Stability and Change: Ecological Succession

A change in....One day

My son, William picked up the infamous dandelion. As he blew on the spores it changed right before our eyes.  The change is not good for the neighbors who wish to rid their yard of weeds.  The change is great for the dandelion as its desire to reproduce is flying through the air. 

A Change in...a season

The Golden Ragwort (packera aurea) will change in one season as it loses its blooms.

A change in...one year

This picture was taken on Saturday, April 26 around noon at the Missouri

Botanical Garden in St. Louis. This area was a Missouri native plant area.  This bed was under renovation. In one year it will be full with plants and shrubs native to Missouri. 

A change in...20 years

This area of the Botanical Garden contained all plants and trees native to Missouri.  This is a picture of a young dogwood tree.  In twenty years this tree will be mature tree.  The dogwood will contribute to the ecosystem in 20 years by providing food to various animals and pollinators.  The dogwood will also contribute to the calcium cycle.  Dogwoods are not only enjoyable to look at they also have an important role in our ecosystem. 

The Unknown????

What in the world?   I saw this little guy Saturday afternoon wiggling on my sidewalk and then fly away. It  has six legs and antennae.  It's abdomen was turning in a circle motion.  The insects wings were not present when sitting there, but I am pretty sure the insect flew to it's current position because that is what drew my attention to it. It's thorax has crease or line down the middle. The insect also had mobility in it's neck. The tip of the abdomen is lighter brown/red compare to the remainder of the abdomen.

I have no idea what it is. Anyone have a clue?

Ecosystem Interactions

foliose lichen

A lichen is a fungus and an algae, and they’re likin’ one another!

Lichens consist of an algae called a photobiont and a fungus called a mycobiont. Together they form something a little bit different – something that allows both the algae and the fungus to live well.

 Most of the fungi in this mutual relationship are not able to survive without an algae partner. Since fungi can not make their own food like the talented algae, they rely the algae for their food. The fungus harvests these sugars, sending out chemicals to help them diffuse through the permeable cell walls of the algae. Most of the algae can survive on their own, but they may need a very specific habitat in order to do so. By cohabiting with the fungus, the algae can live in many different environments and extend its range significantly.  They are both winners in the end. 

Another relationship exists between the lichen and the tree too!  Commensalism exists between the tree and the lichen. The lichen benefits from having the tree as its' home, but the tree is not harmed from the lichen. 

Just remember, everybody needs somebody!

The Backyard Energy Transfer

Energy is a crucial part to the survival of all organisms.  As humans, we usually just drive to the grocery store to obtain our energy.  They even sell "energy bars".  The not so lucky species actually have to hunt for their energy.

On a nice, sunny Tuesday afternoon in April I went looking in my backyard for a classic food chain.

I first found the roots and organic matter under a couple pavers around my mailbox.  Feeding on the roots, were pill bugs.




The roots and organic matter is the first source of energy for the pillbug. They are the producers in the food chain.  The producers obtain their energy from the sun through the process of photosynthesis.

Pill bugs are the primary consumer in the food chain. Primary consumers obtain their energy from producers.

Robins are the secondary consumer in the food chain.










Robins search through the ground and eat pill bugs for their source of energy.  Robins have numerous prey.  Feeding on pill bugs alone would not help the robin survive.  If an organism is higher up in the food web they require more sources of energy.

Adaptations

“Multiply, vary, let the strongest live and the weakest die.” 

― Charles Darwin, The Origin of Species

The diversity of our world makes it beautiful and amazing. I am happy that the genetic code is not always perfect.  Errors in the genetic code cause mutations which is the source of variation.  Not all variations help an organism survive, but they do help our world from being boring.  

Adaptations can be behavioral, structural, or physiological.  This week our focus was finding coloration, size, shape or behavior adaptations.  I don't know if this week i cheated on taking my photos, but I attended the Wetland Days at Busch Wildlife hosted by the Department of Conservation with my boys. I couldn't resist taking pictures. 

Great Horned Owl

Coloration

Peregrine Falcon

The Great Horned Owl is an excellent hunter. His different shades of brown feathers lets him blend in with the tree in which he sits in high above his prey. His prey cannot see him hidden in the tree, but the coloration of his feathers, large eyes, sharp long claws and extreme turning radius of his head makes him a top predator.

