Change Change Change (Stability and Change)

Observing ecological succession can be very interesting.  As you watch certain species of plants grow in a previously uninhibited place and you can see how other species slowly move in and everything works together.  Let's look at a few things I saw.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Though it may be a little far fetched, I chose to look at the sun as something that will change "in one day".  This is because not only does the amount of sunlight vary throughout the day, but it can vary from day to day.  Everything in nature depends on the sun and some things vary in the amount they will change in a day depending on the amount of sunlight they receive.  

I am not sure what these pretty little yellow blooms are, but they have grown up alongside the road in a couple of places.  They can only be seen during the Spring.  By next season, they would have served their purpose and be long gone until the next Spring.  I will just enjoy looking at them while I can.

After building our house, we decided to just take the soil that had been moved to level it out and just spread it back out to form our "yard".  We are hoping that by next year the grass that is starting to finally grow there will fill in all the gaps and we can have a nice little patch to call a yard so the kids can play (not that they won't find plenty to get into in the rest of the property).

Ecosystem Interactions

Everything in nature has a specific role, or niche, and every organism interacts with every other one in it's ecosystem.  There are several types of "relationships" that take place.  With mutualism, both organisms in the relationship benefit in some way.  In a parasitic relationship, one organism will benefit at the expense of the other.  But, in a commensalism relationship, one organism benefits while the other is neither helped nor harmed.  In the case of this little robin's nest I found in the tree outside my friend's house in Arkansas the other day, the tree provides a safe place for the robin to build its nest and lay its eggs.  The tree is not helped nor harmed by the bird building the nest there. The tree just carries on photosynthesizing and living its life normally while the bird is reaping the benefits of a safe place to live.  Mother nature has a beautiful way of taking care of everything.

Nature of Science--The Great Unknown

Driving along the county roads on a nice spring day and seeing all the beautiful flowers and bright colors can be so very peaceful.  As I was driving home, I noticed these bright purple wildflowers growing along the roadside in a wooded area.  I go tout to look at them and take some pictures because I just loved the color.  I am not quite sure what they are though. 

The brightly colored flowers that caught my eye, grow up in little bunches like you can see here.  They were about 3.5 cm tall.  What confuses me a little is that the petals are in 5's which usually indicates a dicot flower.  The parallel veins on the opposite growing leaves, however, are usual patterns seen in monocots.  When I looked through pictures of Missouri wildflowers online, I found one I thought it may be, but I am not real sure.  I would love to hear what you think (or know) about this beautiful flower. 

Energy Flows Down a One Way Street

Energy is transferred through a food chain in a "one way" direction.  It is passed from tropic level to trophic level and from one organism to another depending on what eats what.  I took some pictures out side my window and at the local park to show a simple food chain.

The first trophic level of a food chain is made of "producers".  Producers, like the trees and grass in this photo, are known as "autotrophs" as they can automatically make their own food through the process of photosynthesis in which they will capture solar energy and convert it into the energy they need to sustain life.  I was able to take this lovely spring shot out at Mark Twain National Forrest.  If you have not seen this place for yourself, you should really visit it.  It is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon just relaxing with the family.










The second trophic level of a food chain consists of only herbivores.  Those organisms like the humming bird pictured here and other birds I find in my yard will eat seeds and the nectar from flowers.  They are know as hetertrophs and are primary consumers.  They must rely on eating something else to obtain energy.













The third trophic level, also know as secondary consumers as they are typically the second in the food chain to eat, are also heterotrophs.  This cat was after something and getting ready to pounce.  I don't know if he saw the hummingbird too, or if it was an insect that caught his eye.  Either way, he needs to consume an outside source of food to obtain energy.


All of the energy transferred within a food chain ultimately comes from the sun.  Each organism along the chain used what it can and only passes on about 10% of the original energy to the next level.  I encourage you all to look around and see what you can find to be a possible food chain right in your own yard.

Adaptations in nature

Adaptations are very important for the survival of all plants and animals in an ecosystem.  Here are a few examples of some things I found.

Showy Display

 My peach tree is starting to bloom.  The bright colored flowers are used to attract pollinators.  It is important that the flowers are visited by insects so that the seeds the flowers produce can be pollinated to allow the delicious peaches to grow.  These are probably my favorite trees.  I just love the color of the flowers.

 Coloration- Blended/Hidden

I found this little guy on the table outside.  At first glance he appears to just be a twig.  If you look closely you will see that he is actually an inch worm.  When he feels threatened he can stand upright and stiffen his body so that would be predators, like birds, will not be able to tell the difference.

Shape

I love all the trees out on my property, it is so peaceful to walk around out there.  I think of the clean air and just breathe it all in.  If it weren't for trees like these, that wouldn't be the case.  Photosynthesis is a very important process in nature.  In trees, this takes place in the leaves.  The shape of the leaf plays a part in how this is carried out.  The broad, flat leaves allow for more surface area so that photosynthesis can occur at a higher rate.  The more, needle-like leaves of coniferous trees allow them to conserve water to survive through the dryer and colder times of year. 

 Warning Behavior (Bonus)

Although kind of blurry due to it being an action shot, this shows how some species will communicate things like "danger" to other members of their population.  Horses are known for being particularly easy to spook.  While I was out feeding my two "babies" one heard something that kind of scared her, so she raised her tail and  started to flip her head as a warning sign to the other horse that there was danger.  White-tailed deer will also signal warning to others by raising their tail straight up as a sign to others.

Scavenger Hunt Photo

Yuck...nature can be so gross sometimes.  Be on the lookout when you are out and about.  You just may come across (or smell) some pretty nasty stuff out there.  This lead to some pretty good discussions with my daughter about the importance of different animals and how this one will be broken down by others and by bacteria and fungi.  It's cool to be able to teach her things like this at such a young age and while we are just out spending a day walking around together.

 These bright, colorful flowers give me hope that Spring is here to stay and there will be no more snow.  All the beautiful flowers make springtime my favorite time of year.  I believe this little row of flowers are growing up where there once was a fence line.  The yellow makes me think of sunshine and right now, I think those of us in Missouri could really use a little of that.

 Rivers, streams, and ponds are so very important to wildlife.  They are also a lot of fun and can help you cool off in summertime.  Streams can be very aesthetically pleasing as well.  This is one of my favorite places to go and just relax on my property.  I can just go sit down there and listen to the birds chirping.  I set up a game camera and can see that deer will often show up to drink from this little stream.  It is so peaceful out there by it. 

  

I found this little fella while walking around out in my pasture and couldn't resist zooming in to get a closer look.  When we first built our house out here, we had little lady bugs crawling all over it.  I think they are great, do great things for plants, and from what I hear are good luck when in your house...here's hoping.

My first trip in a little canoe and I was brave enough to bring my phone along; glad I did because I was able to capture this crane.  He blended in pretty well though, it took me a second to see him as my husband was trying to point him out to me.  This spot on Bull Shoals is absolutely beautiful and there is so much wildlife to look at. 

 

Ethics and Safety

While enjoying a day at the park with your family can be a lot of fun and very relaxing, it can also be a good learning experience.  It is important that we teach our children to do things like put trash in the trash cans or to gather it all up and take it with them when you leave.  It is our responsibility as parents to teach our children to take care of the environment and to protect nature.  I am thinking of taking a Saturday a month and taking my children to the park to pick up litter.  It could be a great bonding and learning experience.