Spring has Sprung in a Deciduous Forest Biome

A couple blogs ago we did a blog post called "Signs of Spring". We were asked to go to different locations to see what signs of spring had popped up. This week we had to go back to those locations and see what more had developed during that time span.

Site #1: Edge of Field

See: butterflies, small amount of berries, leaves have grown on the branches. (the stems are more of a grayish color rather than red - like they were the last observation.)

Feel: a light breeze and the temperature is in the 70's.

Hear: birds crowing and wind blowing through the trees.

Site #2: Pond

See: flowers (buds closed up on blooms), female/male cones have died.

Feel: a light breeze and the temperature is in the 70's.

Hear: birds crowing and wind blowing through the trees.

Site #3: Creek

See: skunk cabbage, water strider, frog.

Feel: a light breeze and the temperature is in the 70's.

Hear: birds crowing and wind blowing through the trees.

EcoTower Observation #3 4.8.11

1. One Betta Fish - alive
Two Snails - dead
Six Crickets - dead
Three Worms - buried in soil unseen

2. We think the fish is still alive because it is surviving off the algae and the oxygen from the water. During this observation we noticed that both of the snails died. We think that either the fish ate the snails or the snails died from lack of oxygen that the algae and water provide. The crickets are dead because, we believe, the carbon cycle failed. We were unable to see the worms to observe if they were dead or not.

3. Three bean seeds - two died and one is still alive
One plant - alive
One plant - dead
Algae - alive

4. As we observed the bean seeds, we observed that two of the bean seeds died and one of them stayed alive. We believe that this happened because the soil didn't look to be as moist as it was. The soil wasn't providing nutrients for the plants. One of the plants that Mr. Jennings gave us is still alive and the other plant died during our first observation. As we observed the bottom half of our EcoTower, we noticed the algae in the water was turning brown on the edges. The algae is turning this color because, we think, there isn't enough oxygen in the water.

5. The water is turning more yellow due to the algae and the rocks.

6.

7. Prediction: Since our fish seems to be surviving in yellowish water and algae that is dying. I think that the fish will stay alive. I think in the top part of our EcoTower all the plants will die because the soil is slowly losing nutrients.

Animal Ears Lab

1. As a class, we were assigned to do a lab to determine the distance of hearing with normal ears and enhanced ears. Our enhanced ears were plates with slits cut on the edges, that way they could sit on top of our ears.
2. The first trial was seeing how far we could walk, with normal ears, until we couldn't hear the pen clicking anymore. The second trial was seeing how far we could walk, with enhanced ears, until we couldn't hear the pen clicking. The point of this lab was to see how large ears are able to hear more sounds than the normal human ear.
3.

Student	Distance with Normal Ear	Distance with Enhanced Ear
Jessie	27.9	52.9
Albert	55	50
Reese	45	60
Tangie	68.6	58.6
Brandon W.	58.6	78.6
Kasey	25.3	15.3
David	40.6	55.6
Emily P.	30.6	25.6
Sierra	53.8	55.6
Stephanie	34.4	47.8
RaeShar	57	63.7
Rayshawn	47.6	41.6
Montez	45.6	30.6
Devon	51.6	87.9
TJ	40.6	63.3
Travis	50.6	55.6
Conner	89.7	128.9
Brandon H.	58.6	87.2
Emily S.	64.7	76.3
Total	945.8	1135.1
Average	49.8	59.7

4. Did the addition of the larger ear make a difference in the distance at which you were able to hear the pen click? Explain.

Yes. Unlike the normal ear, we were able to hear around the weather i.e. wind, voices, columns, echoes from the walls of the school building, and the nature outside interfering with the sound of the click.

5. Animals with Large Ears:

Bilby:

Large-eared Horseshoe Bat:

Long-eared Hedgehog:

Gool Waraabe:

Bat-eared Fox:



Animals with Small Ears:

Small Red-eared Guenon:

Polar Bear:

Seal:

Hippopotamus:

Loris:

6. Some animals have smaller ears because they don't have the capacity to hear far away as other animals do with larger ears. Also they have small ears for camouflage and so that it won't be an easy target for predators.

