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The Miller Hill Habitat
The Miller Hill habitat
is primarily Great Basin sagebrush at the lower elevations with
interspersed grass patches and willows. At higher elevations the habitat
is ponderosa pine forest with aspen patches. It contains several spring
fed streams and small lakes. The elevation ranges from 6000 feet to 9000
feet and the weather consists of cool summers and cold winters with lots
of snow.
The Miller Hill habitat is home to many
organisms including mammals, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish,
plants, fungi, and many soil organisms. Some examples are listed below.
The stump fairies are the only fairy clan occupying the Miller Hill
habitat at the time of this writing.
Please scroll down to learn more about the
habitat, and find out how an organism is given it's scientific name. The
Miller Hill Clan's Family Tree and several maps are shown below for your
perusal......take your time to see the sights! |
Co-Existing at Miller Hill
All of
the species that live in the Miller Hill ecosystem co-exist even though several
species have to compete for the same food and shelter. This competition for food
and shelter is usually good for the animals that live around Miller Hill because
it favors survival of only the strongest of the various species. Also many of
the plants and animals in the Miller Hill ecosystem depend on one another for
survival. For example, the plants provide food for the vegetation eaters, or
herbivores such as the Antelope, which in turn return body waste to the soil to
serve as nutrients for the plants. These food chains or more appropriately, food
webs, form the basis for the various kinds of plants and animals that live in
the Miller Hill ecosystem.
| A
Herbivore
is an organism that eats plants |
An
Insectivore
is an organism that eats insects |
A
Carnivore
is an organism that eats other animals |
An
Omnivore
is an organism that eats both plants and
animals |
The Stump Fairies of Miller Hill will introduce you to
Celina the chipmunk (an omnivore), Boris the wood beetle (a herbivore), Spike
the shrew (a carnivore), Cannabell the black widow spider (an insectivore),
Trilli the nighthawk (an insectivore) and her relatives Tornado and Perigretti
and Bombetti.
In the book, Boris the wood beetle provides the
valuable service of boring chimneys and storage rooms for the fairies in the
stump. He also plays a vital role in breaking down plant material as a part of
the processes of returning nutrients tied up in plant material back to the soil
where they can be recycled back into the food web. Boris receives an equally
valuable benefit of nutritious and yummy meals without having to search or
travel very far.
The nighthawks need to eat many insects to survive, and
millions of mosquitoes, midge flies, caddis flies, and hundreds of other insect
species hatch in the marshy areas along stream bottoms. These insects are
hatched in such huge numbers that they can provide a readily available food
supply to the nighthawks and other insectivores (insect eaters) during the warm
summer months at Miller Hill. When the weather turns cold and insects disappear,
insectivorous birds usually fly to warmer climates where insects are still
present. While the insects are valuable to the insectivores such as Trilli by
providing food, their population numbers are held in check by insectivorous
predators such as the nighthawks and Cannabell the black widow spider. If not
for the insectivores, insect populations would be unchecked making life
miserable for other species. Cannabell the black widow and Spike the shrew all
do their part to help keep insect numbers down.
Predators and Prey
Predators are organisms that kill and eat other
organisms, and prey are the organisms being eaten. There are many examples of
the predator/prey relationship in the Miller Hill habitat. Coyotes (predators)
eat rabbits (prey). Hawks (predators) eat gophers (prey). Mountain lions
(predators) eat deer (prey).
The cost and benefit in the predator/prey relationship
is part of co-existing in the same habitat. Organisms are driven by one common
goal: to reproduce. So while some organisms are killed for the benefit of other
organisms, it is all with the purpose of ensuring the survival of the predator
species. When prey species are plentiful, predator species also become
plentiful. When prey species decline, predators numbers also decline.
Scavengers and Parasites
These animals play a particularly important role in the
food chain in that they help return nutrients tied up in plants and animals back
to the soil where they can be reused. This process is called nutrient cycling
and is vital to the survival of species. If nutrients were not returned to the
soil for recycling, none would be available for sustaining new plant and animal
life. Scavengers include many plant and animal species and especially insects.
Very small plants and animals that live in the soil (called microflora and
microfauna) play the most important role in breakdown of dead plant and animal
material.
Cold-Blooded vs. Warm-Blooded
It is important to note that warm-blooded animals can
regulate their body temperature. Human, dogs, cats, birds and hamsters are all
warm-blooded, meaning that they are very good at regulating their body
temperature. The human body tries to maintain body temperature at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cold-blooded animals cannot directly regulate their
body temperature, but they do regulate it to some degree by their actions. For
example, lizards and snakes move very slowly on very cool mornings but will lay
in direct sunlight to warm up their body to better move about. The process of
controlling body temperature is called thermoregulation and honey bees are very
good examples of cold blooded animals that can control their body temperature
even when it is very cold. They use the energy in honey to generate metabolic
heat so that when they huddle together in the hive in winter, they can stay warm
enough to keep from freezing to death.
