Ella Harm
Journal #6
This Friday David Harper, who is in charge of the internship program, was absent due to being sick, so Brad started off our day with discussion in place of him.
This past week, history lost a huge contributor to science. Jane Goodall was an icon to everybody in the biological community. Even at age 91, she was still contributing in the name of science, so that more people are interested in changing the world.
As someone who is 22 and re reading Jane Goodall’s story, I now realize how crazy it was that she traveled across the sea to achieve her dreams. She followed through with her plans from the age 22 to 91, and still remains a strong female example for aspiring biologists. Her story inspires us to not be afraid of writing our own stories, no matter how unique.
After an hour and a half discussion about Jane Goodall, and other topics not too far from her, we separated so that we could focus on our research ideas. I chose to stay near the Learning Center. There are plenty of logs and snags to study nearby.
As I was getting started with my research, I realized that my topic was very similar to the cover board topic my classmate was doing. What was I really trying to study?
Originally I wanted to study the fungi and the plant growth nearby.But as I was going through I realized that most of the logs were in shady places and near a lot of other decomposing plant matter such as leaves. It’s also a simple lookup to figure out that decomposing plant matter helps fertilize the soil for more new growth. I think I was just hoping for some way to record the blooming wildflowers that are in the forest.
For each log that I visited.I wrote down diameter, length and assumed the level of decomposition. I then spent about 10 to 15 minutes at each log just sitting and watching the wildlife. I noticed a lot of Carpenter Ants at work. I saw plenty of Earthworms. There were a lot of Greyfoot Lancetooth Snails; Haptuchima conchobum. I also noticed deer poop nearby, evidence of large mammals a part of the ”Ecosystem” of the log. There were flies and mosquitoes flying around each decomposing species. Spider webs were inside the holes of the log and in between any bare space. In the second log I saw a large beetle, identified as the Horned Passalid.
So far there doesn’t seem to be too much diversity for each log as most of the species were the same and there were only about 3 species observed per log. What I did enjoy noticing was the moss and fungi coverage.The amount of fungi did seem to show a higher level of decomposition. However, it seemed odd to me that some stumps and logs that seem to have fallen from the same tree were either completely infested with fungi or not at all. The underside of each log appeared to have mold, such as what we would see on strawberries in our fridge. There were also some unique Basidioma heads. There was one type of mushroom that appeared to be a “mouldy” mushroom. Two times the level of mold.
Journal #5
This last Friday was a simple day at Southern 8ths. We went over the usual stuff in the beginning; game camera animals, stream height, etc.
I noted that there was a huge difference of temperature on our coldest day of the week, Monday Sep. 22nd, to the highest temperature, which was consistent around 90 degrees Fahrenheit every day other than Monday.
We discussed the multiple hurricanes that are approaching our coast. I am slowly learning about the patterns of fall in the East coast, specifically the Carolinas. It’s rather dry until a hurricane is approaching, then we get the predictable before and after effects of the storm. The humidity gets heavy, the air feels thick, and clouds roll in. And then it rains. We have been expecting rain for awhile, as the data that shows stream height downstream of Southern 8ths was steady at 6 feet, considerably lower than the past years.
With the mention of the two hurricanes, questions in the sense of “What do animals do before a storm/how have they adapted/can they sense it?” popped up.
The answer to this was actually similar to what I was expecting, I just wasn’t confident enough to officially say it out loud in front of the group. Especially because my reasoning may have been a bit off base.
In my microbiology class, we were learning about the different conditions that affect the types of microbes that live in a certain area. Temperature, pH, osmolarity, and pressure. As most land animals that may need to sense when a hurricane is approaching are larger than a prokaryote organism and tend to live at a similar state as us humans, pressure seemed like the obvious answer.
We humans can sense pressure changes also, but maybe not at the same survival level as birds or coyotes. The most obvious guess as to how animals sense pressure changes when a storm is approaching is through experience, and anatomy.
“I wonder if animals’ ears pop like ours when pressure changes?”
