new hole that was punched in the straw made it harder to suck water up the straw. The Woolly Adelgid bores holes in the Carolina Hemlock and in the Spruce Fir, making it impossible for the trees to absorb nutrients. To find out more about the Woolly Adelgid and efforts to save the Hemlocks and Spruce Fir, visit this National Park Service webpage: http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/hemlock-woolly-adelgid.htm |
nice day isn't it buddy.
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