Gambusia, Cattails, and Other Baloney

Chris Buchanan - UNT Integrative Studies Major

I am sitting in my Mandala on a warm and sunny afternoon in February. I decided that the focus of my blog would be nutrition, however, I can’t help but immediately notice a young child moving through my Mandala, systematically riding all of the animal statues in the area like he is a cowboy at a rodeo. I quietly laughed to myself and tried to refocus my attention on the topic at hand. As I wrote the previous sentence, the young child, and experienced statue rider, walked up to a sign that sat two feet to my left. The sign sits in the soil between a large Black Jack Oak Tree and a small pond and is dedicated to Dr. J.K.G. “Doc” Silvey, who was a renowned Biology professor and Department Head at the University of North Texas. The child approached the sign, as if he was reading detailed description of the doctor’s contributions to the University, and declared “Baloney is very, very, very good!” He repeated this at least a half of a dozen times, while pointing at all of the words that begin with the letter “B.” I believe that this child’s declarations spoke for themselves when I pondered what kind of nutrition this young man preferred. Then, as quickly as he arrived, he ran away, making explosion sound effects with his mouth. Perhaps he ingested too much sugar this afternoon and not enough baloney. 

As I refocused my attention on the subject at hand, I asked myself the question, “how do the life forms in my Mandala acquire nutrition?” I began to answer this question by focusing my attention on two different life forms that I discussed last week during my blog about habitat. The Gambusia fish and the cattail. As I mentioned last week, the Gambusia fish is often referred to as the “mosquito fish” because it feeds on the larvae of mosquitoes. This makes me wonder, “what does it eat during the winter when there aren’t mosquitoes flying around?” After some research and discussion with a knowledgeable classmate, I learned that mosquito larvae are still abundant in the water during the winter time. The other life form that I observed in my Mandala is the Cattail plant. Cattail plants survive in wetland environments by removing nutrients and chemicals from the water.

Simple Questions

Today students found clarity in asking the simplest of questions related to their mandalas. As a result, the intensity of observations went up a notch. When I taught introductory archaeological science years ago, I used to tell students that the ability to frame useful questions often helped in the learning process. Articulating a meaningful question about subject matter requires a curious mind and is a small step away from willpower to investigate possible answers. I think what students may not realize is that even the authors of the books and articles we read write in order to answer simple questions.  David Haskell in this week's reading "Footprints" from The Forest Unseen, for example, reflected on a simple question: why is it that white-tailed deer and other ruminants are able to digest cellulose that is undigestible to many other animals. His answer to this question leads the reader on a biological journey, the reading of which increases understanding of evolutionary biology and ecology. Simple questions lead to rich answers. Some samples from today's mandala observations: why did the largest minnow die, what causes different pigmentation in the centers of some clover leaves, why do seemingly identical dandelion plants have remarkably distinctive flowers, how does mistletoe extract nutrients from trees it parasitizes? It is quite possible, in fact nearly certain, that these biological mysteries would remain unsolved and unnoticed without these quiet periods of observation.

Whodunnit?

Kevin Hernandez - UNT Social Science Major
Today, I visited my spot and observed the residues of a tragedy. Possibly. Littering the ground was an ominous amount of feathers. I found tail feathers, semi-plumage, and down. Upon further inspection, six of the countless were stained with dried blood. The feathers, white with black to grayish tips, indicated a mockingbird, a bird common to North Texas. Reconstructing the scene, it seemed the poor fellow was ambushed (more on this later) and, glass half full, he escaped with his life. 

It’s hard to accurately recreate this crime scene that the authorities would never touch. I had to be detective and I could only reveal so much and most of what I did learn would be informed guesses. Now to place the time of crime, a good relative marker would simply be the foliage. The topmost layer of leaves that the feathers rested on was covering a layer of wet leaves. The last precipitation was at least two days prior, so the crime most likely took place sometime between the February second and today, the fourth. Another rather ambiguous thing to deduce is the actual scene of the crime. Although there was a concentration of feathers in my spot, there was also plenty quite a few yards away. Unfortunately, the wind over the last few days has been erratic with gusts over fourteen mph. So, although the average wind speeds were under four mph, feathers could have been blowing in a NNW or SSE direction away from the original crime scene. Further muddling the case was evidence of our mystery assailant. Riddling the ground around my spot, were holes. Each were roughly the same size and were dug at angles. Now these could be from the murderer trying to bury his victim but more likely, it was just a squirrel. UNT, as we learned today, has a substantial feral cat population. Cats will attack and eat many kinds of small animals including mockingbirds. The urates splattering the yucca indicates a stressed bird. Stalked, an extreme and immediate source of stress for our victim could have been a cat pouncing. Cats being well under twenty pounds and soft pawed would also explain the very minimal evidence of an attacker (in this case, the evidence was actually a lack of). Cats tend to take smaller prey away to a safe place to eat, and some large cats will drag prey into trees. Just on that thought, I turned my attention higher. I noticed a large amount of tiny flying bugs around the tree as well as across the lower lying plants. It was difficult to identify the bugs but I believed them to be common midge. A possible indicator of detrivore activity but there was no smell around the area. It could just be that they were coming out of their dormant state. So, gathering evidence and keeping the countless other scenarios open, including possible involvement of other types of predators or scavengers, here is a dramatization (if you will) of what happened. 


