Thinking about Changes in Nature

This week's assignment was focused on the changes that may occur in nature in a day, a season, a year and 20 years.  It is funny, but I had just posted to my other blog, Nature Bits and Bytes, about this same topic. Here is the link to that post.
I was fascinated with the changes this year--it seems winter would never end and when spring came, it was quick: sometimes change is fast!

So what could I comment on differently in this blog.  I decided to look at my native flower bed.  This has certainly changed and will continue to change, with or without my intervention.

I had recently mulched this bed or weeds would have taken over in a season and year.  And in 20 years this would have been a forest, as evidenced by the many seedlings I had to pull from the bed.  So here I was trying to stop nature...trying to stop the changes.

Stopping the changes would be like trying to stop a hurricane.  The bee balm (above) is an aggressive plant and, without tending, would take over this garden.  This started as one small plant.  In a few years, this might be the only plant in the garden without some culling. As the season progresses, I will appreciate its blooms...so will the bees and hummingbirds.

Some plants, like the one above, escaped my cultivation.  Since this plant is a native, I expect it to survive and flourish in the surrounding unmowed "yard" for many years.  It will change, of course, with the seasons...dying back in the winter but coming to life again in the spring.  As for daily change, I should count the number of blooms.  I'm sure those change every day.

This red bud tree that grows naturally at the edge of my flower bed has changed in a year.  Last year, I noticed no flowers.  This year there are a few.  I expect the tree will go dormant in winter, and next year come back with even more flowers.  Unless something unexpected happens.

And that is what is true about nature.  It is always changing, and sometimes in ways you do not expect.

Interactions: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

This week's assignment was to photograph interactions in nature.  This would not be hard.   All of nature is a series of interactions.  Interactions between individuals of the same species, interactions between species, and interactions of organisms with their environment.  In fact, with so many possibilities, this could be more difficult than I had thought.  Too many choices.  As Leopold would say, "Everything is connected!"

After a little thought, I decided to focus on plants, mainly because I can get better photographs of plants. (My attempts at insects and birds have been horrible.)

Would I focus on good interactions (both species or individuals benefit, or one species benefits and no effect to the other) like mutualism or commensalism; or would I focus on bad interactions  (one species or individual is harmed) like parasitism, predator-prey, competition.  Neither.  I decided on the ugly.

I know beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but to me an ugly interaction is one where nature's interactions have been usurped by humans.  This is what I am talking about:

The dark green in the center is a mass of Japanese Honeysuckle vine (a non-native species).  It is crawling up and choking out the Tulip Poplar tree.  You can see the bare branches and yellowing leaves of this native tree in the foreground.



In a wet, disturbed area, the native tree is one of the first invaders and quick grower.  However, in this instance, the non-native species is an even better invader and is out competing the tree for resources.  Soon the area diversity will be replaced by a monoculture of honeysuckle.  This vine will shade out and choke out anything trying to grow underneath it.

In this photo you can see the unhealthy poplar in the middle (with the ball of vines growing on it).  But you can also see the taller poplars on either side in the background.  Hopefully, the honeysuckle will not be able to impact those trees since they are already well established.

This is what I can an "ugly" interaction: a non-native species, as a result of human disturbance to the ecosystem, completely takes over a piece of the landscape from native species.  This may not be a scientific term, but it should be.

Can You Identify This

This week we are posting pictures of unknown things in nature.  Believe me, there are many things I do not know, but with the late spring, it has been difficult finding things growing, moving, living.  But I am visiting in North Carolina where spring starts earlier than the midwest.  So yesterday, in back of my daughter's new house in a subdivision near Raleigh, I found this plant growing....all over the place!  It was taking over the waste land behind the house.

I singled out a typical vine to get a better look.

It is growing on the backyard fence.

It was a warm sunny afternoon as I took the pictures, but I have a funny feeling that something growing this well in a disturbed area can not be a good thing.

This tannish vine was probably one of the first things to green up this spring or stayed green all year.  Here it is taking advantage of all of the abundant sunlight to grow and climb, the vine clearly headed for the top of the fence!

The leaves are clearly opposite in arrangement. They do not appear to be notched, and they are oval to elliptically shaped.








For size reference, I placed a quarter near one of the leaves.  See the photo below.

So, with these clues, can you identify this plant. 

To tie this activity to the science practices from the new Next Generation Science Standards, you can present this as "claims and evidence".  You can claim it is a certain species and then list the evidence you used to support this claim.

What is it?