The Wildlife at Miller Hill
These are just a few examples of the species
that live in the Miller Hill
ecosystem.
The
Fairies
of
Miller
Hill
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1. One
clan in residence. The stump fairies, scientific name chimera zephritus
prairiensis, native to region. See
species list and family tree below. Amber eyes provide excellent
nocturnal (night) vision. Appearance, including greenish skin and hair
colored like native wildflowers, aids in camouflage and protection from
predators. Features include strong, transparent wings which generate a
blue light that can only be viewed by fairy eyes and a soft buzzing that
sounds like ringing bells. 2. Two
clan members are chimera zephritus
metropli. (Auddie and Malchetto). They
were born in a city by the ocean, and grew up in the home of a human; a
wealthy scholar named Dr. Preston. They have brown eyes like the fur of
a mink, and their nocturnal vision is not very good. They were not
raised in a nocturnal environment. They dress differently, and this
subspecies is hatched with hair colors that facilitate hiding in
man-made environments: gray, white, black, brown.
3. Fairies cache food for winter, using
primarily dried nuts, berries. Summer fare includes plants, grasses,
flowers, freshwater shrimp.
4. Fairies are hatched from eggs, and stay with
both parents in family unit until around age 10. Fairies attend an
organized educational program while fairykids (youth stage), and spend
time recording events and history.
5. They have 3-chambered hearts and they are cold-blooded. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Mammals
|
1.
Antelope, deer and elk are called ungulates, meaning they have cloven
(or split) hooves. They are also ruminants, meaning that they
regurgitate coarse food, like sagebrush, and chew it to a fine
consistency so that they can digest it.
2. Coyote, fox and wolf are canine (or
dog-like) mammals
3. Bobcat, lynx and mountain lion are feline
(or cat-like) mammals
4. Small mammals such as chipmunks, squirrels,
rabbits, shrews, voles, and mice are called rodents.
5. Mammals all have hair somewhere on their
bodies. They all give live birth to their young (except for some species
in the marsupial family). They all nurse their young. They are all warm
blooded, and they have 4-chambered hearts. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Birds
|
1. Sage
grouse and blue grouse are chicken-sized birds that live year round in
the Miller Hill habitat.
2. Migratory waterfowl such as ducks and geese
pass through the Miller Hill habitat but migrate south for the winter.
3. Most Miller Hill birds like doves, sparrows,
larks, robins and nighthawks fly south to avoid the cold winters and
lack of winter food. Some birds do stay during the winter including
Ravens, finches, and some of the Jays.
4. Owls, hawks and eagles are called Raptors,
meaning predatory birds. The Miller Hill habitat has many raptor species
in residence including the Great Horned owl, Barn owl, Red-tailed Hawk,
Golden Eagle, Bald Eagle, Ferruginous Hawk, and Sparrow Hawk. These
birds eat insects and small mammals. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Arachnids
|
1. Spiders
2. Ticks, mites and spiders have 8 legs. Most
build webs to catch prey, although some spiders are roaming hunters and
don't build webs. All have poison glands to kill their prey, but only a
few are dangerous to humans. Ticks and mites are dangerous because they
spread diseases such as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Lyme Disease.
Scorpions are included in the arachnid family, but there are no scorpion
species present in the Miller Hill habitat. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Insects
|
1. The
insect family includes moths, butterflies, beetles, flies, ants, fleas,
grasshoppers, bees and wasps, dragonflies, mosquitoes, and many more.
All bugs with 6 legs and segmented bodies (head, thorax, and abdomen)
are insects. Remember Sheerena the tent caterpillar? She and her 72
siblings that survived the molting period would have changed (or
metamorphosized in a cocoon) into moths in mid-summer. The only function
of the adult moths is to lay eggs so that there will be more tent
caterpillars in the early spring! These adult moths do not even eat. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Fish
|
1.
Cutthroat trout are native to this habitat.
2. Brook trout and Brown trout are resident in
some waters in this habitat because they were transplanted by man.
"Native" means the fish have always lived there, maybe for
thousands of years. Some fish may NOT be native to the area. It is
common for non-native species to be introduced into an area by man, and
sometimes those fish move through streams or lakes to other waters. Fish
obtain oxygen with their gills; they don't have lungs. Fish have only 2
chambers in their heart.
