Sierra Nevada Foothills Ecosystem
Jamie Haymes, Clare Raimondo
University of Phoenix
BIO101 Travis Kibota

Sierra Nevada Foothills Ecosystem The foothills of the Sierra Nevada are only a small section of the mountain range, encompassing the East and West slopes of the ranges in elevation from around 1,000 to 3,000 feet. The foothills are known as a biotic zone, one of five biotic zones, or ten if the person studying wishes to separate the Eastern side of the range from the Western side of the range. For our purposes, we will be including the Eastern and Western sides of the mountain range together as all being foothill zones. There are different types of species in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada; the producers, the consumers, and the decomposers. The Sierra Nevada Mountain Range’s foothills are at a low enough elevation that plant and animal life is adapted to hot, dry summers with very little or no snow in the winters. This type of dry climate leads to a lot of shrubbery and trees, which means there will be a large population of small animals and birds that will seek shelter in the shrubs and tree branches, as well as the larger animals that will feed on the plants and smaller animals. The plants that are typical to the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range are numerous, but the most notable are the chamise, ceanothus, manzanita, Blue oak tree, Interior Live oak tree, and the Gray pine tree (Encyclopedia Americana, 2006). Chamise belongs to the rose family, and is a very dense flowering shrub that can grow up to 12 feet tall (Charters, M, 2010). Ceanothus belongs to the lilac family, and is often called the California Lilac (Schaffner, B., 2010). Ceanothus is a dense flowering shrub that is eaten by many of the animals as the leaves are very high in protein. Manzanita belongs to the evergreen family of shrubs and small trees, and is a dense flowering shrub that can grow up to 20 feet tall, hence the sometimes classification as a tree (Charters, 2010). Almost every part of the manzanita plant is edible, from the berries that are carried in the spring and summer to the flowers that bloom from winter through early spring, to the branch tips that can be chewed on to stave off thirst. The Blue oak tree is a slow-growing short tree with a widely distributed, open canopy (Schaffner, 2010). Blue oaks also produce acorns that are eaten by many of the animals in the region. The Interior Live oak tree is an evergreen tree with a rounded canopy that can grow up to 60 feet tall, and produces acorns that many of the animals in the region will eat (Charters, 2010). The Gray pine tree is a conifer (cone-producing) tree that grows to an average of 34 feet tall, and it produces seeds that are eaten by small animals (Charters, 2010).
The most common animals to find in this region are the black bear, ringtail cat, coyote, gray squirrel, bobcat, skunk, and California mule deer (Encyclopedia Americana, 2006). Black bears are omnivores that have been considered very opportunistic eaters. Most of their diet consists of grasses, roots, berries and insects, but they will also eat fish and mammals, as well as develop the taste for human foods and garbage around camp sites (National Geographic, 2011). Ringtail cats are not actually cats at all, but are relatives of raccoons, and they eat smaller animals, insects, and fruits from native plants. Coyotes are members of the dog family, and are probably the least finicky eaters in the world, as they will eat anything. The gray squirrel, also known as the western gray squirrel, is an herbivorous rodent, meaning that it eats plants and nuts (National Geographic, 2011). Bobcats are named for their short tails, and are solitary animals that are fierce hunters of rabbits, birds, mice, squirrels and other small game, though they are capable of killing prey much larger than themselves (National Geographic, 2011). Skunks are omnivores, eating a diet that usually consists of fruit and plants, insects, worms, eggs, reptiles, fish, and smaller mammals (National Geographic, 2011). They protect themselves from predators with a fine-mist, greasy spray that is secreted in glands and produces a horrible odor that can take days to get rid of. California mule deer are herbivores, receiving around 90% of its diet from shrubs and leaves, and the rest from grasses (National Geographic, 2011). Populations in this ecosystem are regulated by natural selection, for the most part. Wildfires play an important role in regulating the population levels of both animals and plants in the Sierra Nevada Foothill mountain region. Occasionally, pollution from large cities within a couple hundred miles from the foothills will create an acid rain that can damage plant life and endanger the animals in the ecosystem. There is also the problem with pollution from trash left behind by campers and hunters that frequent the area, especially during the fall and early winter months, which encompass the bear and deer hunting seasons in California (California Department of Fish and Game, 2011). Hunting is also a way that humans use to regulate some animal populations, by placing regulations on which animals can be hunted, what times of the year they may be hunted, and how many animals may be hunted. Plant populations are affected by humans as well, partially due to the logging industry, partially due to some humans simply tearing up the landscape. Some humans, however, seek to have a positive effect on the Sierra Nevada Foothill ecosystem, by way of planting more trees and plants to replace ones lost to uncaring humans or forest fires, implementing regulations on hunting, and by protecting species of plants and animals that are in danger of extinction.
In conclusion, the western biotic zone known as the Sierra Nevada Foothill zone is a diverse ecosystem of plants and animals that all depend on each other for survival in one way or another. Some animals eat other animals; all the animals eat parts of the plants, or depend on plants for cover or housing. Some of the plants depend on the animals to spread their seeds so new plants can grow. Humans have both a positive and a negative effect on the ecosystem, by way of either protecting or destroying plants and animals.
Region of Sierra Mountain - Foothill Woodlands Biome
Energy Food Web Diagram