Starting at the Top

FOREST FOOD CHAIN

I began thinking about food chains earlier in the week.  I thought about starting with a tree--plants are the first link in the chain.  But I was stymied with all the possibilities.  And the weather had not yet warmed enough to get photos of insects under the bark.  My plan was tree--insects--woodpecker.  I felt that this was important because many of the students I talk to think that woodpeckers eat wood!

As the weather warmed, I thought of flower, insect....then what?  Too hard I thought.

Finally, I looked out my window early this morning and saw a Barred Owl sitting perfectly still at the top of a dead snag.  I only noticed him when he moved his head.  Then suddenly, he flew even closer to me and landed on a broken bench in my yard.  Now, to get the picture.  I had to zoom all the way with my small point and shoot, but I did get a photo of the bird.

Now it would be easy.  I would work backwards from the top of the chain, back down to the plant.  The photographic food chain I made follows. 

Another problem students have is placing the arrows in the correct direction.  The arrows indicate energy flow, not what an animal eats.  So instead of the arrow going from the worm to decaying leaves, it is the other direction.

Keep scrolling to see my owl photograph!!

Adapt or Die!

I love and hate that saying, "Adapt or die".  I love that it signals an imperative.  I feel that we, as people, must constantly change to fit into a changing world.  But when applied to natural ecosystems, it implies that animals can choose to change.  This is a misconception deeply engrained in our psyches, but it is erroneous.  Animals can not choose to adapt.  But I digress.

The assignment for this week in my nature class is to find examples of adaptation in nature, a kind of adaptation scavenger hunt.

So I took off on a hike on Sunday, a bright sunny day with temperatures in the 60's.  A welcome change.  For a change of locale, I went to a local natural area with my two companion, my husband and dog.

The Salt Lick Trail,
 near Valmeyer, Illinois and along a bluff,
 was our destination.  

It was a steep ascent to the top of the bluff!

 

Now I would start looking for adaptations.  The first, size, was easy to find.  Before climbing those steps I noticed a dead mole, just outside its tunnel.  I assume a dog had excavated it before I arrived.  This would be my example of shape.  Look at those front feet, perfectly adapted to shovel out dirt to make the tunnel it would live in.  This animal spends most of its life underground.  Although it has eyes, they are small.  Eyesight is not the most important sense for the mole.  The sense of touch is useful to an underground animal.

 I proceeded on to the top of the bluffs and through the woodland.

I was looking for an example of size as an adaptation, but I was also enjoying the scenic beauty of the area.  We had been here before but wanted to come back before leaves would block the views.

I quickly found a small non-vascular plant, moss, in many places along the trail.  This small size helps a plant without a vascular system survive; water is absorbed through the leaves.  And it can survive dessication, coming back to life when water returns.







I had two examples, just 3 more to go!

I was looking for showy behavior.  On the glade, I thought I found it.                                                                                                 Those seed pods were bright red...quite showy.  But is this behavior.  My husband and I had a lengthy discussion on this topic.  He had just seen a nature program; it had talked about behavior in plants.  Upon returning home, I looked up plant behavior on the internet, and sure enough, we tend to underestimate plants because they don't move.

I don't know this species, so I could not look up some specifics about it, but I imagine that bright coloration attracts the birds to eat, and spread, the seeds.  But if this is the case, why were so many seeds left behind uneaten? Is it because this is a small natural area surrounded by development making it hard to find?  I don't know.

This would have to count.  Things were getting difficult to find.  Most of the landscape, though beautiful, seemed almost lifeless, still in the grips of winter.

On to other habitats.  I was looking for warning coloration.  I thought it would be found on the hill prairie; perhaps there would be a bee with its striped coloration.

No luck.  Again, this was a small area and seemed lifeless.  We stopped to enjoy the views along the trail.

 I discovered that nature photography takes a lot of patience.  I finally captured this turkey vulture flying overhead, but it didn't fit any of the categories I was searching for.  Still, it was fun to try to get this animal in a photo.

The category of warning coloration would escape me on this trail...with the exception of the many warning signs!



And camouflage was still to be found.  We finally decided my husband's jacket was an example.  It is his major wardrobe theme!  But no, even though hunters are a part of nature and wear camouflage to allow them to succeed in their quest to get their prey, I would not use this example.

Instead we would travel to another trail.  It was a nice day, after all, and we were enjoying time together exploring nature.






What happened next is typical.
As we were walking on another trail through a woodlands we spotted a skunk.
I was excited!  Here was my warning coloration.
I could see the wide white stripe down the back and the tail advertising that this was something to stay away from.
Instead, I ran after the skunk, camera in hand.  I had to get a photo of this warning display.  In the end, I took a photo from a great distance...the skunk was running faster than I was.  And I tripped and fell right after I quickly snapped this photo.

