B-21 



uncommon as it cannot survive under the dense shade produced by 

 the closed canopy. As the pines grow the community type changes 

 to a pine flatwoods or upland pine forest community and if 

 there is little or no further disturbance upland hardwood 

 forest becomes the climax vegetation. This sequence of changes 

 is occurring throughout the Atlantic Coastal Plain and is called 

 secondary succession or old field succession. 



Typical animals of the early stages include: 



Fowler ' s toad Bufo woodhousei fowleri 



American toad Bufo americanus 



Six lined racerunner Cnemidophorus sexlineatus 



Black racer Coluber constrictor 



Black rat snake Elaphe obsoleta 



Red shouldered hawk Buteo lineatus 



Red tailed hawk Buteo jamaicensis 



Marsh hawk Circus cyaneus 



Bobwhite quail Colinus virginianus 



Mourning dove Zenaidura macroura 



White eyed vireo Vireo griseus 



Prairie warbler Dendroica discolor 



Yellowthroat Geothlypis trichas 



Yellow breasted chat Icteria virens 



Meadowlark Sturnella magna 



Cardinal Richmondena cardinalis 



Towhee Pipilo erythrophthalmus 



Savanna sparrow Passerculus sandwichensis 



Grasshopper sparrow Ammodramus savannarum 



Bachman's sparrow Aimophila aestivalis bachmanii 



Field sparrow Spizella pusilla 



Opossum Didelphis marsupialis 



Short tailed shrew Blarina brevicauda 



Least shrew Cryptotis parva 



Common mole Scalopus aquaticus 



Eastern cottontail Sylvilagus f loridanus 



White footed mouse Peromyscus leucopus 



Meadow jumping mouse Zapus hudsonius 



Housemouse Mus mus cuius 



Meadow vole Microtus pennsylvanicus 



Long tailed weasel Mustela frenata 



Striped skunk Mephitis mephitis 



Red fox Vulpes vulpes 



Critical environmental factors determining its vegetational 

 composition include length of time left abandoned, low soil water 

 holding capacity, low soil nutrient status and frequency of disturb- 

 ance. It has been shown that allelopathy or "Chemical warfare 

 between plants" occurs in the early stages of succession (Keever, 

 1950) and thus this is a critical environmental factor. 



