The Birds and the Beans

As a demonstration of co-evolution, the class was split into groups, each group then was assigned a different type of plastic silverware. The spoon, fork, and knife were to represent different kinds of bird beaks. Once we where all birded up, a curtain number of beans were spread on the floor, and as a group of birds we tried to get as many beans as possible. After a 30 second collection period we regrouped and counted how many beans our grope had, and divided them into the different kinds of beans.
This activity showed natural selection by slowing eliminating the knife beaked birds. This was the result because they could not pick up the beans as easy as the spoons and fork beaked birds. Also noticed was the slow decrease in beans that were easy to pick up. The larger beans were decreased in number and the ones that are harder to grab increased in number. This is a great example of co-evolution. As the beaks that could pick up beans easier increased, so did the number of beans that were harder to pick up.
Over the course of the activity different strategies were developed. Some of them were things like using ones thumb as a 'tongue', using the side of one foot to push the beans onto the beak, or using team work to scoop a large number of beans back to ones team members.
I thought this activity was great. I could see it being used in the classroom.

Celebrate The Cold

As the temperatures fall it is understood that winter is looming right around the corner. Many complain about the white precipitation and the cold temperatures that come along with it. However, I tend to like it. It adds beauty to a brown land that has seen better days after peak fall colors. The cold slows everything down. Even as water molecules slow and becomes a solid state of ice. The cold brings a crisp feeling to the air and calm to the land.

My celebration came as I steeped out onto the ice for the first time of the season. The ease of my skate blades gliding across the frozen pond brings a smile to my face. The sound that my skates make as they cut into the glassy ice is music to my ears. I could not help but smile. So many memories have been made on the backyard ponds in the winter. The excitement that comes with falling temperatures and waiting for ice to thicken is something I celebrate every year. Must be the Minnesotan in me.

The Odyssey of X and Y

"The Odyssey" by Leopold is such and interesting way to look at the carbon cycle. It helped me track through the biogeochemical cycle by painting a picture with the words. I enjoy Leoplds writing style because it is easy for me to follow and form a picture in my mind. It was also cool how he depicted the path of two different atoms and showed how they cycle can change so drasticly just by the journey it is sent on. From what I learned in chemistry class about carbon dating, I found it to be very interesting. How they can trace back anything with carbon int it using half-life's. Just thinking of what I ate today and where the atoms that made up that food as been is donating thought. Pretty nuts! It would be very cool to turn this same idea into a children book.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Carbon_cycle.jpg

             

Think like a Mountian

Sleeping Indian Mnt., Jackson, WY (Photo Cred: Gerrit Bass)

As humans we try to play the good guys. We try to save the deer by killing the predators. But do we look at he bigger picture? In Leopold's "Think Like a Mountain" he brings this idea to life with his artful writing style. He shows that he once tried to eradicate the bullies or the mountain side but then saw the situation in a lager field of view. Like the mountain, that is above all and has been here longer than anything else, sees everything in the bigger picture. Leopold shares his view, and then leaves it up to the reader wither or not they will see life narrowly, or like a mountain, looking down from high above at the world below.

In "Think Like a Mountain" the part about shooting the wolf made me uncomfortable. I am not supportive of the wolf hunt for extermination. Yes, I believe that it needs to be kept in check, but not exterminated. This could be done by permitted hunting.The wolf is a vital part of the population pyramid. Without the wolf to balance out the secondary consumer population, they explode and reek havoc on the shrubbery of the mountain side, or what ever ecosystem they are present in. I think the idea of thinking like a mountain is very unique, and interesting. Seeing things in the bigger picture is an important idea to keep in mind.

Presque Isle Ecology

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/

After spending a few days on Preque Isle, we learned quite a bit about the ecology of the ecosystem.

- Examples of Parasitism could be found in the burls of oak trees. A burl is an abnormal growth on a tree caused by by stress, usually from insect infestation. In that case the insect is benefiting by having an area to live. The tree is harmed by having this abnormal growth, but not killed.
 -Commesalism can be found when looking at the the nesting of birds on the island when a blue jay makes a nest in the tree, the tree is not affected, but the blue jay benefits from having a place to live.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Blue_Jay

-The squirrels of the Isle have a mutualistic relationship with the oak and pine trees. When the squirrel gather and eat the acorns and pine cones of the trees, it is getting food. At the same time, the little guy is spreading and planting the trees seeds.

