GAC002 AE#4 SeokHwan Song
GAC002 Assessment Event 4: Academic Research Essay
Compare and Contrast: Ground Squirrels and Monarch Butterflies
Student’s Name: SeokHwan Song
Teacher: Emma Park
Due Date: 18 May 2012
Word Count: 546
Topic: Compare and contrast the winter life of ground squirrels and Monarch butterflies.
Winter is a very hazardous season to overcome, so animals have their own way to survive through winter. Migration, hibernation, and adaption are the typical manners. Ground squirrels and monarch butterflies also spend their winter lives in specific ways. Their winter lives are different in many aspects such as habitats, foods, and the manners which they behave in winter. However, they survive through winter for a similar purpose and prepare for the hazardous season in the same period. Moreover, the hibernation and migration are both mysterious.
The two animals’ appearance, diets, and habitats are extremely different. According to a recent study, ground squirrels usually haveexperience two “annual moltsmolting”, one of them happens induring the autumn. After the changing of fur, their winter coat becomes more grayish. The mammals spend their winter underground hibernating, andthen they eat foods at the end of the long sleep. The foods are kinds of seeds and vegetation, which are carried by the mammals’ cheek pouch before the hibernation. On the other hand, monarch butterflies will strengthen their body, because they will be going on a long journey. The insects actually immigrate to other places because of food. They usually eat plants, especially “milkweeds”. The butterflies move following the plants.
The manners that the interesting animals conduct in winter are different. When the winter begins, ground squirrels start to hibernate. They begin to sleep inevery July and last for about 4-8 months. They spend most of their hibernation in a “state of torpor”, according to Ary, Mart’sMart Ary’s research said. During thisthat time, the temperature of the mammals is similar to the surroundings, and the heart rate and metabolism slow down. This phenomenon helps them conserve energy. Moreover, the squirrels buried themselves, so they are safe from predators. As a result, hibernation takes less energy and less danger. While ground squirrels sleep, monarch butterflies start to migrate, which begins inevery late August and ends inevery November andor December. They leave from Canada and northern parts of the U.S. to Oyamel forests in Central Mexico. However, many dangers exist such as storms and predators, and also many of them are actually killed by these dangers. The butterflies keep feeding theirselves during the trip to maintain their body’s resistance in order to reach their destination. While they going through the continent, many bugs are deaddie and the journey is very hard. The features of migration are more energy and more dangers.
The creatures are completely different, however there are some similarities. For their winter lives, they both prepare in the autumn. Their purpose for the behaviors, hibernation and migration, areis also one of the similarities. They do the special manners because of their foods which they will eat; and their body temperature. In winter, the condition is bad, so animals arehave a hard time toin finding foods and also, the temperature of the surroundings goes down. Therefore, the squirrels decide to hibernate to conserve their body’s energy and the butterflies choose to go to other places which are warm. Moreover, the phenomenons are mysterious that even scientists do not know how the animals hibernate and migrate and why these events happen.
The two interesting animals have differences and similarities in their winter lives. Hibernation and migration are the center of comparingcomparison and contrasting aboutbetween their lives. They show very impressive behaviors, and people would figure out more about them. Therefore, human beings should understand them and protect them.
References
Ary, Mart Y. "Hibernation, Migration Or Adaptation: What Gets You Ready for Winter?" Bozeman Daily Chronicle: D.4, 23 Nov 2010. Web. 4 May 2012 .
Ballen, Karen G. "A Long Winters Nap." Highlights for Children. Central Basic, 3 Dec 2004. Web. 4 May 2012 .
Charge, T. D. “Energy utilization and hibernaculum systems.” Hibernation biology of Richardson's ground squirrels. M.Sc. thesis, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, Canada, 2001. Web. 4 May 2012.
Michener, R. Gail. Richardson’s Ground Squirrels. University of Lethbridge, n.d.. Web. 8 May 2012.
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