Birds have a unique ear bone though, and other mammals also have considerably different anatomical makeup than us humans, so I will assume the answer is no. But sensing the change in pressure helps animals prepare for storms .
Journal #4
Friday was a great end to a long week. I find that, while sometimes it is hard to be motivated to do one more thing after an extraneous school week, it is easy to lean into the nerdiness of nature.
To start off the day we always go through recent game camera news, rainfall, and temperature from the weekly logs. I was trying to find evidence of a good idea for something to study over the internship period during this time. I had some ideas, but none of them seemed reasonable within the time frame we are given to study.
Because of the lack of rainfall and the temperature rising before dropping to fall temps, I wrote down an idea to study how changing seasons affects native plants. Looking at it now, I see that the idea maybe wasn’t the most thought out, but it does offer new perspectives. Maybe I could study the years in the past compared to this one which seems particularly dry, or I could just survey the lack of rainfall’s effect on pond levels, and/or waterways. I could survey wildflowers in this area and study the conditions necessary for their flowering to occur. Or at a more zoomed out perspective, I could research about climate change’s effects on the relationship of temperature and flowering plants throughout the fall months.
I feel drawn to studying plants, plants’ effect on water, water quality, in general really just learning about plant’s chemical effects of these items for a healthy ecosystem. It’s fun to explore topics that I may want to pursue in the future.
Another note I wrote down was to study bobcats, however, I couldn’t come up with an actual thing to study about them. I think I am underdeveloped when it comes to observing and tracking large mammals, however, I would love to learn more. In California, it’s been my passion to study mountain lions and bring awareness to the public.
I wasn’t really set on any of these topics though. So, I stayed open minded and I kept asking questions.
After we did game camera highlights, we discussed the reading, listened to a new professor’s insect project, learned about the Autumn equinox, and navigated new resources to ID birds. We always learn a little bit about everything in the first hour of the workday.
Most of my field note observations are from our self-led walk through Muddy Branch stream.
This area is considered a part of the Wildlands of the Southern 8th’s property. Despite the efforts of the owners there is still some evidence of past human cultivation on the wild side of the property. However, the muddy branch stream was void of the rows of pines that still mark the fact that the wildlands used to be a tree farm. This area was full of deciduous trees and native shrubs. While there were a few invasives, such as the Ligustrum sinense and the Japanese Stilt Grass, there were plenty of beautifully large, native trees.
Journal #3
While there was a lot of uncertainty about whether the internship day would happen or if we would have more than one person, it was still a productive day. We started with the usual observations and discussion about what happened throughout the week in nature: Weather, stream gauge, wind, and game camera sightings.
It is really thought provoking to look back on the week from the nature point of view rather than the human point of view because they are two completely different weeks. While we were sitting in the Learning Center of Carolina Wildlands learning about the Blood Moon and lunar eclipse from last Sunday night, or the reason why the stream gauge was lower on average, I completely forgot that in the same week’s time we had some critical deadly events in the civilized version of the United States.
While reflecting, though, it was nice to think of natural historic events rather than the intense current events engulfing the US media. I would rather learn about why a Lunar eclipse always is paired with a solar eclipse than hear about the political debates behind people’s deaths in the corporate world. This time dedicated to the outdoors is a reminder that nature is consistently important and constantly beautiful.
Which brings me to my next topic. Nature is no longer as easy to maintain these days due to agricultural greed and forced land adaptations.
We talked about this topic quite often on Friday due to the complicated process and technology we use for the conservation of nature. Specifically, the process in stream and water sampling.
Nutrients and other important features of water, such as a correct pH and dissolved oxygen levels, have always been essential to a healthy environment. And as we have talked about, generations and past civilizations have been regulating the health of the land without technology for much longer than the current generation has with the now “essential” field tools and inventions.
Take a look at Native American cultures. In one of our recommended articles to read, we read about management practices such as fire burning from the perspective of a historical cowboy and trader who kept nature journals. Native Americans loved the land, and it showed in health and prosperity as they continued to grow their civilizations.