EcoTower Observation #1 3.25.11

1. One Betta fish - alive
Two Snails - alive
Six Crickets - dead
Three Worms - buried in dirt unseen

2. We think the fish and snails are still alive because they are able to survive off the algae and the oxygen from the water. The crickets are dead because, we believe, the carbon cycle failed. We were unable to see the worms to observe if they were dead or not.

3. Three bean seeds - alive
One plant - alive
One plant - dead
Algae - alive

4. We think the bean seeds grew because they were able to grow roots in the soil. The soil stayed moist to bring the seeds alive. One of the plants that was given to us by Mr. Jennings, grew successfully. But the other plant died because the roots were unable to grow into the soil. The algae is still alive because it is in the water, providing it with moisture and oxygen.

5. The water changed color due to the rocks, algae, and the fish. When we sealed our EcoTower, it was clear but now it has a yellowish tint.

6.

I didn't expect for the crickets to die. I thought our carbon cycle would have worked to keep them alive since most of our plants stayed alive.

7. Prediction: Our fish and snails will stay alive but our water will continue to change color. The bean seeds will continue to grow and come through the cap into the bottom of our EcoTower. Since the worms are unseen at the moment, I believe they are alive providing the soil with nutrients and vise versa.

Signs of Spring

Sign #1:

See: Purple berries in a patch of briars.
Hear: Small breeze through the trees and birds chirping.
Feel: Sun beaming down, wind blowing lightly, and nice temperature.

Sign #2:

See: Female and male cones with pollen on them. They were found on the edge of the lake.

Hear: Wind blowing in the trees and birds flying over cawing.

Feel: Wind getting a little stronger and the nice weather with a temperature of 54 degrees.

Also at sign #2, the sign of Spring is the red tree buds.

Sign #3:

See: A small tree in the middle of bigger trees with both old and new growths. As you can see in the picture there are brown stems and pinkish redish branches. (those are the new growth)

Hear: Wind blowing through the trees.

Feel: Sunny weather and the sun rays producing heat.

 

Also at sign #3 we saw a orange butterfly on the side of a tree. This is a very good sign of Spring!

Sign #4:

See: Red buds on tree and several other trees. There are also patches of dead grass along with patches of new grass.

Hear: The wind blowing through the trees.

Feel: The wind is getting a little colder while in the shade. But when we are not in the shade the sun still makes it hot.

EcoTower - Sealing Day

Why did we do this project?
We were assigned this project to learn how to manage the different cycles and to use abiotic and biotic factors. We are also learning how to classify the energy pyramid with the different consumers and the producers.

Group Members: TJ Jenkins and Travis Jackson.

TJ - gravel and the bottom bottle.
Travis - soil, caulk gun, and caulk.
Emily - top bottle, duct tape, strainer piece, crickets, worms, betta fish, snails, and grass.
Mrs. Richardson provided the algae :)
Mr. Jennings provided us with our different plants :)

What were the three cycles we had to make sure were operational?
The water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles.

What are the plants and animals in our EcoTower?
We have a betta fish, snails, crickets, and worms.
Mr. Jennings provided us with different plants with names we cannot remember.

I did what I was supposed to and did not sneak a peek :)

Succession and Abiotic Factors - Partners: Emily R. Seay & David Shoupe

On Tuesday, March 9, 2011 our Ecology class was assigned, by Mrs. Richardson, to do a lab outside. In order to complete this lab we had 6 sites to go to and figure out the height (cm) of an object that was specified and we had to record the temperature (C) of that location.

Our first site was Air Temperature: Of course since it is an abiotic factor we were unable to measure it because well air temperature is everywhere. It's impossible. The temperature, we recorded, was 22 degrees Celcius.

Site #2: Black Top 

We were unable to put a height to black top because there is no way of doing that. We placed the thermometer on the black top and the temperature went up one degree from the air temperature. It was recorded as 23 degrees Celsius.

Site #3: Bare Soil

We walked onto the baseball field and walked into the dugout in search for bare soil as our next site. We placed the thermometer on the bare soil and we recorded the temperature to be 17 degrees Celsius. We deteremined that the ground has a cooler temperature than pavement. We also found dead grass to measure beside our location of bare soil and it came out to be 2 cm.

Site #4: Grass

For our next site we found a patch of grass to determine the height and temperature. The temperature we recorded went down 2 degrees to 15 degrees Celsius. The tallest patch of grass around our site was 7.5 cm.

