Questioning Dandelions...

Ross Krouse - UNT Geography Major

Photos courtesy Wikipedia.org

Today while participating in my weekly mandala exercise, there hadn’t been much change in the habitat from last week. I focused on two individual plants instead of the “habitat” as a whole in my era. The plants were both Dandelions but they were in different stages of their lives. One dandelion was at an older point in its life were it had produced the cotton like seeds for which it uses wind to disperse. The other was in more of a flower like stage and resembled a bright yellow daisy but with more petals. I sat down right in front of them, observing as the gusts of wind whipped them around, wondering why they were even here in the first place. I asked my self questions such as why do I feel like I have known this plant all my life yet really know nothing about them, how are both of these plants the same species when they look nothing alike, how long did it take to create its own adaptation to succeed so well on a global level, and why do the plants have tiny thorns on their stems what are they warding off? 

I'm Gonna Eat That!

Kevin Hernandez - UNT Social Science Major

Today is windy but warm. The plants of my spot are soaking up the sunny day, creating nutrients to grow and, if the cold returns, grow dormant again. After this week’s reading, I thought I would examine the nutritional makeup of my spot starting literally from the ground up. Root structures, from the post oak’s shallow and horizontal to the yucca's oversized tubular veins, carry nutrients to the plant’s organs in a cyclical nature. The roots take up nutrients from the soil and water and, eventually, the things above the soil, mainly dead things, return its nutrients. So disregarding the chicken or the egg question: Did the soil start the cycle or did the plant, we’ll begin with the soil. Assuming the sprinkler system works, even in times of little natural precipitation, the plants would never want for water. The water, some of which may enter the plant through leaves and other outer and upper structures, would filter into the ground, taking with it various nutrients vital to plants. Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, and even calcium found in the soil and in the fertilizers (natural or otherwise) are siphoned into the plant and used for creating the plant's food. Now, can I eat that? The practice of eating dirt has been around for a very, very long time. Western consensus seems to be "don't do that". Dirt, in large amounts, is difficult to digest and can become impacted in your large intestine leading to constipation and there is also a possibility of harmful microbes your body has never been and should not be exposed to. 

A pile of fire ants. Image from nationalgeographic.com.

Also just above the soil, there are also numerous bugs including the invasive fire ant. Recently attracted to a morsel, they’re aimlessly swarming now that they are done and I manage to grab one and I eat it. There’s hardly a taste with something this small, but there is a crunch. Bugs of all shapes and sizes have been used as nourishment, as a necessity as well as novelty, by many cultures. Although Americans may have a “natural” aversion to such a food, there are a lot of benefits to eating bugs. Firstly, there are a lot of bugs. Upwards of 200 million bugs to each person on Earth. This means a very large food supply. Of course bugs are small compared to the food we are used to. So we would have to eat a lot, right? A serving size of just 3.5 ounces of ants equals about 14 grams of protein. To put this in perspective, an average male needs 56 grams of protein a day and a female needs 46. Not bad for 3.5 ounces. For more perspective, a 3.5 ounce serving of beef contains about 25 grams of protein. Additionally, ants and other bugs are full of iron and calcium. But (and it is a large but) on average, an ant weights about 3 milligrams. There are about 114,000 milligrams in 3.5 ounces. That means you would have to eat about 38,000 ants for that one serving. 

Now, the plants themselves. The various plants all have some nutritional value. Firstly, there are plenty of weeds that can actually be foraged. Henbit, thistle, and crabgrass are all edible in varying degrees. Crabgrass, once considered a weed, is now being looked at as a source for pastures and grazing animals. Thistle, although it has very bitter roots, the plant above the soil can be eaten much like asparagus. It’s rich in vitamins A, B, and C. Henbit’s leafiness lends itself to salads and is rich in antioxidants and iron. The yucca has a highly nutritional root commonly called the cassava. The root has good amounts of carbohydrates, vitamin C, manganese and antioxidants. Our two fruited plants, the nandina and the Mexican plum differ greatly. The nandina flowers clusters of small red berries that can be toxic to birds and cats. The Mexican plum tree drops fruit that is very nutritious and is quite tasty. The post oak provides another but usually unthought of source of food, tree bark. Like eating dirt, eating tree bark has been a known practice utilized in dire circumstances. Although the outer bark provides little to no nutrition, the inner layer known as the cambium can be useful. Interestingly, a group of people called the Laplanders in Finland make bread out of tree bark. 

Also above the soil, lives more than just the plants. I found a used piece of gum, hardly nutritional before being chewed and spit onto the wood chips. A stick of gum, on the facts section of the package, generally, is “< 5 calories” and predominantly sugar, carbohydrates, and artificial flavors and really not much of any of these. A pale deformed ghost of its form, dried out and now hard, could you eat it? Please don’t.

Clover in the Eye of the Beholder

Arron Cannon - UNT Geography Major

Image from psdgraphics.com.

In today’s observation I looked at clovers and the relationship between the four leafed and the three leafed clovers. I questioned if there was any significance to the uniqueness of the four leafed clover and if the extra leaf aided in photosynthesis. Upon further research I concluded that as of today, there is no scientific evidence other than the four leafed clover possesses a very rare recessive gene, one in ten thousand clovers retain this sporadic gene that causes the tiny plant to bloom an extra leaf. The same process causes the uniqueness of eye color and, even less common, how some humans possess an infrequent genetic trait that allows for one eye that is one color and the other eye another. As with the four-leafed clover, one in ten thousand humans are also gifted with a rare recessive gene that allows for different color eyes.