It’s late afternoon, between classes when there is less human activity to dissuade shy cats. Emerging from some bushes along the backside of the Environmental Science Building, the cat tracks a mockingbird across the grass and into the greenery closest to Mulberry St. Instinctively and strategically, the cat positions itself so that the bird’s back is to it. As he gets closer, the bird feeds on the new explosion of midge. As the bird lands, the cat takes the opportunity and pounces. With keen eyes, it senses the movement with its improved peripheral vision, the mockingbird furiously flaps in an effort to escape. The cat catches the tail of the bird in mid-flight in its jaws and one outstretched paw, claws extended, scrapes the mockingbird’s belly and feathers come loose but the mockingbird lives to see another day.

Mockingbird

Preston LaFarge - UNT Anthropology Major

Today in the mandala was brisk. Not uncomfortably cold but winter was still in charge. Of course my temperature sensing is set to Texas, so an unbearably cold day for me might mean summer vacation to another.

Either way winter is still present in the mandala that is why I was surprised to observe groups of insects hanging around the yucca plants and in the canopy of the oak trees. The insects were too small and moving too fast for me to identify them. But a fellow classmate is fairly sure they are midges, which are active in the spring.

The Mexican plum tree was also showing signs of spring. The developing flower buds are growing in size. They typically flower in March, before any leaves develop. I have read from some sources that agriculturalists would time their spring planting to the flowering of the plum trees.

The plum tree provides thick intertwining branching that is perfect for birds to take refuge in. and of course I saw a mockingbird come down from the trees to eat the midges. The mockingbird is new to the mandala or at least new from my perspective. I am the new one from the mockingbird’s perspective.

The mocking bird in an interesting bird. They are known for intelligence and of course the ability to mimic other bird’s songs.

It seems spring is coming, although slowly to the mandala.

Natural Defense

Arron Cannon - UNT Geography Major

The honey mesquite tree isn’t the most flamboyant tree in front of the Environmental Science Building on the UNT campus but it is one of the few that has a natural defense mechanism against large mammals. What evolutionary hardship did the honey mesquite endure to develop such a defense, I asked myself? Google helped to clarify the reason behind the tree’s natural defense against large mammals by locating an article that dealt with longhorns in the region. Upon further research I found that it is believed to have developed these large, sharp thorns in defense to large animals either running through a young, more pliable tree or to aid in protection against the tree being used as a sort of “scratching” device, either way I found that particular reason very interesting. Once I got past the thorns I noticed that the bark looked similar to severely dry skin, with deep cracks and breaks showing the younger bark beneath. While inspecting the bark I also noticed a small patch of yellowish moss that was not thriving all over the tree but still alive nonetheless on the branch I was inspecting. There were no other signs of the yellowish moss anywhere else on the tree or even on the trees surrounding the particular mesquite that I was observing. The moss transformed the tree from the niche to habitat, the more I’m susceptible to nature the more I find that this is true over and over again. I also noticed that the tree was not branching out from one large trunk but was instead penetrating the ground surface with a multitude of branches, all independently serving as a trunk for the smaller branches and twigs that were on each protruding branch—characteristics I never noticed before. That particular attribute is not only associated with the honey mesquite tree but a plethora of other tree species. I also found that some, very few twigs, still had tiny yellowish leaves that had not yet falling off yet, strange I though for this time of year. I wrapped up my honey mesquite experience but noticing the dead bark on the ground all around the tree, a natural mulch trapping water from being evaporated around the tree’s base. I’ll now know how to identify honey mesquite tree thanks to this experience.