Size

Peregrine Falcon uses it's small size to it's advantage.  It's commonly know as a Duck Hawk, it is one of the fastest diving predators. Being smaller in size lets the peregrine falcon reach speeds up to 200 mph and grab its prey in mid air with its' long, sharp talons. 

Hooded Merganser

Shape

The Hooded Merganser has a unique beak compared to most water fowl in Missouri.  This water fowl has a thin, serrated bill used when they dive to catch crayfish and fish in lakes and rivers. The serrated bill gives them their niche amongst the other water fowl by having the ability to dive and catch fish underwater. 

All of these adaptations increase the organism's survival by giving them a better ability to hunt. The more food, the healthier the organism and a better chance for survival.  As I tell my freshman biology students, it is all about surviving and reproducing!

Going on a Scavenger Hunt! Oh, the things I will see.

My Photo Scavenger Hunt

The assignment was to take pictures of something colorful, something small, something important in nature, something gross and something camouflage.

Something Colorful....

Maple tree buds without editing

I edited this picture by enhancing it in iPhoto. I increased the sharpness and decreased the shadows.  I took two colorful pictures because I am not sure which photo I prefer.

Photo 2 of Maple Buds without editing

On this photo I cropped using the rule of thirds.  I also enhanced it in iPhoto by reducing shadows and increasing sharpness.  I go back in forth on if the background is too distracting.  What are your thoughts?

Something Small...

On my journey to find something small, I enlisted the help of Carson, our neighbor, and my son Will.  Of course, my two little minions were able to find something so minuscule.  They found a little, red insect that I would have definitely overlooked. 

As far as editing rules I uses the "rule of thirds" and cropped the picture so the object of interest was not in the middle.  I also used size relationship.  The boys' fingers lets the audience gauge the size of the object. I also lightened the photo. 

          This picture is the unedited version.

Something Important in Nature..

“Spring shows what God can do with a drab and dirty world.” 
― Virgil Kraft

The beginning of spring.  A time of the year the gives rebirth to our beautiful nature.  Nothing gets me more excited after a long, cold, snowy winter then seeing a little green pop out from underneath the dreadful, brown, winter ground.    Spring is the signal of a new beginning for nature.  The plants, trees and animals come out from their long winter slumber. 

Something Gross, EWWWW....

Finding something gross was more of a challenge.  I looked and looked. I couldn't find anything too disgusting.  My minions were still hard at work helping me find something gross.  They had plenty of ideas, boogers, trash,  a dead worm that turned out to be a rusty, bent nail, but nothing stood out. I finally found these dead, contorted roots.  The shaped stood out to me.  It reminded me of something that would have grown and twisted around a poor maiden in a fairy tale.

Something Camouflaged....

There is a reason why creatures have the ability to camouflage and one of them is to hide from me.   I surveyed my yard and neighborhood for those organisms that like to hide from plain view.  I finally had to think like one. Where would I hide.  Under a rock of course!  My little bug finding son always knows where to find them, so sometimes thinking like a 5 year old boy is a good thing.  Under the pavers around the mailbox is where I find the gold!  Pillbugs (a.k.a. The Roly Poly)!

Nature always seems to amaze me.  I think about the ways organisms have adapted to their surrounding for purpose of survival.  

If you are ever bored or just need a challenge, look up camouflaged animals on the internet. It's a good time!

Ethics and Nature: Watch out for little boys!

Watch out for the little boys!

As I walk around my house on a typical afternoon, I am often followed by two tornadoes.  On tornado is large and slow and the other hits quick and fast.  These two tornadoes come in the forms of my boys.
As I complete my assignment on Ethics in Nature, it makes me realize I haven't really taught my boys enough about respecting nature.  I did not grow up in a home where we went camping or hiking or really anything with green stuff, unless it was the mold on the bread in the kitchen.

My boys love the outdoors.  My new mission is to teach them to respect Mother Nature.  I need to teach my son that when he puts his rolie-polie's in his bug carrier that he needs to release them before bedtime so they are not belly up in the morning.  They need to learn to take the sidewalk and not trample through the flowers.

This course will be a learning experience for me.  Maybe I will become more of a country girl with two boys who will become hunters, anglers and outdoors men?