1)
American beech trees serve as indicator species for the floodplain border. Given global climate
change predictions that SC will become a desert, how would the local range of this species
change? (Time point 1:37 in the Congaree Quiz Video)
Since the American beech tree requires a fertile soil, the local range of the species would
diminish and likely die off if SC became a dessert. Or, it would slowly adapt to needing less
fertile soil and maybe a descendent of the species would be able to survive a dessert climate.
2) This area contains "Dorovan muck," a dark-colored mud made of clay, old leaves, and a diverse
micro-bacterial community responsible for filtering many pollutants from the water table. Think
back to our exercise "A Trip to the Beach" and its lesson. What do you predict will happen to
the biodiversity of this muck community if Columbia (with its fertilized and manicured lawns)
continues to sprawl closer to the National Park? AND what is the name of the process
responsible for that change? (Time point 6:43).
The fertilizers that keep lawns looking clean would harm the biodiversity of the muck
community. It would cause an imbalance of the chemical contents of the muck and alter the
bacterial interactions within the ecosystem. The muck will also be less efficient at filtering these
pollutants because of the concentration of fertilizer chemicals. This process is called cultural
eutrophication.
3) What are two structural adaptations do these trees have for improving stability in waterlogged
soil? (Time point 11:40)
A) The base of the water tupelo and cypress trees is wider than average and gets more narrow
going up the trunk.
B) Cypress knees provide further stability by projecting a small dome shaped piece of the root
above water level and out of the swamp substrate.
4) Notice the smaller trees that have not grown straight and vertical. Competition for what
limiting resource drove this growth pattern? (Time point 15:29).
Competition for sunlight under the canopy caused the shorter, younger trees to bend to adapt
to where sunlight gets through the upper canopy.
5) Quiz question 5: The National Park Service doesn't artificially beautify the park by cutting dead
trees (sometimes called "snags"), since they provide habitat for many species, including bats!
What might happen if the swamp was artificially maintained by eliminating those snags? (Time
point 18:42)
The swamp ecosystem depends on the dead trees to provide nutrients for the swamp.
Decomposers break down the organic material and release it into the swamp. Other animals
also prey on the organisms that use the dead trees as a habitat. Therefore, the trees are
essential for the function and flow of energy through the ecosystem.