Acting Locally Paper
Crystal Dillon-Reeves
BIO/289
February 25,2013
Dennis Kostac

Acting Locally Paper
The Shut-In Mountain Fen has some of the wettest and the driest habitats that are founf in the state of Missouri. This particular wetland fen has the most diverse ecological community and habitats found in the state. The Shut-In Mountain Fens preserve features of more than 15 types of fen communities ("Missouri Shut-In Fens", 2010). It is located in the Ozark Mountains in the southern central part of the state. In 2010, researchers found the rare carnivorous palnt called the Small Bladderwort growing here. The plant is an aquatic plant species that floats on the ponds, lakes and marshes with almost no root system. This animal eating plant feeds off of aquatic invertebrates, such as mosquito larvae, protozoans and tiny crustaceans. That is not the only thing that has been found in the plants traps though. Small tadpoles and newly hatched fish have also been found to fall prey to this carnivorous plant. The Small Bladderwort is Missouri’s only carnivorous plant. A plant eating animals is a rare quality, so to find one around where you live is an exciting thing. The plant does not really have an intrinsic value. It is mainly just about what they are and what they are about. It is not thought that this plant has any beneficial use to humans, other than the plant is hughly unique. The Shut-In Mountain fen is also the only home to the Current River Saddled Darter. This fish species is only founf here, in the Current River watershed. This fish is a federally endangered species due to it only having one place in the world that it can be found. This fish is not really unique, only that it is only fooun here. I do not think that it would have an intrinsic or instrumental value. There are other species of Saddled Darters found in other parts of the United Stated, but this is the place where this particular one lives. The beavers that live here occupy the rivers, streams and lakes that are found in this fen. These animals are very common in the state of Missouri and the rest of the United States. Thought of to be natures construction workers, building dams in the waters they live, in Missouri they are less likely to build dams here than they would in other regions farther north and west. ("Beavers", 2011). Even though the animals instinct to dam the waters in which they live, it can be a nuisance and a hazard to the ecosystem. The dams stop the natural flow of the water through the ecosystem, and when this happens it can kill certain fish and organisms that reside in the waters. The beavers can also create new habitats for animals that need these certain conditions in order to survive. Beavers are trapped for their furs or pelts. People use these for coats or trimmings. People also trap them just because they can do damage to pond banks, causing the ponds to leak.
The Ozark Mountains are among the oldest mountain ranges on the planet ("Ozark Mountains", 2000) It is home to many different species of plants and animals. Here you can find some of the game animals of bear, deer, elk, buffalo and the wild turkey. All of these animals can be used to help humans survive. They play an important role to help keep each other alive. Not only are the Ozark Mountains home to game animals, but many species of plants and wildflowers. Several species of the Wood Violet grow throughout the Ozarks. Sometimes it is hard to tell the different species apart from each other. The Ozark Mountains are also home to the threatened species of cave fish. This fish is only about 2½ inches in length and pinkish in color. It is also blind, and has to use it senses to find the necessary food that it needs to survive. The cave fish survives on plankton, and finds it by using its senses to tell movement in the water. This small fish has become endangered because pollution to ground water, and caves being closed up by humans. When a cave is closed, it cuts off the food supply to the animals that live in the cave community. These two ecosystems need each other in order to survive. We would not be able to have a water ecosystem without the animals that live in the forest ecosystem and vice versa. The animals in the forest feed off the fish and plants that is provided in the water habitat. If the animals did not feed off the species, one ecosystem could become over run by a certain species destroying the habitats.

References:
Missouri Shut-In Fens. (2010). Retrieved from http://nature.org.
Beavers. (2011). Retrieved from http://mdc.online.gov/node/992
Ozark Mountains. (2000). Retrieved from http://theozarkmountains.com