In today's lecture, I'm going to describe trophic dynamics using examples from Eastern mixed forests. Depending on the ecosystem, bottom, middle, and/or top trophic levels may influence the species living in a specific place and actually structure the ecosystem. Changing the abundances of organisms with strong structuring power relays to changing trophic dynamics. As I hike around Allegany state park, I'll go over examples I find in greater detail. Together, we'll look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read moreLecture 15: Species interactions of eastern deciduous forests
In today's lecture, we are going to look at the species interactions of America's northeast deciduous forest. As I hike through Zoar Valley, I explain different organisms I encounter and discuss the species interactions they engage in. From mutualism, parasitism, and predation to commensalism, and amensalism we'll look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read moreHow bird predation is enhanced by forest fungi
A banded Accipiter gentilis adult, a voracious predator.
The forest floor interacts with the avian realm in unsuspecting ways. Keratinophilic fungi play an influential role by shaping bird prey-predator interactions.
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