http://nitaajay.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html Plants and Primary Producers Ceanothus http://www.plant-pictures.net/2046-ceanothus-picture.aspx Manzanita http://www.mtplantas.com/plantas/E45323.htm Gray Pine http://biologyprojectwiki.wikispaces.com/chaparralorganismsper2 Interior Live Oak Acores http://www.stevenkharper.com/interiorliveoak.html Consumer/ Herbivores Ringtail Cat http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/azsymbols.htm Gray Squirrel http://www.lloydspitalnikphotos.com/v/miscellaneous/gray_squirrel_F5R5566.jpg.html

California Mule Deer http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/yosemite/wawona-deer_l.htm
Skunk http://www.grit.com/blogs/A-Scent-of-Skunk.aspx
Primary Carnivores/ Predators Black Bear

http://nathan-harrison.com/route/2010/04/19th-april-2010-black-bear-princess-royal-island-canada/
Coyote

http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-02-26/crime/24625036_1_coyote-sightings-animal-pest-management-coyote-activity
Bobcat
http://openmach.org/animals/bobcat/

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Text References
California Fish and Game Commission (2011) Mammal hunting regulations. Retrieved from http://www.fgc.ca.gov/regulations/current/mammalregs.asp#365
Charters, M. L. (2010). Plants in the western United States. Retrieved from http://www.calflora.net/bloomingplants/index.html
Encyclopedia Americana (2006). Sierra Nevada. Volume 24, page 796
National Geographic (2011). Animals A-Z. Retrieved from http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/
Schaffner, B. (2010). Plant species. Retrieved from http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/
Photograph References http://nitaajay.blogspot.com/2007_08_01_archive.html http://www.plant-pictures.net/2046-ceanothus-picture.aspx

http://www.mtplantas.com/plantas/E45323.htm

http://biologyprojectwiki.wikispaces.com/chaparralorganismsper2

http://www.stevenkharper.com/interiorliveoak.html

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/usstates/azsymbols.htm

http://www.lloydspitalnikphotos.com/v/miscellaneous/gray_squirrel_F5R5566.jpg.html

http://www.americansouthwest.net/california/yosemite/wawona-deer_l.htm http://www.grit.com/blogs/A-Scent-of-Skunk.aspx http://nathan-harrison.com/route/2010/04/19th-april-2010-black-bear-princess-royal-island-canada/

http://articles.ocregister.com/2010-02-26/crime/24625036_1_coyote-sightings-animal-pest-management-coyote-activity
http://openmach.org/animals/bobcat/