Lichens and Wildlife

/Home/Homework Help - Tundra Biomes & Ecosystems/Alpine Tundras/Plants

Lichens and Wildlife
by Stephen Sharnoff and Roger Rosentreter
Lichen.com

Mary banged hard at the base of the tree to alert the flying squirrel before she began climbing, but the squirrel didn't emerge until she opened the lid of the nest box. It burst out and sailed to another tree, catching everyone off guard. That nest had babies in it, so she left it in the box, unexamined.

The boxes, in the Idaho panhandle, were originally intended for boreal owls. A section of forest there is somewhat lacking in tree cavities and other natural apartments for owls. But northern flying squirrels moved in too, building fluffy brown Bryoria lichen nests.

Gingerbread houses with no witch, the Bryoria nests also serve as vital winter food for the flying squirrels. And the squirrels themselves are food for the boreal owls.

(Click on the photos with blue borders for enlarged views.)