Squirrel Interrupted

Jacob Korte - UNT History Major

Today at the Mandala I had decided to view a large cottonwood tree, essentially trying to figure out why it looks the way it does. While I was viewing it a fox squirrel (Sciurus niger) started running all along the branches with no logical reasoning behind what it was doing. I assumed it was either trying to find food or possibly a mate, although after doing some research on the fox squirrel this isn’t a normal time for it to be mating since they mate in mid-December and not again until June. When the squirrel unsuccessfully found what it was looking for it ran about 60 or 70 feet away to an oak tree and started looking around, it didn’t take long however before a pair of squirrels emerged from the tree and eventually chased my squirrel away. The squirrel I was viewing came back to the cottonwood, for a couple minutes it disappeared from sight before reemerging. However as soon as I caught sight of it again it was scampering off to a slightly smaller tree about 15 feet further than the oak tree it had gone to. One of the two squirrels from the oak jumped across the branches and started watching my squirrel, most likely to protect the oak that it came from and keep the squirrel from coming back. After climbing back down the tree the squirrel began to dig around in the dirt just at the base of the trunk.

Around this time Dr. Wolverton drew my attention to some mistletoe which was growing out of the cottonwood, it turns out that mistletoe is a parasite that grows out of a host tree from which it takes nutrients. This was very surprising as I never would have expected mistletoe to be a parasitic plant that can potentially kill the host tree. 

Looking back to the squirrel I discover it is in a new area climbing around on a group of crape myrtles; I guess it must have found something good since it took the time to come back to the cottonwood and disappear again. This squirrel has piqued my curiosity, I have yet to see where it goes to once it gets onto the cottonwood and even after I walked around the cottonwood I have yet to find any trace of the squirrel. After a brief period of time however the squirrel is running to a new location and begins to dig around through some mulch and woodchips. Now that I don’t risk scaring it off I can get much closer to the tree for more inspection. On the far side of the tree about 8 feet up there is a branch which is growing relatively straight up in close proximity to the trunk, and in this area there is a hollow that can barely be made out and seems to be well protected from the elements. There is a high probability that this is the squirrel’s home, and it has been running across its habitat trying to gather food, as gathering appears to be this squirrel’s niche.

Blackjack

Chris Buchanan - UNT Integrative Studies Major

I am sitting on a cement bench in front of the Environmental Science building, observing the habitat of a very large blackjack oak tree (Quercus marilandica) on a cold and cloudy afternoon in early February. I am observing the geographical location where the oak tree exists. The blackjack is a small, deciduous, tree that grows up to fifteen meters tall. They can grow in poor, thin, rocky, dry, or sandy soils where few other woody plants can survive. It is a very durable tree that is effective at growing in many conditions. The tree is rooted in a ten by fifteen yard patch of soil that is enclosed by a wall of concrete slabs. The soil is covered by pieces of bark, mulch, fallen leaves, acorns, twigs, and a few, but sparse clumps of grass, and weeds. There are three smaller trees growing beside it. One of which is growing at an odd angle. This much smaller tree is growing at an outward angle, rather than up. It does not have many branches on it and it appears to have been pruned on a regular basis. Human interaction has likely had a dramatic impact on the development of the tree and ultimately, its appearance.

Oak leaves (with an Asian pear leaf, lower left, for comparison). 

The blackjack leaf is to the upper left, center upper is a post oak

leaf, center lower is a red oak leaf, with a bur oak leaf to the right.

I gathered several of the blackjack’s fallen leaves and observed them closely. They are clearly different than the other leaves from the surrounding smaller trees. Unlike the other leaves, the blackjack’s leaves are long and broad, as well as more rounded in shape. They have a tapered base that extends to a broad three-lobed bell shape with shallow indentions while the other leaves have more pointed tips extending from their sides. The oak’s leaves are darker in color and have well-defined stems and veins that cover the leaf like arteries throughout a human body. 

Next to the oak sits a small pond. The pond has a fountain in the center that is composed of various types of rocks that are stacked on top of each other. Growing out of the rocks are tall and thin branches that are almost entirely barren of leaves. Dead leaves float lifelessly on the surface of the pool. The pond is surrounded by numerous stone tiles and cement slabs that form its’ wall. The pond is the habitat of several forms of life that exist together in the environment that it creates. One such life form is the Gambusia fish. The Gambusia fish is commonly known as the mosquito fish because it feeds on the larvae of mosquitos. This is the Gambusia’s niche. It is a small fish that is rarely over 2 inches long and is abundant in the southern United States. The pond is also home to aquatic plants that grow and extend upwards out of the water. These are cattail plants. Cattails are the primary plants in wetlands around the world, growing in water from ¼ inch to 36 inches deep. They and other marsh plants remove excess nutrients and chemicals from the water. This is their niche. Because of this, water leaving a wetland has fewer pollutants than water entering. Scientists believe human-made wetlands can filter pollution better and cheaper than traditional methods. This is an example of the importance and value that increased ecological understanding can have on the way that we relate to our environment.