An ecosystem is an area where living beings (plants, animals, organisms) interact with their non-living environment (air, water, landscape) to create a complex, functioning system. Some ecosystems are large, like the Pacific Northwest rainforest, and some are much smaller, like a tidepool.
Our region has a number of ecosystems. You will be asked some questions about the plants in 6 of our main ecosystems. If you are unfamiliar with these areas, please read below to learn about each one before moving onto the next question.
Riparian Zones and Freshwater Streams
- Streams flow through forests of western redcedar and red alder. At the streambank, salmonberry, Devil's club, and willows grow. Fish feed off insects in the water, and birds eat berries, nuts, and bugs.
Freshwater Wetlands
- Water covers the soil most of the year. In the wet earth, dogwoods, skunk cabbage, and cattails grow. Frogs and salamanders swim and lay eggs, the great blue heron hunts, and beavers gnaw on willows and cottonwoods.
Estuaries and Salt Marshes
- Freshwater and saltwater mix. Salt-tolerant grasses, seaweeds, and other plants grow in the briney water. Crabs burrow into the mud, fish swim, birds forage and river otters hunt.
Marine Shorelines
- Rocky or sandy shorelines where roses and strawberries grow, madrona trees reach towards the sunlight, and dune grasses wave with the sea breeze. Oysters, mussels, and clams live on the shore, and bald eagles hunt from the treetops.
Mixed Forests
- Fir trees and maple trees tower, shading a forest of huckleberry, salal, sword fern, and trillium flowers. Birds sing in the trees, and woodpeckers search for insects in dead wood. Deer and black bear walk through the brush, and banana slugs and salamanders nestle in the cool layers of dead leaves.
Prairie / Savannah
- Open landscapes dotted with oak trees, and covered with colorful flowers in the springtime. Small rodents burrow through the grasses, birds hunt insects and search for seeds, and butterflies feast on the nectar of the flowers.
