Field Observations
This week for the response question
I was asked to think about the strategies for winter survival for my species in
Wysong loop. So as I was walking out
there early on the first morning of August I was trying to imagine winter in
the Wysong. As I was just sitting still trying
to take notes of some new plants and sweating surrounded by horse flies and mosquitos
I couldn’t help but dream of winter. Also
this week our friendly farmer neighbor decided to start emptying his cattle
lagoon onto the field which in the early morning fog sends over wonderful
aromas which helps get me moving!
 |
| The beautiful old field early Monday morning, just as the sun was hitting the field. |
So once I got over dreaming
about winter and snow, even though I’m sure when it’s here I will be wishing
for summer, I actually began making observations. It is amazing in how just one short week
things can really change. This week as
you can see in the photos I had just splashes of new colors everywhere, from
small white flowers to the tall ironweed which continues to grow and expand its
brilliant purple flowers. Also new this
week was some of the goldenrod beginning to open up and emerge, so I am hoping
that over the next few weeks, before this blog is over, that I can show you the
field covered in yellow! I have found
that when I come out to do observations every day I can’t see any differences
thus I have been “avoiding” the area and visiting at no more than every three
days so I can better observe the changes.
 |
| Tall ironweed coming into full bloom! |
 |
| Some new goldenrod growth, fall is coming! |
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| Some of my large milkweed bug nymphs. |
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Species Identification
Big Bluestem (Andropogon
gerardii)
Big
Bluestem is a native perennial warm season grass that is prevalent around Merry
Lea property and throughout most of the United States. It is a tufted grass that forms sod and has
short and scaly rhizomes, it can be distinguished from other warm season
grasses by the blueish coloration at the base.
The heights are quite noticeable across Wysong as it can reach upwards
of 6-8 feet tall in areas, as this area is mostly protected from grazing (Big
Bluestem, 2004). Another noticeable
characteristic is the 3 part flower or spikelets that appear like a characteristic
“turkey foot” which can be seen in the photos below. |
| Big Bluestem (Andropogon
gerardii) growing in the old field. (K. Bradley July 31, 2016) |
Big Bluestem is a very
important grass species in prairie ecosystems and it can also be used for mine reclamation,
logging road restoration and other projects that have sandier or dry soil
conditions. Also it is used as an
erosion control due to the extensive rooting depths common with prairie plants
and is used for rain water erosion as well as wind erosion due to the tall
heights. It is best adapted to moist,
sandy, or loam based soils but can also occur in drier soils. It is well adapted to prairie conditions,
which is partly why it is found so prevalent in this area (Big Bluestem, 2004). Also less than a ¼ mile away is a larger
prairie which could be where the seed source came from originally and since
then has just spread naturally across the field starting on the northern side
moving out from there.
 |
| Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) in the grassy sod stage. (K. Bradley July 31, 2016) |
 |
| Big Bluestem (Andropogon gerardii) with the characteristic turkey foot flower. (K. Bradley August 1, 2016) |
~~~~~~~~~~
Wild Bergamot (Monarda
fistulosa)
Wild Bergamot is also knows as
bee balm, is an aromatic herbaceous perennial.
It forms a dense cluster of lavender to purplish/lilac pink tubular
flowers sitting on a square stem. The
leaves are about 2.5 inches long and are grayish triangular shaped, and are joined
opposite on the stem. They can reach
heights up to four feet and flower from June to September (Newcomb, 1977 &
Thieret et al. 2001).
 |
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) typically found around the edge of the old field. (K. Bradley July 31, 2016)
|
Here in the old field there
was an early flush of flowers and now is a second flush just starting to flower,
providing a great splash of color and aroma.
Wild Bergamot prefers dry fields, thickets, prairies, and borders and is
found throughout the United States. Here
it is common across Wysong along the edges with not much occurring in the
center of the field. This could be due
to less competition along the edges of the fields compared to the middle.
 |
Wild Bergamot (Monarda fistulosa) with the large aromatic and showy flowers perfect for pollinators. (K. Bradley July 31, 2016)
|
Historically bee balm was used
in a wide variety of purposes such as boiling the leaves down for mint tea, as
well as used the oil to treat respiratory ailments (Wild Bergamot, 2000). Now it is commonly used to attract
pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and humming birds due to the bright and
showy flowers, and nutritious nectar.