The European world-conquering mindset (that eventually sank in by the Industrial Revolution in the early 20th century) has slowly been destroying the environment for years. Forest plowing for farming grazing animals, building dams for water sources, running a turkey farm with runoff going directly into an integral waterway, or even the tree farms which have a fake forest ecosystem effect. As humans learn more about the world, the more they could destroy it for greed even in a molecular and unnatural way.
We used to not need to even know about what pH was. And now, all of a sudden… the streams and waterways are imbalanced or unhealthy in a way we shouldn’t even know about. But that is why we have test kits and probes in the field. We need to make sure and account for the human eutrophicatio and other impacts to stream ecosystems that occurs at all scientific levels now.
On another note, it was cool to hear about the positive ways humans use their brain to help the environment.
My favorite topic of the afternoon was listening to Dr. Davis Carter’s herpetology research study taking place at Southern 8ths. I specifically enjoyed discussing the thought processes and questions behind each choice in the process of natural observational study.
How can we truly study the environment? Especially without disrupting it.
Through unique and thought-out research in the living laboratory we can explore the little wonders of nature. Who knew Southern 8ths had the Chamberlain Dwarf Salamander, an animal only found in 3 US States, including North Carolina!
That was one of the fun facts that I talked about last Friday. Another mentionable fact learned during the herpetology talk was that salamander egg bundles (gelatin looking and typically clumped in water) have photosynthetic bacteria, Cyanobacteria, that provide nutrients during salamander growth. It’s also found in algae and phototrophic organisms, so it is neat to learn that it is also related to salamanders!
Overall, the afternoon of the internship was successful in growing my environmental knowledge. I learned how to properly test and collect water for sampling, which is something I would be interested in pursuing in the future. Water quality has a lot of impact on areas of the environment that I would like to study, especially at a microscopic level. Micro ecology is important.
And while it was a slow start, it was nice to focus on what really matters in the world. I just wish everyone was on board and that the civilized part of our world hadn’t strayed so far from Native American ways.
Journal #1
It was a beautiful day to learn about the environment that I will be studying and working in throughout the semester. Orientation intimidated me a little bit; I feel underdeveloped in my knowledge of the Carolinas ecosystems, animals, and watersheds. But ultimately, I know that this is a great time to seize every opportunity I can to learn through trial and error in a professional setting to continue to pursue the career I have dreamt about.
The people I am surrounded with for this opportunity have a contagious passion for the care and maintenance of the natural environment. Especially in an uniquely, but not typically beautiful region of the United States.
Know that it is only through people such as the other interns and Carolina Wildlands scientists/owners/managers that the environment we know, and love will survive for future generations.
We need to protect the wild environments in the world that so many people see capitalistic opportunity in rather than the need to protect what is depleting.
The more you learn about the inner workings of nature, the more obvious it is to see the sad decreases in diversity, animal populations, and native beauty.
After meeting everyone and going through orientation, the other interns and I were introduced to the wildlands. Starting with Thompson creek, we drove through the land. It was interesting to hear about the historical significance of the area, and the significance it has for many different types of people. From skydiving, to artists, to grieving family members, Carolina Wildlands is a beautiful place full of human/plant/animal connections. I loved how the owners of the land didn’t only want to display the nature but also display the history. The actions to do so are compassionate and inclusive.
The main staple of this environment was Thompson Creek.
I will be curious to learn about the types of organisms and creatures that utilize the creek’s resources and surrounding areas. Already we have heard about turtles, bobcats, deer (fawn as well), raccoons, and plenty more.
After our first stop of the introduction tour, I felt that I definitely wanted to study something related to Thompson creek.
I’m excited to be able to study the creek in relation to things I have learned in my college courses. From the deer who drink out of it to the microbes that live in it. Especially since there is potential contamination close by from the Turkey farm.
Most of the study ideas I have started to form are related to creek activity, so I am excited to pursue each idea and find one that may have the most impactful result.
