Tag: The Art of Ecology

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Posted on November 22, 2017 by The Art of Ecology

How can life occur in the American Southwest desert?

These beautiful flowers attracted many pollinators out in the New Mexico desert!

Traveling, especially to places that look and feel different than Pennsylvania where I have lived for all of my life, is so exciting! Fortunately for me, I had the chance to go out to New Mexico to do some photography this past summer! It was amazing to see the many plant & animal adaptations to …

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Category: Adaptations, Plants, The Art of Ecology, Travel, Wildlife Behavior Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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Posted on November 16, 2017 by The Art of Ecology

How do Chipmunks show their personality through vocalization?

discover chipmunk vocalizations and how this impacts personality

I’ll gladly go bungee jumping or skydiving. Not much scares me, yet for some strange reason, I gasp at small things. A door closed unexpectedly? Gasp. Did a leaf fall on my shoulder? Gasp. I’m startled for a fraction of a second and react. Who knew that this is a similar trait to shy, cute, …

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Marissa Jacobs | NatGeo Certified Educator | Photographer
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Abscission is such a fun phenomenon to witness in the fall! It felt like it was raining gold while we were picnicking at the park under these Tulip Poplars and sycamores. Abscission is when the leaf is cut at the petiole (by the tree itself) once the tree no longer finds it worthwhile to keep the tissue. Wind comes along and detached the leaf, which then falls to the ground (or bonks you in the head mid-apple bite) relatively nearby. Decomposers break the old leaf down and return those nutrients to the parent tree to start growing new leaves again in the spring.
The colors of trees are so meaningful - each pigment plays a special role in plant health! On October 24th (10am), at @jagardens , dive into the science of plant colors through hands-on observation and exploration where participants (ages 4+) will get to take home their very own flower and tree leaf pounding project.
"Spots are on them!" Yes! Some mushrooms have speckles, warts, or a polkadot appearance on the top of their cap. These pieces are remnants of what is called a Universal Veil. This veil is almost like a single-user wrapper over the mushroom that protects it as it grows. As the mushroom gets bigger and expands, it bursts through the veil, breaking it apart. The bits that were stuck to the cap remain as these speckles. Often, knowing if the mushroom has "veil remnants" can be a helpful tool in identifying a mushroom with your field guide. Not every mushroom has a veil, or will have leftover pieces of their veil!
There are a variety of ways to identify various mushroom families and genus. One of my favorite little groups of mushrooms are Boletes, mainly due to their dumpy, rotund, and often quite colorful appearances. They often grow around the base of a Pin Oak we explore, so it has been great fun getting to know them even more.
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