Biol
3, 1998
Altoid is a
small, lush planet orbiting the star Wiggin. It rotates twice as slowly
as earth, of course making each day and night twice as long. It is covered
mostly in swampy wetland terrain similiar to the Florida Everglades. Despite
Wiggin's heat, which is somewhat greater than that of our Sun's, the long
nights allow temperatures to cool suffieciantly to keep the planet from
rarely heating over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. There is also high humidity
and frequent rain, which, though torrential, does not last long and is
quickly followed by sunshine. Thus plants of all sorts flourish, most especially
tall grass, which grows in shallow water and usually protrudes a foot or
so above the surface, providing various essential services for almost every
organism in the ecosystem.
Typical
Wetlands Ecosystem on Altoid
Look confusing?
This is actually an extremely simplified diagram tracing the interractions
of some of the major organisms in an average Altoidian ecosystem. The red
arrows represent predation while the grey denotes transfer of energy in
the form of light and heat.
Species
Some of Altoid's
Swamp-dwelling Organisms*
*To avoid confusion,
we will use descriptive names istead of the organisms actual appellations,
which would not mean anything to an earthling.
Plants Alligator
Snakes Fish Flying
Frogs
Vampire
Beatles
Rodents Swimming
Birds
Microbes CarnivorousPlants
Six-legged
bears ShaggyDeer Wiggin
For
more information on actual wetlands, click here:
Wetlands
or National
Geographic
Biol
3 Home Page