-Competition Intraspecific was noted when I saw a group of fur trees, and was was growing in a j-shape. It was in competition with the other furs around it for sunlight and had to grow differently to get that light. This can also be caused by stress or breaking as a sapling.
-Interspecific competition can be observed between the squirrels and the chipmunks in the ecosystem.
both animals are competing for the same food and habitat to live in.

As a group we found a micro habitat with the old fallen trees that can be found among the trees. On one that we saw there was moss coming out of the rotten wood and even some sprouting grass, These areas also provide a good home for insects such as ants and termites. It stands out because most of the other forest floor is just ground and fallen tree debris that doesn't support life as well as the rotting wood.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Whitetail_doe

The white tail deer (Odocoileus virginianus) are very prevalent on Presque Isle. In an area like this the only real predator that the deer has is the human car. The deer plays a role by eating the under brush of the forest and fertilizing with its droppings. They also bring a lot of people to the Isle to view the deer up close, because the local deer are not that scared of humans.

Biogeochemical cycles of Presque include photosynthesis done by all the plants and trees. The nitrogen cycle is carried out through the dead and rotting plant debris and dead animals. The H20 cycle is also at work on the island, bringing water to the plants and animals to live.

Chernoff Faces

The Chernoff Face experiment was a very unique exercise. I enjoyed it, and would definitely use something like this in my own classroom. I could tweak it, with different and/or more questions, and possibly end up with a more detailed face. With younger students the questions would have to be more specific so that one student doesn't change his or her drawing to be with a friend, but definitely very do-able in a classroom.

It was cool to see in the end what everyone's face turned out looking like, and then as a class how we decided to split up. After that I don't really understand how it worked, but the groups changed so drastically changed, with only two people in one group, when we switched to the head shape being "Where you are from?". However some people had the same face. Pretty strange. It makes me realize that it must have been really difficult to come up with the original classification system. Linnaean was one smart guy to boil it down to the Domain, Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species system that we use today. Might be long, but it works.

Predator Pray

It is very interesting the relationship predator and pray can have on an entire ecosystem. And how tampering with one spices can effect an area so drastically. In specific the Western side of Wyoming in the area in and around Yellowstone National Park. It is in this area that wolfs had been completely eliminated by settlers of the area. They did not want the wolfs there, because they posed a threat to the farmers and there live stock.

With the missing puzzle piece of wolfs in the environment the population of elk increased to a very high level. As the elk population went up, the birch tree and other plant life was being destroyed because of the over eating by the elk. The trophic pyramid, that demonstrates the balance of an ecosystem, was out of wack will little to no top tear predator. It was not until the recent years, when wolfs have been reintroduced, that the situation has been brought back into check, and then some.

Brook Trout faintly seen in Flat Creek

As more wolfs come back to the area, the elf population was brought down to natural levels. The decrease in elf population has brought a rebirth of birch tree in the area. All was good and expected by the reintroduction of the predator. However what happened next was not planned.

With more birch trees along the river banks there was an increase in beaver population and dam sights. At first this may not seem like a good thing. However it provides better aquatic ecosystems in the rivers. By slowing the flow of water, the water table rose and the rivers began to take a  slower meandering path. Also hosting more fish life.

There was only one negative aspect pointed out by the film because of the reintroduction, besides the farmers dislike. That was the killing of coyotes. The wolf would not eat the coyote, it would be left after the kill. This was concerning to the park rangers as they thought the wolfs were merely killing for fun. It was then realized, due to intraspecific competition for food, the wolfs would kill a coyote that got too close to one of the elk that the wolf killed.

Open grass land and the Teton Range out side Yellowstone

Over all. I see the reintroduction of wolfs into the Yellowstone area as a very good thing. It is quite amazing the change that can come all the way down the pyramid and even in other trophic pyramids due to the stabilization of a key predator population. I know they can disrupt cattle herds, and elf hunting, but farmers will need to be smarter about were they have there cattle, and hunters still have plenty of opportunities. I see the well balanced ecosystem as worth it.