samrbishop97
Opossum Bones
This picture was taken on 1-29-16 at 4:51 PM in the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve on campus. After only a few minutes of walking the trails, I spotted the bones on top of a dirt mound created from a fallen tree. After making the discovery, I removed the leaves that had fallen on top of the bones and found the remainder of the skeleton, along with tufts of hair from the decomposed animal. After closer inspection of the skull and teeth, I concluded the animal had to have been an omnivorous mammal of relatively small size, most likely a North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Opossums are the only marsupials found north of Mexico in North America, and can be found across most of the continental US. This opossum was likely the victim of one of the many birds of prey found in the Wilmington area, who took the animal to the dirt mound to eat it. Opossums fill an interesting role in the food web as they are secondary consumers, meaning they consume both primary producers and primary consumers. They serve as a food source for tertiary consumers, such as owls, hawks, foxes, etc. Not only did this opossum supply energy to a higher entity in the food chain, it also supplied energy and nutrients to the lower levels of the food chain as well. Whatever flesh was left on the bones after the predator was done was likely eaten by flies, ants, and other insects. Bacteria were also likely present on the flesh, breaking it down even further and supplying the soil with nutrients that it would have otherwise not had. Plants and fungi can then use those nutrients to flourish on the otherwise barren tree mound.
Opossum Bones
This picture was taken on 1-29-16 at 4:51 PM in the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve on campus. After only a few minutes of walking the trails, I spotted the bones on top of a dirt mound created from a fallen tree. After making the discovery, I removed the leaves that had fallen on top of the bones and found the remainder of the skeleton, along with tufts of hair from the decomposed animal. After closer inspection of the skull and teeth, I concluded the animal had to have been an omnivorous mammal of relatively small size, most likely a North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana). Opossums are the only marsupials found north of Mexico in North America, and can be found across most of the continental US. This opossum was likely the victim of one of the many birds of prey found in the Wilmington area, who took the animal to the dirt mound to eat it. Opossums fill an interesting role in the food web as they are secondary consumers, meaning they consume both primary producers and primary consumers. They serve as a food source for tertiary consumers, such as owls, hawks, foxes, etc. Not only did this opossum supply energy to a higher entity in the food chain, it also supplied energy and nutrients to the lower levels of the food chain as well. Whatever flesh was left on the bones after the predator was done was likely eaten by flies, ants, and other insects. Bacteria were also likely present on the flesh, breaking it down even further and supplying the soil with nutrients that it would have otherwise not had. Plants and fungi can then use those nutrients to flourish on the otherwise barren tree mound.