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.