CHAPTER 19 Summary

• Forest ecosystems like Olympic National Park are home to a great variety of eukaryotic organisms.
• The domain Eukarya encompasses all eukaryotic organisms—plants, animals, fungi, and the many types of protists.
• Plants are multicellular eukaryotes that carry out photosynthesis and are adapted to living on land. All plants have cells with cell walls, but not all have a vascular system, not all produce seeds, and not all produce flowers.
• Plants can be subdivided into groups, including the bryophytes, ferns, gymnosperms, and angiosperms, on the basis of their terrestrial adaptations.
• Animals are multicellular eukaryotic heterotrophs that obtain nutrients by ingestion.
• Most animals are invertebrates (that is, they lack a backbone). The most abundant invertebrates by far are arthropods, and especially insects.
• Vertebrates (animals with a backbone) are members of the phylum Chordata. Common vertebrates include mammals such as the fisher, as well as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and fish.
• Fungi are decomposers, acquiring their nutrition by breaking down dead organic matter and absorbing the results. There are unicellular and multicellular fungi.
• Protists are a diverse group of mostly unicellular eukaryotic organisms that do not cluster on a single branch of the evolutionary tree. They include photosynthetic plantlike algae and animal-like parasites.
• Healthy ecosystems rely on a web of relationships among its members. Removing valuable species—predators especially—can cause a cascading chain of events leading to ecosystem disruption.

• MORE TO EXPLORE

  1. National Park Service: Olympic National Park http://www.nps.gov/olym/index.htm
  2. Lewis, J. C., et al. (2012) Olympic Fisher Reintroduction Project: Progress Report 2008–2011. http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01393/wdfw01393.pdf
  3. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 2011 Annual Report: Fisher http://wdfw.wa.gov/conservation/endangered/species/fisher.pdf
  4. UNESCO World Heritage Site: Olympic National Park http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/151
  5. Beschta, R. L., and Ripple, W. J. (2008) Wolves, trophic cascades, and rivers in the Olympic National Park, USA. Ecohydrology 1:118–130.