Biome, Ecosystem, and Habitat
The Striped Skunk is found across America and even in Southern Canada and Northern Mexico. The Striped Skunk is found primarily in temperate regions but can live in a wide range of habitats and temperatures. The striped skunk cannot survive in extreme heat or cold and needs easily accessibility to water. The Striped Skunk tends to live in a mixture of open areas with a mix of habitats. It primarily inhabits "forest borders, brushy areas, and open, grassy fields broken by wooded ravines and rock formations"[1].
The Striped Skunk is a secondary consumer who eats some animals like worms and already dead small mammals, but it primarily eats plants. The plants that the Striped Skunk eats are berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi, and nuts. The animals that the Striped Skunk tends to consume consist of different types of worms, mice and other small rodents, frogs, birds, lizards, and also eggs. The Striped Skunk is a scavenger who, after settling into its environment, consumes what remains of other animals prey. For example, if a cat killed a bird or a rodent and after eating it some meat was left on the body, the Striped Skunk would consume the meat. The Striped Skunk is also known to scavenge like Raccoons in suburbs for old and discarded food that humans have thrown out.
There are two types of interactions that organisms can have which are Interspecific Interactions and Intraspecfic Interactions. Interspecific Interactions are any interactions an organism has with other organisms which are not in the of the same species. The skunk does interact with many other species but it also competes with many other organisms for food within its community. Most small mammals and birds compete for the same types of food while the striped skunk relies on other organism to supply it with food which it scavenges for. Intraspecfic Interactions are interactions that occur within the same species and the Striped Skunks, while they are mostly solitary animals, do live together in dens during the winter and come together for the mating season. During mating seasons Females raise the young, while Males sometimes supply food for the young, however if the mother does die the males care for the young.
Sources:
The Striped Skunk is a secondary consumer who eats some animals like worms and already dead small mammals, but it primarily eats plants. The plants that the Striped Skunk eats are berries, roots, leaves, grasses, fungi, and nuts. The animals that the Striped Skunk tends to consume consist of different types of worms, mice and other small rodents, frogs, birds, lizards, and also eggs. The Striped Skunk is a scavenger who, after settling into its environment, consumes what remains of other animals prey. For example, if a cat killed a bird or a rodent and after eating it some meat was left on the body, the Striped Skunk would consume the meat. The Striped Skunk is also known to scavenge like Raccoons in suburbs for old and discarded food that humans have thrown out.
There are two types of interactions that organisms can have which are Interspecific Interactions and Intraspecfic Interactions. Interspecific Interactions are any interactions an organism has with other organisms which are not in the of the same species. The skunk does interact with many other species but it also competes with many other organisms for food within its community. Most small mammals and birds compete for the same types of food while the striped skunk relies on other organism to supply it with food which it scavenges for. Intraspecfic Interactions are interactions that occur within the same species and the Striped Skunks, while they are mostly solitary animals, do live together in dens during the winter and come together for the mating season. During mating seasons Females raise the young, while Males sometimes supply food for the young, however if the mother does die the males care for the young.
Sources:
- www.dnr.state.il.us/orc/wildlife/furbearers/striped_skunk.htm