The Fauna of coniferous forests Is composed of hundreds of animal species, including mammals, insects, invertebrates and birds.
The animals that most abound in these forests are the insects, which build their nests in the trunks of the conifers. You can also find deer and tapir, which feed on berries and other wild fruits.
Large predators, such as bears and wolves, also inhabit these forests, and feed on herbivorous animals.
Conifer forests are found mainly in the northern hemisphere, in fact, many of them are located in the Arctic Circle.
Coniferous forests are made up of the strongest trees in the world, as they can survive extreme weather conditions. Some of the most common conifers are pines, spruces and firs.
Conifers are everlasting trees, which have needle-shaped leaves and produce pine nuts instead of fruits. Conifer needles have large concentrations of acids; Therefore, when they fall to the ground, this acidity is absorbed by the soils.
In this sense, in coniferous forests only plants that can grow in soils with an acidic pH survive. In turn, this affects the fauna of the forests, especially that referring to herbivorous animals, since only herbivores can live in these forests that can feed on plants with such a degree of acidity.
In green, distribution of coniferous forests in the world. Photo retrieved from a-z-animals.com
Principal fauna of coniferous forests
1- Insects
Centipede
In coniferous forests, a large number of insects inhabit, including mosquitoes, flies, beetles, bees and wasps.
Many of these insects spend the winter as pupae, buried in the ground or within cracks in the bark of trees. Not many of these pupae survive, since woodpeckers feed on them during the winter.
2- Cold-blooded animals
Lizard
In coniferous forests there are very few cold-blooded animals, such as snakes and frogs, since they prefer higher temperature areas.
3- Mammals
Deer
Among the mammalian animal species found in coniferous forests are elk, deer, caribou, mice, shrews and squirrels.
Among the predators are wolves, wolves, bobcats, foxes and bears.
Bears : Many species of bears inhabit coniferous forests. The bears that live in these forests are omnivorous.
During the summer, these animals feed on wild fruits such as cherry and salmon in order to store reserves for wintering during the winter. When it begins to snow, the bears retreat to their lairs and sleep until spring.
American Lynx : The American lynx is a feline species that lives in coniferous forests. These felines are carnivorous and feed on rabbits, small birds and other smaller animals.
American lynxes have the ability to adapt to climatic seasons and camouflage themselves, since their coat changes color. During winter, the hair of these animals is ivory color (allowing them to hide in the snow), while in summer it is light brown (similar to the color of the earth).
Mammals that inhabit coniferous forests have developed many ways to survive the cold winters of the north.
For example, some foxes have thick coats that protect them from the cold; Some shrews live in burrows beneath the earth's surface, where the temperature is warmer, and there they have food reserves.
Fox
Other mammals, such as bears, hibernate throughout the winter and survive thanks to the fat reserves they have acquired throughout the summer. For their part, elk and deer survive in the winter by eating lichens and mosses growing on the banks of some rivers.
4- Birds
Most of the birds that inhabit these forests are herbivorous, although some, like the eagle, are omnivorous.
Herbivores live on wild berries and nuts; While omnivorous birds feed on berries, nuts, worms, small rodents and some species of fish.
Peregrine falcon
Very few birds live permanently in coniferous forests; Such as woodpeckers, owls, some hawks, grouse, among others.
During the winter, these birds feed on the seeds they extract from the pine nuts, as well as the insects and snails that live on the lichens and moss found in the trees.
The other species of birds migrate during the winter towards the south, in search of a warmer climate.
During spring, the number of insects and caterpillars in coniferous forests increases, attracting birds from warmer climates.
At this time, these birds settle in these forests and make their nests, taking advantage of the abundance of food.
References
- List of coniferous forest animals. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from skyenimals.com.
- Coniferous animals. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from ths.sps.lane.edu.
- Coniferous forests videos, news and facts. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from bbc.co.uk.
- Coniferous forest. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from britannica.com.
- Animals and their adaptations in the coniferous forest. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from sciencing.com.
- Plants and Animals. The coniferous forest. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from kellyspage11.tripod.com.
- Animal life. Retrieved on May 8, 2017, from wwf.panda.org.