Hiding in the Open

Field Observations:

Today I went out to the Lowland forest in order to gather four new species to identify and for some relaxation.  Heading into the lowland forests allows me to find a place of relaxation, a place where I can sit and enjoy the sounds of nature.  All around me I could hear birds singing, animals running through the treetops and the leaves of the forest rustling in the wind.  It was a great day to observe the forest, sunny and in the seventies with a breeze rolling through the woods.  Today, sunlight was reaching further to the forest floor, emphasizing different aspects of the woods.  Immediately I noticed just how dark the soil was, from all the decaying organic matter and the moisture.  I also noticed that the soil was a bit dryer than last week, it was still moist, but in some areas it had begun to dry a little. 


As I walked a bit longer, I happened to look up towards a tree and saw something that I wasn't expecting.  When I looked up, I saw a willow that had grown almost horizontal to the ground, making an arch and up on the tree was an adult groundhog.  The ground hog was taking advantage of the sunshine as well, it was laying on the tree taking a nap.  I was able to get close enough to the ground hog to take a few pictures of him, but as I approached he awoke and eventually ran back to his den.  It was neat to see a ground hog, almost every week I am able to spot a different animal in the lowland forest.  In addition, to being able to see animals, I saw a Ruby Medowhawk which was the first dragonfly that I've seen in the lowland forest. 

New Species:

Buttonbush

(Cephalanthus occidentalis)

The buttonbush is a multi-stem shrub that can grow around six feet to twelve feet and sometimes even taller.  The leaves of the buttonbush grow in pairs or in whorls of three; the blade is up to eight inches long, ovate, pointed tip with a rounded base.  The leaves also are dark green, having smooth edges, a glossy upper surface and the lower surface is dull.  The flowers are small, dense, spherical clusters and are long lasting, usually white or a pale pink in color.  There are subsequent rounded masses of nutlets that persist through the winter.  The branches grow in a twisted form, as a small tree like shrub with many branches.  This plant gets its name from the flowers that look like small buttons.  The buttonbush grows very well in wet soil, along wetlands, temporary wetlands and lowlands; this is why it is found in the lowland forest.   

  

Cephalanthus occidentalis. (2012, December 7). In Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from http://www.wildflower.org/plants/result.php?id_plant=CEOC2

Sycamore

(Platanus occidentalis)

The sycamore tree is a common tree in Indiana, one of the largest in the eastern deciduous forest.  It is also referred to as American sycamore and the buttonball tree.  It is a fast growing, long lived tree that grows well in lowland forests.  The leaves are palmate, with three or five lobes; the edges of the leaves are wavy and serrated.  The top of the leaf is bright green and the underside is a pale green.  They also have long petioles.  The trees have large, strait trunks with pealing bark and spreading crooked branches, creating a wide crown.  The bark is smooth, whitish and peels off in large flakes; it looks splotchy where the bark has peeled off.  Another identifying mark is that the twigs looked zig zagged.  The sycamore is found in forests that are along edge of streams, lakes and pond, they enjoy wet soil and this is why it is found in the lowland forest.  It commonly grows in groups with silver maple, red maple, and black willow. 

Wells, O. O., & Schmidtling, R. C. (n.d.). Sycamore. In Platanus occidentalis L.. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from http://www.na.fs.fed.us/pubs/silvics_manual/volume_2/platanus/occidentalis.htm

Ruby Meadowhawk

Genus: Sympetrum
Species: rubicundulum

The ruby meadowhawk’s range is from the Great Plains to Maine and it is commonly found around Merry
Lea. The head of the dragonfly is yellow/brown, the thorax is deep red to brown, the abdomen is red to brown as well, and the wings are veined. Their hunting strategy is known as, “sit and wait” approach to hunting; they sit on plants and then dart out to catch insects. This strategy allows for much less energy required while hunting. This dragonfly will use the sun’s rays of light to warm themselves and often bask on the ground out in the open. The adults will die when winter hits and the newly hatched nymphs are able to survive the cold winter under water. The preferred habit for the ruby meadowhawk is wetlands and lowland areas; this is why I was able to find this in the lowland forest.

Hartzell, T. (n.d.). Ruby Meadowhawk Dragonfly. In Natural History of Northern Indiana. Retrieved July 27, 2014, from https://naturalhistoryofnorthernindiana.wikispaces.com/Ruby+Meadowhawk+Dragonfly+-+Tom+Hartzell+(Group+KLT)

Groundhog
(Marmota monax)

Order: Rodentia

Family: Sciuridae

The groundhog is also referred to as a woodchuck; it has course fur that is brown to yellow brown, with gray or yellow tipped guard hairs.  The feet of a groundhog are dark brown to black.  It also has a stocky, low compact body with a broad head and a short bushy tail; the ears are small, rounded and inconspicuous.  After birth and being weaned from the mother, they will mature at eight weeks of age and able to live life on their own.  It doesn't fully reach adult size until about two years of age.  The groundhog is a diurnal forager that feeds mostly on grasses, green plants and leaves; at sometimes it will feed on invertebrates.  It lives in burrows that they make themselves; they can be deep in the ground and can have several entrances for safety.  The main entrance of its burrow has a mound of excavated soil that serves as an area where the groundhog can bask in the sun and keep watch for predators.  The average lifespan is around five to six years.  Predators include: fox, coyote, eagles, hawks and owls.  The groundhog is commonly found along ecotones, along rivers and lowlands, this is why I was able to find it in a tree near its burrow at the edge of the lowland forest. 

The University of Georgia. (2008). Woodchuck. In Georgia Museum of Natural History. Retrieved July 28, 2014, from http://naturalhistory.uga.edu/~
GMNH/gawildlife/index.php?page=
speciespages/species_page&key=mmonax

Ecotones:

“An ecotone is a transitional area between two different ecosystems, such as a forest and a grassland (Graves 2010)."  When observing the ecotones surrounding the lowland forest, I am able to notice a few

Diffused Ecotone

Convoluted Ecotone

different ecotones. The first one I notice is due to a man-made structure, a driveway. It abruptly ends the lowland forest and creates a distinct edge. This is where there are several more plants present, due to sunlight and these are ones that are not easily found in the forest. I would consider this ecotone to be a diffused ecotone, because of how abruptly it ends. Another ecotone that I notice is the area where the lowland forest transitions to a drier area with less lowland species of trees and eventually to a meadow. The meadow is maintained by cutting the grass and not allowing it to grow naturally. The forest shifts form having a wet, decaying organic floor to a much more dry soil and leaves that are crunchy. It then transitions to more of a meadow. I would consider this to be a convoluted ecotone because it is not a smooth transiton with bushes and large plants to the meadow.  It goes from trees and then almost directly into the grasses and flowers. This is the area where I was able to view the Ruby meadowhawk . I was able to see the groundhog along the ecotone caused by the drive way, its burrow was only a few feet from the road.

Graves, R. (2010, May 24). Ecotone. In Ecology Theory. Retrieved July 28, 2014, from http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152345/

Creative Piece:

My favorite poem was written by Robert Frost, “The Road Not Taken.” When I looked down this lane I thought of that poem, where the lane is the easy path, the wide path that all visitors can take when exploring Merry Lea property. But I am taking the narrow path, the one that not many take, off the beaten trail. You could take the beaten path and see some beauty, animals, insects, and plants, but on the path less taken you see the true beauty of God’s creation.

The Road Not Taken

By: Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.