Where is the skunk, you ask?  In the center there is a small black spot (work with me here!).  If I blow up the original photo I can see it, but you'll have to take my word for it.  I was tired; we had been hiking all afternoon.

It was time to go home, but I still need a camouflage adaptation.  I had it!  I went back to the pile of deer heads on our property.

Obviously, the camouflage coloration did not protect this particular deer from the hunter. In general, the coloration is not a solid brown but a combination of natural colors--brown, black, white and tan.  This blends perfectly into the habitat.  Sometime the only way to see a deer is when it moves.  Maybe that is what happened in this case.

My adaptation hunt is over.  And I am reminded of the phrase "Adapt or Die".  Adaptations ensure the survival of the species, but the individual animal (or plant) will die.  That is part of life.  As long as the species possesses adaptations that are matched to the environment, the species will survive.  So things aren't as grim as the phrase would indicate.  Unless that environment changes......

Hunt for Meaning in Life

This post is dedicated to my friend who died last Friday.  She was a co-worker, team leader, nature lover, kindred spirit, and a good friend.

When I heard the news of her passing, I couldn't think. I couldn't breathe.  I had to take a walk.  So I headed out with my list for this week's assignment, a scavenger hunt.  As I walked the trails, I could feel my friend with me.  She had walked these same trails, pointing out interesting things like an excited child.  That's the way she was. She was an enthusiastic nature geek.

Finding something gross wasn't hard.  There was the pile of deer heads, remnants of the CWD (chronic wasting disease) project that my husband was engaged in last winter.  They had decomposed some but were still stinking and attracting all sorts of insect life.

An on the skulls, I found something small.  A funny looking beetle, probably eating this dead stuff.  Not only small but gross!  But as I would find out, it was also fast.  As soon as I had it focused and ready to take the picture, it moved.  And quickly it disappeared inside the eye socket.

The beetle is about in the center of this photo, but out of focus.  I wish I could get better at close up photography.  My friend would have patiently waited for the animal to reappear, but I had to get moving.  I needed the fresh air and exercise to soothe my soul.

On to something important. Of course, that was all around me.  As I looked at the woods, I was reminded of how often my friend presented workshops on forests.  They are an important ecosystem in this part of the country.

The forest as an ecosystem is important, but when you get close, individual trees, like the one in the foreground, seem even more important.  Those holes can provide shelter for a variety of animals.  But the tree must also die soon.  So here I was thinking of death again.  I needed to change my mindset, so I continued on.

Finding something colorful in this gray, lifeless landscape seemed an impossible task.  But then I looked down and saw green.  The color of life and rebirth of spring.

I liked how the green was emerging out of the dead, last year's growth.  This thought gave me hope.  I felt the shadow of sadness starting to lift.

Only one more thing to find.  Something camouflaged.  I knew this would be hard by the very definition of camouflage.  Hidden from view.  I guess that is what this trek had been about all along.  How to find sense out of a loss.  How to find peace from death.  How to find meaning in life.  These things are all hidden from us.  We don't know why some die and others live on.  The only certainty is that we will all join the legions who have gone before us.  It is the cycle of life.

And then I saw it.  A barred owl on a tree branch looking exactly like a dead limb.  But as I lifted the camera, the bird flew.  I took a picture anyway.

Who's to say it is not there.  Maybe that dead limb is an owl, maybe it is not.  I choose to believe it is there, just as I choose to believe my friend had been with me on this walk in the woods, and all the other nature walks I will take.

Happy trails, my friend.

Is Bird Feeding Ethical?

This week saw the beginning of spring and the beginning of our class, Snapshot of 21st Century Nature Study.  Perfect!

One of the first assignments is to capture ethics or safety in nature in a photograph.  What would I choose?  There are many options, but I chose to think about ethical behaviors in nature.  Often people are so fascinated with animals that they get too close.  Or they interfere with nature, thinking that they are "helping" nature.

I came across the later situation on my January trip to Puerto Vallarta.

This little sea turtle had just hatched and some well meaning humans scooped them up to take them to the sea, thus interfering with an ancient ritual--the hatchlings struggle to reach the sea.  I understand that these are endangered species; there were signs all around that declared this a turtle sanctuary.  But those signs also cautioned against handling the animals.  We were to call authorities.  Frankly, I wanted to watch the struggle to the sea, and these people had tainted that experience for me.

But, closer to home, another ethical dilemma involves human intervention.  What about my bird feeders?  Am I interfering with nature?  Is it OK in one instance and not in another?  I'm not sure.

