ORGANISMS | zion

In the park, you will find a variety of animals, plants, bacteria, and more. Read about their classifications underneath.

Plateau Lizards (Animalia)

Domain: Eurkaya

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

Family: Phrynosomatidae

Genus: Sceloporus

Species: Tristichus

The plateau lizard is a small lizard usually gray, gold or brown in color with scales that overlap. They usually have small blotches between stripes. It's most common in Arizona in elevations from 3,000 to 9,000 feet. It's found in valleys, grassy plains, foothills and canyons that have a lot of sunlight. It eats mostly termites, ants, beetles, grasshoppers, flies, larvae and wasps. It also eats spiders, snails, and small lizards. Specifically in Zion, the lizard has specific patches of blue along its belly. It's the most common lizard in Zion.

Canyon Tree Frog (Animalia)

Domain: Eurkaya

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia

Order: Anura

Family: Hylidae

Genus: Hyla

Species: Arenicolor

The canyon tree frog is a plump, warty frog. It has light brown skin with dark blotches on its skin. It has "sunction discs" on each toe. They grow to about 2 in in length. The way to tell the difference between males and females is that males have yellow or dark throats and females have white or cream throats. They're mostly nocturnal and carnivorous and likes the water. Due to its color, it camoflauges easily. They're found in semiarid, rocky habitats near a water source such as Zion. During periods of low rainfall, they will hide in rock crevices.

Cyanobacteria (Bacteria)

Domain: Bacteria

Kingdom: Eubacteria
Phylum: Cyanobacteria
Class: Nostocophyceae

Order: Nostocales

Family: Prochlorotrichaceae
Genus: Prochlorothrix
Species: N/A

Cyanobacteria is also known as blue-green algae. It's found in warm lakes where there is a lot of light and nutrients. It's usually blue-green in color, but it can also be in reddish-purple/brown colors and red-colors. It's soft and feels slick out of the water. This usually occurs when there is too much nitrogen and a lot of light. To remove it, it's important to balance nutrients and it's very easy to remove it. They make their own food. Since they're bacteria, they're small and unicellular. They often grow in large colonies and are one of the oldest known fossils, more than 3.5 billion years old.

E. Coli (Bacteria)

Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: Archaebacteria
Phylum: Proteobacteria

Class: Gamma Protebacteria

Order: Enterobacteriales

Family: Enterobacteriaceae
Genus: Escherichia
Species: Escherichia coli

E. Coli are rod-shaped bacteria that ocurs widely in nature and is found in the intestines of humans, vertebrates, birds, and reptiles. Some stains of bacteria can cause serious illness such as kidney failure. Most of them helps the body break down and digest the food you eat. E. Coli grows in tempeartures that vary from around 45 degrees to 115 degrees, it can survive in very cold temperatures. It is found in the Virgin River in Zion.

Euglena (Protista)

Domain: Eurkaya

Kingdom: Protista

Phylum: Euglenoid

Class: Matigophora

Order: Euglenoidia

Family: Euglenoidae

Genus: Euglena

Species: Euglena virdis

Euglena are unicellular organisms that make their own food by photosynthesis. They can also absorb food from their environment. They lie in ponds and puddles. They move by flagellum which are like whips that act like a motor. Euglena has a spot that detects light and helps the euglena find areas to gather sunlight. When light is not avaiable, the euglena becomes heterotrophic. They are found in small pools of water around the park.

Chytridiomycosis (Fungi)

Domain: Eurkaya

Kingdom: Fungi

Phylum: Chytridiomycota

Class: Chytridiomycetes

Order: Chytridiales

Family: Incertae Sedis

Genus: Batrachochytrium

Species: Dendrobatidis

Chytridiomycosis is a fungus that has killed more than 200 species of frogs. There is still no cure and it has affected 30% of amphibians, and killed 80% of the frogs that ave become infected. Since every animal plays a very important role in the ecosystem, this is a very crucial thing to pay attention to. This infectioni leads to the thickening of the skin which leads to many complications. The skin for most amphibians is how organisms breathe.

Moss (Plantae)

Domain: Eurkaya
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Ascomycota

Class: Bryopsida

Order: Funariales
Family: Funariaceae

Genus: Funaria

Species: Hygrometrica

Moss is found in almost every climate. In the cold, hot, wet,and dry. They're very interesting in that they can be completely dry and then when applying water, they will come back to life again. They don't have a vascular system which is a series of tubes that transport water and nutrients. Because of this, they can't grow very big and need water to reproduce. They are found in various spots in Zion.

References:

Cyanobacteria. (n.d.). Wikipedia.

Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria#Classification

Escherichia coli. (n.d.). Escherichia coli.

Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2008/moder_just/classification.htm

Escherichia coli. (2014, May 21).Wikipedia.

Retrieved May 23, 2014, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Escherichia_coli

Plateau Fence Lizard (Sceloporus tristichus) - Reptiles of Arizona. (n.d.).Plateau Fence Lizard (Sceloporus tristichus) - Reptiles of Arizona.

Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.reptilesofaz.org/Lizards-Subpages/h-s-tristichus.html

Prairie or Plateau Lizard. (n.d.). Prairie or Plateau Lizard.

Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://ndis.nrel.colostate.edu/herpatlas/coherpatlas/cdow_herpetofaunal_atlas_species_lizard_sceloporusundulatus.htm

States. National Park Service. (2014, May 2). Amphibians. National Parks Service.

Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.nps.gov/zion/naturescience/amphibians.html

(n.d.). Southwest Region.

Retrieved May 24, 2014, from http://www.fws.gov/southwest/es/arizona/Amphibians.htm

4. Red, Brown and Green Algae. (n.d.).period5-organisms -.

Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://period5-organisms.wikispaces.com/4.+Red,+Brown+and+Green+Algae

Protists. (n.d.).www.mlms.loganschool.org.

Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://www.mlms.loganschools.org/~lduren/PROTIST%20INTERNET%20LESSON/PROTIST%20INTERNET%20LESSON.html

Chytridiomycosis. (n.d.).Chytridiomycosis.

Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://amphibiaweb.org/chytrid/chytrid_test_page.html

Neotropical Butterfly Facts and Information / Amazon Rainforest Eco-Systems: Chytridiomycosis - A fungus that has killed off over 200 species of frogs and growing. (n.d.). Neotropical Butterfly Facts and Information / Amazon Rainforest Eco-Systems: Chytridiomycosis - A fungus that has killed off over 200 species of frogs and growing.

Retrieved May 25, 2014, from http://benthebutterflyguy.blogspot.com/2011/07/chytridiomycosis-fungus-that-had-killed.html