Connecticut Ecosystems
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Check out the types of landcover that make up Bristol.
Activities
Food Chains and Food Webs Energy Pyramids
Make a food chain and see what happens to population if you remove a link in the chain
Create your own food web using your producers and consumers
Check What Eats? to see what eats what and what does something eat when you have found correct animals for your ecosystem.
Forest, Woodlands
Animals: This link has fact sheets on many animals.
Choose from the following forest dwelling animals to use in your forest food chain. Bat, Bear, Bobcat, Chipmunk, Cottontail Rabbit (mostly grasslands, but also forest edges), Coyote, Fisher, Flying Squirrel, Gray Fox, Gray Squirrel, Moose, Opossum, Racoon, Red Fox, Red Squirrel, Striped Skunk, White-tailed Deer, Woodchuck, American Crow, Woodcock, Brown-headed Cowbird, Long-eared Owl, Red-headed Woodpecker, Ruffed Grouse, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Wild Turkey,Yellow-breasted Chat, Box Turtle, Five-lined Skink, Timber Rattlesnake, Wood Turtle (near water), Eastern Spadefoot Toad (flooded wooded areas), Northern Slimy Salamander, Northern Spring Salamander
Connecticut amphibians check the descriptions but most of these can live in forested areas, near water
Sessions Woods Wildlife Notebook filled with information, you will not need all pages, scan through to use the informational pages.
Salt Water
Animals: This link has fact sheets on many animals.
Choose from the following salt water dwelling animals to use in your forest food chain. Least shrew (near coastal, brackish waters), River Otter (saltwater marsh), American Bittern, Black Rail (coastal wetlands), Canadian Goose, Great Egret, King Rail (brackish marsh), Least Bittern (saltwater marsh), Least Tern, Osprey, Peregrine Falcon (near river or coast), Pied-billed Grebe, Piping Plover (mudflats), Roseate Tern, Snowy Egret (tidal flats), Atlantic Green Sea Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle (brackish water), Diamondback Terrapin (salt marshes, tidal creeks), Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtle, Leatherback Sea Turtle, Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Atlantic Sturgeon, Shortnosed Sturgeon
Salt Marshes of the Long Island Sound, general information about the marsh area and animals/plants that live there.
Check out these other areas of the Long Island Sound: Tidal Flats, Rocky Intertidal, Open Ocean,
Plants and Animals of the Long Island Sound, go to page 8 for plants and page 11 for animals
Fresh Water
Animals: This link has fact sheets on many animals.
Choose from the following fresh water dwelling animals to use in your forest food chain. Beaver, Bear (near water), Gray Fox (swamps), Moose ((wetlands areas), Muskrat, Opossum (near wetlands), Racoon (near wetlands), River Otter, American Bittern, Woodcock (wetlands), Bald Eagle (wetlands), Canadian Goose, Common Moorhen, Great Egret, King Rail, Least Bittern, Mallard, Mute Swan, Northern Harrier (marsh), Osprey, Peregrine Falcon (near river or coast), Pied-billed Grebe, Purple Martin (wetlands area), Red-headed Woodpecker (swamps), Sedge Wren, Short-eared Owl (marsh), Snowy Egret, Wood Duck, Woodpeckers, Bog Turtle, Box Turtle, Common Musk Turtle, Common Snapping Turtle, Painted Turtle, Spotted Turtle, Wood Turtle, Eastern Spadefoot Toad, Northern Spring Salamander, Atlantic Sturgeon, Shortnose Sturgeon
Plants found in and around the Connecticut River
Vernal Pools (puddles) and the life that lives in them
Animals found in and around the Connecticut River (fish, mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians, insects)
What is a Wetland?
Other Habitats
Grassland Animals: American Kestrel, Barn Owl, Bobwhite, Bluebirds, Grasshopper Sparrow, Horned Lark, Purple Martin, Ring-necked Pheasant, Short-eared Owl, Upland Sandpiper, Vesper Sparrow
The links below have more in depth information about ecosystems found in Connecticut.
Each ecosystem below has a link to a Hartford Courant article to read about the type of system in relation to Connecticut so you can work with the information in context.
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Resource List from our Destiny Library of Catalog of books specifically about CT ecology
Connecticut listing of Physical Features and Landmarks including basins, bays, beaches, forests, lakes, streams, swamps, woods and more
***Start Here** Sessions Woods Wildlife Notebook filled with information, you will not need all pages, scan through to use the informational pages.
What are Connecticut's different types of land habitats?
Connecticut Amphibians
Check What Eats to see what eats what and what does something eat when you have found correct animals for your ecosytem.