I also found that the color of clovers was not consistent, one particular clover I observed had a purplish ink-splotch pigmentation right in the middle of the clover leaf. Did this color change right in the middle of the leaf to help this tiny clover species flourish more so than other clover types? One particular article I found suggested that the color difference is an insect deterrent. This tiny splotch makes the leaf appear different to insects that feed on clovers; insects have a different spectrum of color than humans do. To an insect looking for the healthiest clover, the tiny purple splotch looks as though the clover is dying and that the nutritional value is not as high as other all green clovers.

This observation helped me understand that the smallest differences can make a huge impact on the diversity life among species. The difference between life and death of a plant can hinge on one pigmentation difference.

On a Clear Day...

Skip Warren - UNT History Major

This is the first day I am able to observe the minnow mandala without overcast skies. The sky is cloudless, with a brisk north wind that whips through the trees and around the building’s corners. The breeze makes ripples across the bulk of the pond that makes observation of the bottom nearly impossible. It’s calm however at my usual observation point and the sun is streaming into the area making the minnows much more active. They are much more numerous as well. I count 30+. They still prefer the calm behind and around the rock island but many more are venturing into the slow deep whirlpool that is generated by the waterfall on the other side of the rock.

Looking closer I see my first dead minnow, a larger one, slowly being pushed around the edges of the whirlpool. Then another smaller one appears, and then another. A few minutes later another struggling minnow gets caught in the flow. It does slow rolls as it tries to keep motion through its gills. It will be dead soon as well. Four dead minnows; other minnows swim up occasionally to watch them. At first I think they’re eating they’re own dead but it turns out they’re just curious.

Life expectancy for these fathead minnows is two to three years, the longevity of which surprises me. I guess these examples had reached their limiting factor. Some were not full grown. Maybe they had spent valuable energy trying to brave the rapids. Old age or lack of food caused by too large of population could be a cause. The onset of some disease perhaps that may affect the rest of the minnow community could be a cause.

Both limiting and enabling factors influence the fish. The pond is limited by its human-made area, which in turn limits minnow size and population. There are no bugs to fill the diet due to winter, also a limit. The lack of bugs as a food source is made up for by plenty of algae. The pond’s configuration limits natural predators which in turn is an enabling factor for minnows. During a heavy rain the water will change chemical composition as there is no runoff in this contained area. This may affect the fish in some way. The fish also depend on human intervention if the water becomes depleted. So the pond has its share of limiting and enabling factors that will influence the minnow’s lives.

The death of the four minnows is an enabler of recycled life in the pond. They will eventually provide the pond with nutrients from their decay, which in turn will enable bug larvae and plants to feed once the season transitions out of winter. These will provide more food for the minnows. Their deaths have also enabled more room in the environment and less competition. If the larger minnow’s size had proved a threat to the smaller fish, then that threat too has been removed. But so has the protection larger size may have provided. Another large minnow will fill the void. The death of the four may have unseen consequences. One of them may have been carrying the last gene mutation that would have prevented a future disease. Conversely, one may have taken to its death the last of a detrimental gene. For now however their bodies are all just riding an endless circle around the whirlpool along with bits of algae and dead leaves.

I got to look a little closer at surrounding ground cover today as well. At first glance I thought I spied dollar weed. But closer inspection showed a carpet of some type of small-leafed green fern with a few strands of dollar weed trying to compete for space. Dollar weed won’t win that battle this season. Nothing flying today either. I fear the yellow-jacket from week #1 was lulled into a premature Sacre du Printemps.

Mistletoe in the Mandala

Jacob Korte - UNT History Major

Today I turned my focus to the mistletoe growing out of the cottonwood that is located in the Mandala. Being an evergreen species the mistletoe has remained green and alive throughout the winter even while the trees it grows on have receded into themselves and into their cells in order to escape the cold weather. From what I learned the other week, mistletoe is a parasitic plant that grows into the tree that hosts it. That gives an appearance that the reason the mistletoe is able to stay alive and live as an evergreen throughout the year is because it just feeds off the tree it is on.

Mistletoe growing from a tree trunk; photo credits here.

My question is, what part of the tree exactly does the mistletoe gets its nutrients from? And, how does it get those nutrients? It appears after doing research that some species of mistletoe will partake in photosynthesis to varying degrees, which can reduce the strain of its feeding off of the host tree. The level of photosynthesis by the mistletoe will cause variability in the color of the leaves, ranging from green or yellow. Green indicates a heavier reliance on photosynthesis, yellow means that the mistletoe doesn’t photosynthesize at all. Mistletoe depends on the host tree for water and mineral nutrients as well as carbohydrates, all of which they take directly from the living tree. Another question I had is, how does mistletoe pick what trees to grow on? I noticed large amounts of mistletoe in two large trees, a post oak and the cottonwood. Also in one of two smaller post oaks, but not the other, it turns out that this depends on elevation, what type of tree it will infect. Another indicator is the maturity of the tree.