09 de mayo de 2012

Fungi

Today we had the pleasure of learning from the knowledgeable Joe Ammirati. He first taught us about some basic mushroom biology. He taught us about biotrophs and decomposers and their roles in the ecosystem. Then we left the classroom and took a short tour of campus in search of fungi. We encountered Oyster mushrooms, Artist conk, Turkey tail, Inky caps, Schizophylum, and lots of Agrocybes. Like all of the natural history excursions this quarter I found myself overwhelmed with new information, but again really enjoyed it. I look forward learning more from Joe in class Thursday and again later with our group. He is a great resource and I plan on taking a Mycology class with him in the future.

Publicado el mayo 9, 2012 04:24 MAÑANA por dd214r6 dd214r6 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

27 de abril de 2012

Burke Museum

Today was filled with natural history stories, no field work, but lots of interesting ecological and evolutionary stories. The focus was on birds, specifically reproduction, competition and death. We talked about the difficulty of determining the age ratio of adults to juveniles in the field. We talked about the importance of museum collections because of their ability to compare a wider range of data as well as their record keeping ability to compare past populations.

We also discussed some interesting information in regards to bird size and sex. Specifically, the interesting and somewhat scandalous behavior of birds like the Jacana. Another devious bird species we learned about was the Brown-headed Cowbird (Molothrus ater). Its funny how the more I learn about different species, the more confused I get at the same time. I wonder if current our understanding of different species behavior is completely accurate, or if in fact something entirely different is in fact the cause. Either way, the behavior itself is fascinating to explore. I also feel sadness learning these new things as I know that so many fascinating species are in decline or already gone.

I certainly gained a greater appreciation for the dedication of facilities like the Burke museum and the great resource that they truly are.

Publicado el abril 27, 2012 07:04 MAÑANA por dd214r6 dd214r6 | 0 comentarios | Deja un comentario

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