The wolf spiders habitat ranges from dry woodland areas, inland
shrub lands to, wet coastal forests to alpine meadows.Wolf Spiders
dont live in webs like most of them do.In spring and summer the
wolf spiders burrow themselves in the woods and seal their burrow
with a web.When it starts to get cold you might find these spiders
in your basement or garage.
The wolf spiders diet contains of house flies, mosquitos,
crickets and other spiders.
The wolf spider catches the prey by grabbing it then it will
flip over on its back holding the prey and it inserts the
fangs.
4.
Male wolf spiders find a mate by their attraction to the
females scent in the air.Mating usually takes place at night
outside the females burrow.
Females can mate with more than one other male.What happens is
that the females can store the different sperm from the males and
when she lays her eggs the sperm combines producing new eggs.
The gestation period is 9-27 days depending on the surrounding
temperature and species of wolf spider.
There can be several hundred babies produced!
Wolf spiders carry their egg sac with their spinnerets making
sure it doesnt drag on the ground.After the egg hatches the
babyspiders stay on their mothers back for however long it takes
them to fend for themselves.
Once the babies hatch they are left to fend for themselves when
they can and thats when reproduction ends.
5.
The wolf spider hunts down insects such as ants, beetles,
grasshoppers, crickets, roaches, and other spiders.Predators for
the wolf spiders include birds, lizards, scorpions, and other
spiders.
Wolf spiders normally live around 2 years.
Common parasites include the tachinid flies, the broconid, the
ichneumonid wasps.
Overpopulation doesnt really affect the wolf spider.There are
plenty of insects the wolf spider finds and their underground
burrows are being taken away from them.
6. Producer Autotroph Primary Consumer Omnivore Secondary
Consumer Carnivore Tertiary Consumer Omnivore 7. The process of
this food web is that the grass is the producer and the flies and
beetles eat the grass and they are the primary consumers.The wolf
spider eats the flies and spiders, just few of the many insects it
eats.The wolf spider is the secondary consumer because it is the
prey for birds, lizards, scorpions , and etc.The birds, lizards,
and scorpions would be the tertiary consumer. 8.
To keep the wolf spider from becoming extinct would be to keep
out streams and water sources clean.Having good water quality
allows these species to have a source of food.
The population size of this animal is huge because so many of
these spiders are produced when the female lays her eggs.
9.
The graph shows the stream quality is very good by all the
Class 1 organisms we found in the stream.
The high number of Class 1 is great because the stoneflys,
mayflys, caddisflys, and etc. provide good quality in the water
because they are generally pollution intolerant.Having many Class 2
organisms is also good for the water quality because they are
tolerant of water pollution and can exist in a wide range of water
quality.We had no Class 3 organisms and thats significant because
Class 3 indicates poor water quality.These organisms are tolerant
to pollution in the water.
Wolf spider s eat beetles and if there is poor water quality
then the beetles wont be around.Therefore, the wolf spider wont
have that source of food anymore.
If there was all Class 3 in the water system it would affect
the wolf spider indirectly because the insects that are pollution
tolerant would be gone and the wolf spider wouldnt have any of the
insects to eat.
10.
Describe what the different levels mean pertaining to the
health of the ecosystem.
Describe the ideal range for each factor measured at Powdermill
and the possible ramifications for levels outside the ideal
range.
Describe how you organism would survive (using both direct and
indirect evidence) if its habitat is close to the stream versus the
marsh, and mine waters.
Turbidity affects the organisms in the stream because if its a
high turbidity then its murky and could clog the fishes gills which
kills them.It affect predator vs. prey relaitionships.
11.
The importance of pH, potash, phosphorus, & nitrogen levels
in the soil is that indicates the type of water quality there is
and how it will effect the ecosystems in the water
All the ranges should be low in numbers but the Ph should be 7
which is neutral.
The chemical levels can definitely effect the water quality
because if the ranges of the numbers are off scale then you will
have poor water quality.For example, if you have lots of nitrogen
and phosphates thats very bad for the water quality because those
chemicals are polluting the water.If you have too much of
them.
12.
If the stream were marsh or mine the wolf spider would die
because wolf spiders eat beetles, stoneflys , mayflys , and
etc.These insects are very important for a stream.These insects
indicate great water quality.If the water was marshy and AMD you
wouldnt find any of these good insects.
The soil affects the wolf spider because if the soil was really
bone dry and hard the wolf spider wouldnt have a home.The wolf
spider makes underground burrows to live in so having good rich
soil is crucial.
Positive factors would be that You should include common
sources of pollution of PA streams and stress how to conserve and
preserve the riparian habitat.Include in the description how these
factors might affect the assigned organism.
13.
What I learned that was new was that when I went to Powdermill,
the insects we found in the stream made how he water good
quality.It was interesting was caused poor versus good water
quality.
An environmental topic I would like to research next would be
Acid Rain and how it effects the environment and the facts about
it.