BIODIVERSITY IN MINNESOTA

TYLER DOYEN

List of Animals

Bird: Canada Goose Mammal: Virginia Opossum Fish: Lake Sturgeon Reptile: Spiny Soft Shell Turtle Tree: Big Tooth Aspen Wildflower: Pitcher Plant

Canada Goose (Branta Canadensis)

Description: Males are called ganders, females are called hens. Large brown and white goose with a black head, beak, and feet, with a white patch on its head. Males and females are the same color. Measuring 22-40 inches long, with a wingspan of five to six feet. It weighs between two and eighteen pounds, and makes various honking sounds (Mn DNR).

Reproduction: Canadian geese mate for life, and breed in March and April. Hatching begins 25-30 days after eggs are laid. Goslings are covered in yellow down (Mn DNR).

Food: Canadian geese eat aquatic plants, grass, soybeans and other crops, and insects (Mn DNR).

Predators: Mink, raccoons, owls, foxes, dogs, and hunters (Mn DNR)

Habitat: Ponds, marshes, lakes, and rivers. Canadian geese are more common in the southwestern portion of the state (Mn DNR)

Population: It is difficult to tell how many geese are in the state at one time (Mn DNR)

Diseases: Avian cholera, duck plague, and angel wing (Coluccy)

Fun Facts: Canadian geese will fly over 4,000 miles from wintering grounds to spring breeding grounds. There are 11 subspecies of canadian geese. Canadian geese have been known to live up to 30 years.

Minnesota hunters harvest roughly 285,000 to 325,000 geese per year. There are two different seasons to hunt canadian geese. Bag limits are five a day for the early goose season in September, and three a day for the normal waterfowl season that lasts from September 22 to December 28 (MnDNR)

Virginia Opossum (didelphis virginiana)

Description: An opossum looks like an oversize rat with gray fur on its body and a white head. It has a pink nose and no hair on its tail or ears. Opossums are about three feet long, and weigh between four and fifteen pounds. When threatened, they growl and click their teeth (Mn DNR

Reproduction: Mating season for the opossum is between January and May, and they usually have two litters of between six to twenty young every year, which are not fully developed at birth. At birth the young crawl into a pouch and remain there for 60-70 days. They’re only mouse size when they come back out of the pouch (MnDNR)

Food: Opossums are nature’s dumpsters because they will feed on almost anything. When they finish a meal they clean themselves like a cat would (Mn DNR)

Predators: Dogs, bobcats, coyotes, hawks, cars, and owls (Mn DNR)

Habitat: Opossums like agricultural areas along with vast woodlands. They are not found farther north because their ears and tails freeze easily. They are mostly nocturnal and spend days in dens or hollow logs (Mn DNR)

Population: unknown Diseases: Rabies and certain cancers (Mn

DNR)

Fun facts: Opossums smell much like a skunk during their breeding season. Opossums are resistant to rattlesnake venom because they often eat them. Also, they are not native to Minnesota (Mn DNR)

Opossums have no hunting season, but in the winter they are trapped. Minnesota trappers harvest anywhere between 2,000 and 8,000 opossums a year (Mn DNR)

Lake Sturgeon (acipenser fulvescens)

Description: The lake sturgeon is a long, dark colored fish with tough, bony plates and thick skin. They have a flat snout and whiskers on their jaw to feel the bottom in muddy waters. The lake sturgeon can reach lengths of 13 feet long and weigh over 300 pounds. They also can live to be more than a 150 years old (Mn DNR)

Reproduction: Only ten to twenty percent of mature sturgeon reproduce in a given year. Females spawn periodically every four to six years, and don’t reach maturity until they are 24-25 years old. Males reach maturity in 8 to 17 years. They reproduce every 2 to 3 years. More than one male attends a female during breeding (Mn DNR)

Food: Small insects, snails, leeches, and small fish (Mn DNR)

Predators: Larger toothy fish, pelicans, and cormorants (Mn DNR)

Habitat: Big, clear rivers or lakes. Likes sand or gravel bottoms. They are found in all major rivers in Minnesota except for the Missouri river (Mn DNR)

Population: Exact populations are not known, because the lake sturgeon prefers traveling long distances alone and are sometimes territorial (Mn DNR)

Diseases: Not many diseases affect the lake sturgeon, but overfishing and pollution do (Mn DNR)

Fun facts: The largest lake sturgeon ever recorded in Minnesota was 15 feet long and over 400 pounds. Lake sturgeon were put on the “concerned species” list in 1984. Another name for a lake sturgeon is “rubber nose” (Mn DNR)

The lake sturgeon is not hunted or harvested. It cannot be kept when caught, and must immediately return to the water (Mn DNR)

Spiny Soft Shell Turtle (apalone spinifera

Range: All of Minnesota except for the extreme northern border

Description: These turtles have a brown or olive green shell with dark dots spread over them. The shell feels like leather and has hardened spines sticking out of them. The turtles belly is a white to tan color. Some people think that the turtle looks like a walking pancake (Nature Center)

Reproduction: The spiny soft shell turtle breeds during early spring and the females lay eggs shortly after. In order to do this, the females dig an hourglass shaped depression into the ground, usually in a warm, sandy spot. The female will then lay the eggs in the depression and cover it up (Nature Center)

Food: Amphibians, fish, insects, and worms (Nature Center)

Predators: Otters and birds of prey, such as eagles (Nature Center)

Habitat: Lakes, ponds, rivers, and marshes (Mn DNR)

Population: Estimated populations of soft shell turtles are about 100,000 in Minnesota.