A Zoo At Home!!: A home aquarium is a great way
to learn about fish and aquatic ecosystems. If you don't have a tank,
you might consider getting one. You must read all about which fish can
reside in the same tank, and you must know what they like to eat. Visit
a pet store with a knowledgeable staff (stay away from the large
discount stores that carry fish until you have had a tank for awhile). |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Reptiles
|
Reptiles
in this habitat include rattlesnakes, water snakes, and the black necked
garter snakes. Reptiles are cold-blooded, and they have 3-chambered
hearts. The young of most species are hatched from eggs, but some give
birth to live young. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Amphibians
|
Amphibians
here include salamanders, frogs, and toads. Amphibians have 3-chambered
hearts like reptiles, and they are also cold-blooded. Some amphibians
live in water and have gills when they are very young (like tadpoles or
pollywogs), but most adult amphibians breathe air with lungs. Many live
in moist environments like along the spring fed streams near Miller
Hill. Some, however, like toads, can live in very dry situations. All of
the amphibians hibernate in winter by burrowing deep into the soil. |
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Some
Miller
Hill
Plants
|
1. Trees
include aspen, pine, fir, spruce, cottonwood, alder, birch. Cottonwood,
alder, and birch grow in wet sites such as marshes and spring fed
streams. Ponderosa Pine is the major tree species, but aspen is very
abundant and often results from a major disturbance such as wildfire. At
higher elevations and in wetter areas, both Douglas Fir and Blue Spruce
can be found.
2. Wild flowers including milkvetch, sunflower,
fireweed, golden pea, dandelion, daisy, and miners candle can be found.
Wild flowers are also commonly called forbs or as most people know them,
weeds.
3. Shrubs include huckleberry, scrub oak, sage
brush, kinnikinnick, ground juniper, wild current, choke cherry,
gooseberry, skunk bush, and of course, sagebrush.
4. Aquatic plants include duckweed, sedges,
potemageton and algae.
5. Grasses include several species of fescue,
blue grass, blue gramma, buffalo grass, needle and thread grass,
foxtail, western wheat grass and wild rye.
6. Lichen, fungi (mushrooms), and microbes.
These plants serve an important purpose in breaking down organic matter
including dead plants and animals so that the nutrients are returned to
the soil where they are available for new life. Plant and animal soil
microbes also help break down pollution and help animals digest the food
in their stomach. |
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Scientific Names
Living organisms are
all classified by a taxonomic system of looking at the differences and
similarities. There are seven levels in this classification system. Every living
thing that has ever been discovered has a scientific name that comes from this
method of naming. Did you know that there are many living things that have not
yet been discovered or named yet? An organism's scientific name is its genus and
species names. For example, humans are Homo sapiens. Wolves are Canis
lupus. Coyotes are Canis latrans.
Fairies are classified by genus and
species names, but they are also given a subspecies name to reflect their
habitat.
 | Glacier fairies: chimera zephritus arcticus |
| Tundra fairies: chimera zephritus alpinus |
| Stump fairies: chimera zephritus prairiensis |
| Desert fairies: chimera zephritus aridius |
| Cliff fairies: chimera zephritus scarpus aeriea |
| Cave fairies: chimera zephritus cavernensis |
| Coastal fairies: chimera zephritus
littoralis |
| Volcano fairies: chimera zephritus vulcanensis |
| Marsh fairies: chimera zephritus swampii |
| River fairies: chimera zephritus riperene |
| Tree fairies: chimera zephritus arborialis |
| City fairies: chimera zephritus metropli |
| Country fairies: chimera zephritus ruralis |
Note: These species may be studied in future
books.
Examples of the classification of species:
Look at how the dog and the wolf are classified the
same until we get down to the species category. Look at how dogs, wolves, and
man are classified the same until we get down to the level of Order.
Level
|
dog
|
wolf
|
man
|
lobster
|
daisy
|
paramecium
|
Kingdom
|
Animalia |
Animalia |
Animalia |
Animalia |
Plantae |
Protista |
Phylum
|
Chordata |
Chordata |
Chordata |
Arthropoda |
Tracheophyta |
Ciliophora |
Class
|
Mammalia |
Mammalia |
Mammalia |
Crustacea |
Angiospermae |
Ciliata |
Order
|
Carnivora |
Carnivora |
Primates |
Decapoda |
Campanulales |
Holotricha |
Family
|
Canidae |
Canidae |
Hominidae |
Homaridae |
Compositae |
Parameciidae |
Genus
|
Canis |
Canis |
Homo |
Homarus |
Chrysanthemum |
Paramecium |
Species
|
familiaris |
lupus |
sapiens |
americanus |
leucanthemum |
caudatem |
This table was taken from High School Biology, BSCS Green
Version, Rand McNally, Chicago, 1963.
If you would like to learn more
about the classification of species, look up "taxonomy" or
"classification of species" in any biology textbook or encyclopedia.
The Miller Hill Stump Fairy Clan Family Tree
Surrounding Area Habitat Map A map of
the whole territory!
Immediate Area Habitat Map A map of
the stump and the features around it!
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