When we put out feed for birds, we alter their behavior.  In most instances, we are not "helping".  Those birds would find food elsewhere. Just as the hatchlings would make it to the sea.

In concentrating birds at feeders, are we exposing them to diseases and predators (I have seen the Cooper's Hawk pick off a few)?  So is ethical to feed birds?

It could be argued that the winter we just went through was particularly difficult and feeders did save some individuals.  Just as taking the hatchlings to the sea may save a few individuals. But isn't this interfering with nature's population dynamics and survival of the fittest?

So, while I struggle with this dilemma, I still feed the birds and refuse to handle the sea turtles. I want to see the turtles, just as I feed birds so that I can see them better.  While I know I am not "helping" birds much, I hope I am not hurting much either.

One of Nature's Mysteries: Solved!

Mystery: 

My last post on this blog mentioned a mystery of nature that I had observed under my bird feeders.  And several other bloggers had mentioned seeing the same thing.  We found "pellets" of sunflower seed hulls under the feeder in the morning.  Finally, after more observation, the mystery is solved:

Mystery Solved:

A week or so ago, my husband and I saw an opossum under our feeder. It was clearly chewing sunflower seeds.  It would take a mouthful and chew and chew, then open its mouth and spit.  This action reminded me of baseball players that chew sunflower seeds, move them around in the mouth to get the meat out, and spit out the hulls.


We watched as the possum slowly moved on...looking for food elsewhere I imagine, after a hard winter.

So the pellets we saw were not regurgitated because they never left the mouth to enter the digestive system.  And they are held together by the saliva of the animal. 

I am still amazed that this behavior is not documented in any reference book.  It just shows that we don't know everything about even the commonest animals.

I was glad that, through continued observation, we could solve this mystery.

Mysterious Pellets

Lots of things in nature are mysteries waiting to be solved.  And each time I encounter something mysterious, it leaves me in awe of nature and aware of how much I do not yet know.

So this winter, for the first time, I saw something mysterious underneath my birdfeeders..a mystery that I hope the readers of this blog will help me to solve.

Under the feeders are small, about one inch long, pellets composed almost entirely of the hulls of sunflower seeds (the food in the feeders).

It seems likely that something that visits the feeder left these behind. But what?  We have lots of visitors, but I thought only raptors made pellets.  Could other birds?  Could mammals?

I had read that crows, blackbirds and pigeons could also produce pellets.  We do have flocks of blackbirds, but they do not come every day.  These pellets are deposited with great regularity.  At first I thought it might be the morning doves that we see, but they are usually not under this feeder--the closest one to the house.

So I googled "regurgitated sunflower seed pellets" to see if I could find the answer there.  There were a couple of blogs that mentioned strange pellets.

One blogger ended up trapping a chipmunk and saw the pellets in the cage with the chipmunk. But we don't have any chipmunks in our woods.  At least that solves the mystery of "could mammals produce pellets of regurgitated food".

Another blog called the pellets "possum pellets" and has observed young possums at the feeders.  I certainly have plenty of possum in my woods, and they are great scavengers.  So this may be the "culprit".

The gaiagarden.blogspot.com post had a better picture that looks identical to the situation at my feeder:

So, while possums are a good bet in my situation, I was still not totally convinced. After consulting my mammal books (Wild Mammals of Missouri  by Schwartz and Schwartz and Mammals of Illinois by Hoffmeister), I found neither mentioned sunflower seeds in the diet of opossum or this ability to form pellets.  Perhaps it is a big omission.  It is noted that possums are scavengers and eat corn, a less preferred food, in winter when other foods are not available.  It would seem to me that sunflower seeds would also fall into this category. 

What do you think?  Is it an opossum leaving the pellets...or something else??

Change in a Day: Winter Woods

 thought about this project after seeing a video of a year in the forest.  The small changes with many images documenting those changes made an impression.  So I set out to do the same.

I set my camera in the window facing east to capture the sunrise.  I was going to get the sunrise every day for a year.  But then I looked out about 30 minutes later and noticed the change.  I snapped another picture.  I did this throughout the day from the same spot noticing changes in light, shadow, etc.

At the end of the day, I dumped the pictures into a power point.

But I also wanted to add music, so I thought of Photo Story.  I hadn't used the program in a year or so, but I knew it was easy to add pictures and music, so I gave it a try.  I was so pleased with the result that I posted it on my other blog: nature-bits-and-bytes on Thurs, Jan 16, 2014 entitled A Day in the Woods.  See what you think.