Diseases: bacterial infections and ulcers. Spiny softshell turtles carry more diseases that are harmful to people than are harmful to them (Nature Center)

Fun facts: This species of turtle can extend its’ neck the length of its’ entire body. They can absorb oxygen through their skin. They are the fastest swimming turtle in Minnesota (Nature Center)

The spiny soft shell turtle cannot legally be harvested (Mn DNR)

Big Tooth Aspen (populus grandidentata)

Leaf

Big Tooth Aspen

Bark

Seed

Description: An average size tree that grows about 60 feet tall and about one to two feet wide. It has rounded leaves with serrated edges, which turn yellow in the fall. A fast growing, short lived tree that does not like shade (Mn DNR)

Seed Disbursement: The seed is enclosed inside a piece on the branch called a catkin. When mature, the seed is spread by the wind (Mn DNR)

Diseases: canker diseases caused by fungi kill the big tooth aspen (Mn DNR)

Economic Use: We use the aspen wood to make pulp for paper and cardboard (Mn DNR)

Fun fact: Beaver use the branches from these trees to make dams, since they bend but do not break easily (Mn DNR)

Pitcher Plant (sarracenia purpurea)

Description: Grows one to two inches tall in swampy areas. They bloom for a short period of time in May and June, and are a red color. It traps insects and digests them for food (Mn DNR)

Uses: The pitcher plant is used in medicine as a constipation reliever. It also can be used as a pain reliever (Mn DNR)

Fun fact: The Pitcher plant was used as one of the first cures for smallpox (Mn DNR)

 

Big Tooth Aspen “Big Tooth Aspen.” Island Creeks Ecology. Island Creeks Ecology, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

<http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/bigtooth_aspen.htm>. “Big Tooth Aspen.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, n.d.

Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/trees_shrubs/deciduous/bigtoothedaspen.html>. “Big Tooth Aspen.” Oplin. Oplin, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

<http://www.oplin.org/tree/fact%20pages/aspen_bigtooth/aspen_bigtooth.html>.   Picture “Big Tooth Aspen: The Hospitali Tree.” Staddon Family. Staddon Family, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

<http://staddonfamily.com/2007/12/23/bigtooth-aspen-the-hospitali-tree/>.   Canada goose   Picture “Blame Canada: Canadian Geese Causing a Tick Control Crisis.” Aspenn Environmental Services. Tree and Lawn

Care, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.treeandlawncare.com/blog/blame-canada-canadian-geese-causing-tick-control-crisis>.

“Canada Goose.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. <http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/birds/canadagoose.html>.

“Canker Diseases of Poplar.” Cornell University. Cornell University, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/factsheets/cankerdiseasespoplar.pdf>.

Coluccy, John M., and Natnan Pfost. “Waterfowl Diseases.” Ducks Unlimited. Ducks Unlimited, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2012. <http://www.ducks.org/conservation/waterfowl-biology/understanding-waterfowl-waterfowl-diseases>.

Works cited

Spiny Soft Shell Turtle Picture “Spiny Soft Shell Turtle.” Great Lakes Aquarium. Great Lakes Aquarium, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

<http://www.glaquarium.org/exhibits-species/aviary/spiny-soft-shelled-turtle/>.   “Spiny Softshell Turtle.” Lee and Rose Warner Nature Center. Science Museum of Minnesota,

n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.smm.org/warnernaturecenter/animals/softshellturtle>.             Virginia Opossum   Picture “Top 10 Animal Cheats.” Animal Planet. Animal Planet, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

<http://www.google.com/imgres?q=virginia+opossum&num=10&hl=en&safe=active&tbm=isch&tbnid=jvSTyI8mv44slM:&imgrefurl=http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/cheats/cheats-03.html&docid=Jfn6UbB1IcVPGM&imgurl=http://animal.discovery.com/tv/a-list/creature-countdowns/cheats/images/cheats-virginia-opossum.jpg&w=625&h=450&ei=badlUMSoH4Kc9gT2pYDwCw&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=190&vpy=306&dur=10078&hovh=190&hovw=265&tx=161&ty=98&sig=102799587871770992293&page=1&tbnh=138&tbnw=209&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:89&biw=1280&bih=827>.

  “Virginia Opossum.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota Department of

Natural Resources, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mammals/virginiaopossum.html>.

Lake Sturgeon   Picture “Join the Sierra Club.” Sierra Club. Sierra Club, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012.

<http://wisconsin.sierraclub.org/involve/join.asp>.   “Lake Sturgeon.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota

Department of Natural Resources, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/rsg/profile.html?action=elementDetail&selectedElement=AFCAA01020#>.

  “Ohio Fish Farm Aims to Raise Ancient, Endangered Species.” Lake Scientist. Lake

Scientist, n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2012. <http://www.lakescientist.com/2010/fish-farm-aims-to-raise-ancient-endangered-species>.

Pitcher Plant   “Pitcher Plant.” Minnesota Department of Natural Resources. Minnesota Department

of Natural Resources, n.d. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/wildflowers/pitcherplant.html>.

Picture “Pitcher Plants’ Red Color Don’t Attract Prey.” Science Daily. Science Daily, n.d.

Web. 1 Oct. 2012. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090804081545.htm>.