Ocean
"Place Invaders: Long Island Sound" from the Hartford Courant (Sept. 2011)
Try Discovering Habitats for specific info about the habitats of the LIS. The main site is a clearinghouse of information and data related to the Long Island Sound Study
Tour Long Island Sound by using the links toward the bottom of the page in the Living Treasures section or go to the main page at Long Island Sound Study with other resources about protecting the Sound including fact sheets and more. This link goes to the data table about the Sound, but look around at the other resources on the site, too
Ponds, Rivers, Lakes, and Wetlands
"Marshy Meadow: a hike through this protected site reveals a unique habitat" from the Hartford Courant (July 2011)
All about Shad and Connecticut (CT state fish)
Connecticut River Watershed Explorer site is a fantastic source for animals, plants, biodiversity and habitat of the Connecticut River. Animals of the River site. Plants of the River site. Connecticut River Information and Education with Fast Facts, Invasive Species, and Riparian Buffers (delicate edge between water and woods to maintain habitats, link has lists of animals) information and much more
Wetlands Fact Sheets from the US Environmental Protection Agency. Skim through for clues to animals and plants in the wetlands as site includes fact sheets about overview of wetlands, types, functions, and values of wetlands (marshes, swamps, bogs, fens)
CT Wetlands Resources: Recognizing Wetlands in Connecticut
Biotic Adaptations to live in Wetlands has a person's description of the animals and plants he saw in wetlands areas
Use the Farmington River Report (pages 6 and 13) to look for the species in the Farmington Valley Farmington River Facts and more info if you look around on the site
Caring for our lakes booklet, very scientific about how algae and weeds can overtake a lake, how lakes are classified, and more, but in the appendix at the end there is a list of CT lakes
Fields, Grasslands, Farms
"The sparrows of East Hartford; the state is copying Mother Nature, building a 200-acre grassland in northern Connecticut..." from the Hartford Courant (Aug. 2002)
Connecticut's Grasslands by the CT Botanical Society, take a look at the Photos and Information links on the left
Diversified Farms in CT, includes info on Shellfish Species available in CT
Guide to managing grasslands, shrublands, and young forest habitats for wildlife in the Northeast. Click on Wildlife Profiles on the left.
Woodlands and Forests
"Leafy landscape in danger; State's forests, after a long recovery, may be in decline" from the Hartford Courant (Nov. 2003)
Sessions Woods Wildlife Workbook filled with information perfect source if doing FOREST
Many links from the CT Extension Forestry Service
You can browse Connecticut Woodlands Magazine for information or these specific articles
Why we harvest trees in Connecticut State Forests and look to the left on the page for more links
Connecticut's Notable Trees
CT Flora & Fauna (Plants & Animals)
Learn about CT's Wildlife CT Department of Environmental Protection with links to Sessions Woods, Belding, Wildlife fact sheets, Endangered Species, Habitats, Snakes, Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, maps, and more
List of Wildlife in grasslands, shrublands, and young forests in the Northeast
Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk's List of animals in and around the Long Island Sound
Connecticut Wildlife Magazine issue with lots of information especially about birds
Branford Land Trust with information on flora & fauna in a marsh area
Species of algae, location in Long Island Sound, habitats and images
Plants-From the Connecticut Botanical Society (wildflowers, ferns, rare plants, native plants)
Connecticut Common Ferns-A Quick Guide from the Connecticut Botanical Society
The USDA's Plants National Database has a distribution map for virtually every plant growing in the U.S.
An online book: Coastal Atlantic Sea Creatures: A Natural History, by Robert Bachand
This book covers marine animals that inhabit the shorelines of Long Island Sound. It examines their role in the coastal ecosystem, adaptations to their environment, and more. (Adapted from Preface) -hosted by the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk
Invasive Plants
Invasive Plant Atlas of New England is a terrific source of information on invasive plants: identification, distribution, means of spread, etc.
Connecticut Invasive Plant Working Group is an organization dedicated to management of and research on invasive plants in the state.
The National Plant Conservation Alliance's Weeds Gone Wild
IMAGE COLLECTIONS
Fungi Images on the Net provides links to 1600 photographs of fungi.
Weed Images from Rutgers University is very helpful for identifying weeds
Ferns et al. of New England covers a large fraction of our area's ferns and fern allies
Image Collection of the USDA's Plants National Database has several thousand photographs. It allows searches by name or by several other criteria.
University of Connecticut's Plants Database has detailed information on trees, shrubs, and vines for the landscape in the northeast, including many native plants.
Various Biomes and Food Chain/Food Web Links
Thank you to Mrs. Carroll at NEMS for allowing use of her CT Ecosystems Pathfinder for some of the resources included here.