Here in the Wysong old field and across Merry Lea bees are constantly
found around this plant. The showy
aromatic flowers are also great for floral arrangements!
~~~~~~~~~~
Japanese Beetle (Popilla
japonica)
The
Japanese beetle is native to northern Japan and was first found in the United
States in New Jersey in 1916 believed to have come over on iris roots, and
since then they have spread across the country.
What is unique about this beetle is that the adults can eat over 300
different species of plants! The main
feeding usually occurs between June through August, and the beetle eats between
the leaf veins giving the leaves a skeletonized look. Since the accidental introduction measures
have been taken to reduce populations by using parasitic flies and wasps that
prey on the beetle larvae (Japanese Beetle, 2016).
 |
Japanese Beetle (Popilla japonica) eating. (K. Bradley July 31, 2016)
|
The beetle itself is 3/8
to ½ inch oval and a sturdy body. The
body is bright metallic green and the elytra are mostly brownish as you can see
in the photos below. They have grayish
black hair on the underside and characteristic 5 patches of white hair along
each side of abdomen with two white tufts at the tips. The adults deposit 1-4 yellowish white eggs
onto the soil at a time and the larvae overwinter in the soil and then pupate
in the spring. So each year one
generation of adults emerge in the summer as the blackberries ripen and in the
north it can take two years for this cycle to occur (Milne and Milne,
1980).
 |
Japanese Beetle (Popilla japonica) (K. Bradley July 31, 2016)
|
Due to the large variety of
plants they can eat they are able to easily establish themselves and can disperse
by flying, and commonly form large groups around specific plants (Milne and
Milne, 1980). It is also important to
note that healthy plants generally can recover after a Japanese beetle feeding
but plants that are stressed due to other reasons (drought, etc.) may not be
able to recover. So here in the old
field I am not surprised to see them as I have recently been seeing them around
other areas, particularly around the farmstead in the gardens. They have more than sufficient food sources
in Wysong and have many friends around to keep them company.
~~~~~~~~~~
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides
pubescens)
The downy woodpecker is a
common and familiar sight through most of North America. They are commonly found on backyard feeders,
in parks, and patches of trees, and are one of the smallest woodpeckers with a
very short bill. They are only about 6
inches tall as an adult and are very acrobatic in their foraging behaviors when
compared to other woodpeckers. The adult
males have a red crown, small bills, white patch on their back, and dark bars
on their lower feathers. The female does
not have the red crown but rather conspicuous tufts of nasal bristles (hairs
out towards the beak), a clean white chest, and extensive white spots on the
wings, both of these you can see clearly in the photos below (Downy Woodpecker,
2015 & Sibley, 2003).
 |
Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) male. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
|
The call is a short and gentle
flat pik, and they drum short and
slowly and repeat frequently, usually ten or more times per minute. Here in Wysong just about every time that I am
out to visit they are usually found on the staghorn sumac moving up and down
the dead limbs and trunk or on a nearby tree.
Woodpeckers like a Downy normally eat insects and bugs and the larvae
which is why old trees and branches provide the perfect microhabitat to find
food. So here both in and surrounding
Wysong there is plenty of food source as well as forest cover.
 |
| Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens) female. (Cornell Lab of Ornithology) |
~~~~~~~~~~
Response Question
This week as mentioned before
the focus is on strategies for winter survival for the plants in my
ecosystem. The two main problems for any
plants going into winter is trying to reduce water loss (as well as have water
available) and the cold temperatures. So
I am going to first talk about adaptations of trees as they prepare and survive
the cold winter. Many trees like Eastern
Cottonwood is a deciduous which means that each fall it loses its leaves, other
trees like the Eastern Red Cedar, also found in my ecosystem, have a bit of an
advantage as they keep their needles during the winter so on sunny winter days
they are still able to photosynthesize.