Site #5: Shrub

For our fifth site, it was a little more difficult to sit the thermometer on the shrub without in falling and also getting the height of the shrub only using a ruler. But we had to make due with what we had. We sat the thermometer in the shrub as best as we could and the temperature ended up being 12 degrees Celcius. I determined that the shrub was this temperature because previously it had rained and there could have been dew left on the shrub and also with the cold weather. Me and my partner, David Shoupe, recorded the height to be 3 ft. and 4 inches. We had to convert this to centimeters --> 141 cm.

Site #6: Trees

Our last site we had to do was a little difficult. We had to find a tree and like all the other sites we had to determine the temperature and the height. Like I said before all we had was a small thermometer and a ruler so we had to record this tree with the materials we had. We had to lay the thermometer up against the tree as best we could and we recorded the temperature to be 14 degrees Celsuis. To record the height we had to put the ruler up against the tree at breast height. The tree was determined to be 50 cm.

Out of all these sites the control was air temperature. In order for this lab to be successful we had to have air temperature. One important biotic factor that influenced surface temperature at each site was the trees. The trees produced shade to make the temperature go down.



Levels of Ecological Organizations

Ecosystem:

Today our assignment was to locate the different levels of ecological organizations. I decided to start with the highest level; an ecosystem. This ecosystem included large rocks, fern trees that were growing in between these rocks, pine trees, and a large concrete sidewalk. This is considered an ecosystem because it has abiotic and biotic factors. At this site you could feel the wind blowing and the sun beaming down with a mass amount of heat. You could hear signs of nature like the birds making noises in the trees and flying above and also the wind making the leaves rustle on the tree tops and on the ground.

Community:

 The next to highest level of ecological organization is community. This level is very easy to find. As you can see in the picture above and the picture below, a community includes only living organisms. Such as people, trees, and plants. We felt the wind blowing really softly and the temperature was very nice. It felt like a warm spring day! At this site you could hear birds cawing high in the sky and some birds making tweeting noises.

Population:

As you can see in the picture above, we have a population of geese. This level of ecological organization, a population, is when there is the same organism in the same location at the same time. Its hard to hear signs of nature without the wind blowing as hard as it was. The wind would make tears come to your eyes and the plus the sun beating down made it really hot.

Species:

The next level of ecological organization we have is species. In the picture above we have one of many baby crayfish. We found these in a creek as we were walking through the woods. This creek had several fallen tree branches. We heard the wind blowing and a flock of birds flying overhead cawing. The temperature was still nice and the wind seemed to die down a bit.

Organism:

Our last level of ecological organization is the organism level. This is the lowest level of organization. What we have in this picture is a Black Salamander (Aneides flavipunctatus). We found this amphibian by the creek. Inside this creek were dead leaves and several trees surrounding it. We heard the wind blowing and the temperature from the sun seemed to increase. While trying to hear nature, several dogs barked at the nearby house but once that died down we were able to hear the wind blowing the leaves across the ground and a couple birds passing over.

Observations of the Six Kingdoms

It was our first day going outside to start our observations of the six kingdoms right outside of our high school. We walked behind our school into the woods to start our adventure.

Fungus:

The first kingdom on my list is Fungus. Fungus is very easy to find throughout the woods because of all the plants that had decayed throughout the season. There were many fallen tree branches that fungus had grown on. The first branch I came across had white fungus on the side of it. It looked more abundant in some spots than others. Also it had a rough texture.

As our class kept walking, I kept my eyes open for more fungus. On a large decaying log, we found Red Raspberry Slime Mold (Tubifera ferroginosa). There were several red and orange spots on the log. From far away it just looked like a polka dotted tree.

A couple feet away, lay another large decaying tree with a different kind of fungus growing on it. This fungus seemed to look more like a mushroom. The picture matches the description of an oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus). In my picture the fungus appeared to be broken or rather dying away.

Eubacteria:

The second kingdom on my list is Eubacteria. Even though Fungus was really easy to find in the woods, we had a difficult time trying to find the different types of bacteria. Trying to search for bacteria with our eyes was getting to be impossible, so we decided to start searching with our noses. As we came upon a creek, Mrs. Richardson told one of our students to lift up a log that had fallen into the water. As the student lifted the log up, a vile smell arose from the substrate. Mrs. Richardson explained to us that this was the smell caused by Eubacteria. Below is a picture of the log sitting in the creek, where the smell came from.

