Alligator
- Submitted by: mtucker93
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- Category: Science
- Date Submitted: 04/08/2011 08:27 AM
- Pages: 7
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Diversity at Risk
There are indicators that a certain environment is at risk of failing; such indicators include the organisms within the environment, their behaviour and many other factors. Problems within a given ecosystem or environment can develop to an endangered or at-risk species.
The general health of an ecosystem is depended upon the diversity of organisms that happen to inhabit said ecosystem. When diversity is present within an ecosystem there is a high level of stability due to the fact that all organisms are dependent on each other to ensure survival. To such an extent that the non-existence of one organism in an environment would have a domino effect on every other organism within that ecosystem.
The American Alligator has numerous unifying characteristics to its group; including its relativity to the Chinese Alligator and all caimans. Like other alligators in the world (being only one relative: the Chinese Alligator) they prefer to live in a freshwater habitat. Within this habitat they are able to fully use their characteristics to their advantage. These characteristics include a long body of scales called osteoderms or scutes, short and powerful legs, eyes on top of their head, and a long tail that helps them swim (see Appendix A). They also have about 80 teeth in a set at a time (see Appendix A).
The life cycle of the American Alligator is a normal breeding cycle for a reptile. When the alligator reaches 10 years old it has the ability to reproduce, the females then build a “mound” of mud and other resources in order to have a nest for the eggs. The females can lay between 35-50 eggs, and after a month these eggs can hatch. After a month they are able to hatch, shortly after the birth the mother will bring the babies to the water in her mouth or her back. In this aquatic environment the female will continue to protect their young until they are one years old and they are then considered to be independent, and this cycle starts all over...
There are indicators that a certain environment is at risk of failing; such indicators include the organisms within the environment, their behaviour and many other factors. Problems within a given ecosystem or environment can develop to an endangered or at-risk species.
The general health of an ecosystem is depended upon the diversity of organisms that happen to inhabit said ecosystem. When diversity is present within an ecosystem there is a high level of stability due to the fact that all organisms are dependent on each other to ensure survival. To such an extent that the non-existence of one organism in an environment would have a domino effect on every other organism within that ecosystem.
The American Alligator has numerous unifying characteristics to its group; including its relativity to the Chinese Alligator and all caimans. Like other alligators in the world (being only one relative: the Chinese Alligator) they prefer to live in a freshwater habitat. Within this habitat they are able to fully use their characteristics to their advantage. These characteristics include a long body of scales called osteoderms or scutes, short and powerful legs, eyes on top of their head, and a long tail that helps them swim (see Appendix A). They also have about 80 teeth in a set at a time (see Appendix A).
The life cycle of the American Alligator is a normal breeding cycle for a reptile. When the alligator reaches 10 years old it has the ability to reproduce, the females then build a “mound” of mud and other resources in order to have a nest for the eggs. The females can lay between 35-50 eggs, and after a month these eggs can hatch. After a month they are able to hatch, shortly after the birth the mother will bring the babies to the water in her mouth or her back. In this aquatic environment the female will continue to protect their young until they are one years old and they are then considered to be independent, and this cycle starts all over...