The best adaptations trees
have to preparing for the cold is the gradual temperature changes, so for
example not going from 80 degrees one day to 5 degrees the next. Trees are able to make both chemical and structural
adaptations. When the trees have this gradual
temperature decline they can build up their cold tolerance. The cells in the trees can increase their
lipid concentrations with less complex lipids, help break apart long protein
chains, and then the water can migrate out of the cell. So the water outside the trees cell wall will
freeze first, and as normal as water changes from a liquid to a solid a very
small amount of heat is released which helps prevent the cellular water from
freezing (Cook, 2013). Then as the
spring comes this all happens in reverse and hopefully without any late
unexpected frosts or large ice storms the trees will live to see another
spring!
For many of the old field
plants the most important adaptation for survival is a large extensive root
system. Just like with the trees ideally
the winter will slowly come on giving the plants time to adapt. In the late
summer/ early fall for example the soils in general become drier and the
vegetation takes up nitrogen from the soil providing essential food for the
long winter. For many healthy plants
they are able to store the energy that the leaves manufacture over the summer,
and with a healthy root system acting as a storage tank holding the precious
sugars and nutrients. These sugars and nutrients
will be very important to the plants again in the spring to get them started
photosynthesizing again (All About Snow, 2016).
Some plants just go completely
dormant and the biomass on top of the ground dies off, leaving only root
structures alive which are advantageous to surviving the winter. Other plants
produce large amount of seeds which are able to overwinter in the snow pack and
will begin growing when ground temperatures become warm enough. Depending on the year with snow pack once
snow has settled it can provide a “mini shelter” and protect the plant from the
freezing temperatures and wind. Here in
Noble county according to the state of Indiana the frost line is at 50-60’’ (Depth
of Frost Line, 2016). Also many plants
are adapted with thick and waxy coatings that can help protect them against the
cold winds. So overall there are many
adaptations that plants and trees have made to overwinter, it’s not as simple
as putting on a good warm pair of boots and snow suit!
~~~~~~~~~~
Creative Contribution
This week I decided to complete more of an art project that
could be used to demonstrate insects at the fair, as well as insects commonly
found in my ecosystem. Although the totem pole may have been forgotten at the
fair it can still be used for future educational purposes. So below you will see two of my creations
using recycled materials (old ½ gallon milk jug and cool whip container). The reason for making these was to help
demonstrate the various characteristics that insects share such as 2 pairs of
wings and 2 antennae. The first is a
honey bee taking a photo next to one of its favorite nectar sources, Wild Bergamot. The second is a ladybug beetle next to Queen Anne’s
lace (which if you look closely also has a ladybug beetle sitting on it). So it was just a more fun change of pace and
an opportunity to help educate others about insects and interact with my ecosystem
through the eyes of a child, creating a story in my head!
Citations
All About Snow. National Snow and Ice
Data Center. (2016) Retrieved August 3, 2016 from https://nsidc.org/cryosphere/snow/plants.html
Big Bluestem:
Andropogon gerardii.
USDA: NRCS Plant Materials Program, Plant Fact Sheet.
(2004). Retrieved August 2, 2016 from http://www.plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/pgange.pdf
Cook,
Bill. (2013) How do trees survive in the
winter? Michigan State University Extension
Depth
of Frost Line. (2016). Indiana State Department
of Health.
Downy Woodpecker.
The Cornell Lab of Ornithology: All About Birds. (2015). Retrieved August 3,
2016 from https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Downy_Woodpecker/id
Japanese beetle
(Popilla japonica).
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources: Invasive Terrestrial Animals.
(2016). Retrieved August 2, 2016 from http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/invasives/terrestrialanimals/japanese_beetle/index.html
Milne,
L., & Milne, M. (1980) National
Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders. New York, NY:
Chanticleer Press.
Newcomb,
Lawrence. (1977). Wildflower Guide.
New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Sibley, D. A. (2003). The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Eastern
North America. New York, NY: Andrew Stewart Publishing.
Thieret, J. W.,
Niering, W. A., & Olmstead, N. C. (Eds.). (2001). National Audubon Society Field Guide to Wildflowers Eastern Region.
New York, NY: Chanticleer Press.
Wild Bergamot: Monarda fistulosa. USDA: NRCS Plant Materials Program, Plant Fact Sheet.
(2000) Retrieved August 2, 2016 from http://www.plants.usda.gov/plantguide/pdf/cs_mofi.pdf
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