Archaebacteria:
No evidence.

Protist:
No evidence.

Animal:

My next kingdom was the Animal kingdom. In the woods, behind a school building with loud machines and 20 plus students walking through the paths, making as much noise as possible, was not going to make it easy to find any animals. Well unless they were dead. Luckily, the biggest animal we were able to locate, were the Canadian geese (Branta canadensis) swimming in the pond. In hopes they didn't fly away, we had to make the whole class observe silently.

A couple feet away, in the tall grass around the pond, we were able to find a Northern Green-striped Grasshopper (Chortophaga viridifasciata). It has a line down its back with short antennas.

A mile or so away, we came upon another creek. This creek was filled with many signs of wildlife and insects. In the damp mud of the creek, we observed footprints that looked to have come from a raccoon.

Dancing on the water, we saw several water bugs. Some we observed to be mating and others just seemed to be on their own. In my assumption, because of the nice weather we were able to see so many out and about.

If you look really closely you will see them on top of the water.

We kept walking through the woods to find more fallen trees. On one of the logs, we found a Tiger Beetle (Cicindela ocellata rectilatera) wing, assuming it had fallen off of the beetle or the beetle had died. On this wing, there are two tanish-looking dots in specific places.

Not even a couple steps away from this log, we came upon a branch that had a Bald-Faced Hornet (Dolichovespula maculata) hibernating inside of it. Because I had never seen anything like this before, it was very interesting to me and exciting! Mrs. Richardson told us, luckily, this bee was hibernating. Because if we would have disturbed it of its sleep, it has a powerful stinger that never falls off. So it can sting a person repeatedly and never die.

Plant:

My final kingdom I had to observe was the Plant kingdom. Along the bank of the pond there were, what I observe it to be, dead grass. It almost looks like hay. They have bulky tips with soft fuzz and they are about 3 ft. tall or taller.

While on our nature walk, we came across a plant called skunk cabbage. (Symplocarpus foetidus). This plant seemed to interest me more than any other kingdom and the other things we observed. Marcus Henson, a student, pointed out this plant to me and told me when the skunk cabbage is pulled by the roots, an odor leaks from it, smelling like a skunk. Hence the name, skunk cabbage.

Site 1,2,3,4 - February 3, 2011

Site #1:

It was day 3 and we were headed to the Ridge. On our way there we stopped at the entrance of the Bus Garage. We saw a ditch that led to a concrete pipe. It was filled with dead grass on the edges and many broken branches. We could hear the ac/heat system from the high school, crunching of leaves when we walked, and the wind blowing. We're still in the winter season so the temperature is pretty cold. It wasn't as cold as usual.

As you can see above, this is the ditch that led into the creek with the concrete pipe. It was very narrow and had little water on the bottom.

Site #2:
As we walked to our next site, we came upon a tree with a very large hole in the middle. It seemed to have come from a woodpecker. On the bottom of the tree there appeared to be sawdust.  We assumed it came from the woodpecker as he was on the tree. Around the tree, we saw broken branches, other trees, leaves that had fallen from those trees and dirt. We heard rustling of leaves and the wind still blowing. The temperature was still the same.

As you can see in the picture above, there are several holes in the tree. They are from termites and the bigger holes are from woodpeckers.

Site #3:
We kept walking on our nature walk and came to a giant log that had fallen in the middle of the trail. On the large log there was fungus growing and a very large woodpecker hole. This fungus was different looking than what we would normally see. It was brown and lumpy rather than white or green. We assume that the woodpecker had made this hole on the log before it had fallen. As we stood there, the wind was rustling the leaves that had fallen of the trees. We are still in the winter season.

Site #4:
We continued our walk to our last site. We stopped to see a fallen log with a half-eaten acorn. A sign of life was here; a squirrel. This was very interesting to see because I had never seen this before. We kept walking a little ways to see a patch of moss with several more half-eaten acorns. Above our heads, a crow was flying by making his calls. The leaves were rustling in the wind, that started to pick up. We are still in the winter season and it is getting colder as the evening is coming near.