%%USERNAME%%    %%ACCWORDS%% %%ONOFF%% |
 |
When we encounter an animal or the outdoors, there's best practices that get ignored, stop |
|
This is going to be a blog. It covers things I've learned about outdoor exploration, ecology, best practices hiking, responsible pet ownership, etc. It is also my intent to call out the crap the human race tends to do when we encounter Nature. Yes that 'N' is supposed to be capitalized, because everything from our national and state parks to our animals is included in that word. Some people might call what I write here controversial bull crap. It's what I've learned as a biology major(back when), exploring, and being a life long reader about all things related to the natural world. |
| So this is my last entry. I want to talk about what I know about the Food Web. Most of us know about photosynthesis and the things at the top eat the things at the bottom. But it's not exactly that simple. The truth is there are many bottoms to the food web. Every thing else relies on some form of life that derives its energy and building blocks from some inorganic form. With that in mind I'm going to explain a few definitions. Yes this is boring but it needs to be out of the way so what comes next is clearer. Autotrophs don't eat other living things. This doesn't make them saints, it's just how they get by. To survive, they need to get stuff to make energy. There are two main types of autotrophs. Chemo-autotrophs derive both their energy and nutrients from inorganic substances such as rocks, iron, sulphur or some other element. These types of organisms tend to be microscopic and are common around deep sea vents. In fact they are believed the basis for the ecosystem in the Marianas Trench. Photo-autotrophs take light to make energy and gain nutrients from the soil. Pretty straightforward. This survival mode is used by cyanobacteria, algae(trust me not the same thing), plants and lichens.(I'll explain why they're not exactly autotrophs later.) So anyways these organisms just sit around happily doing their thing until something limits their growth...or they get eaten. See living ecosystems have a limit. Unlike the old version of SimEarth, you can't sit with a field full of daisies and have their population grow forever. Eventually they run out of nutrients. When an organism dies and decomposes those nutrients return to the soil. But there's always one nutrient that gets scarce. That is called a limiting nutrient you can only have as many "daisies" as there is sufficient amount of that substance to go around. If that amount is exceeded, individuals begin dying off until the population reaches equilibrium. Remember that because it comes up everywhere in the Food Web. So populations of autotrophs are the basis of the food chain. No other forms of life can exist without them. Why didn't life just stay all autotrophs? We're not sure, but somebody once said "Nature abhors a vacuum." Therefore, since there's something to exploit, something else comes along to fill that niche. In a way this is good because that means two things. Not all the limited resources get turned into dead plants. That and if life hadn't gone beyond autotrophs, you wouldn't be reading this.(unless you're some weird, alien plant thingy with the equivalent of eyeballs and a brain. Thats unlikely though.) Two more definitions here, heterotrophs and saprovores. Both equally important. Heterotrophs gain energy and nutrients from eating other living things. Rabbits are heterotrophs; so are wolves, humans and a lot of unicellular and multicellular things. Including lichen. (believe me there's a huge reveal as to why I keep doing that. For those who already know, SHH! Don't spoil the surprise!) Saprovores are a type of heterotroph that subsists on waste products and death. Without them we would be up worse than a poo river without a paddle. Everything dies and secretes waste. What happens to it? The answer is some microbe, fungi, insect, bird or other organism has to eat it. Gross but without them, the nutrients wouldn't cycle back through so they're vital too. (All you living things who will eventually expire, the daisies and saprovores thank you for your sacrifice.) For anybody who made it past the scatological and death talk, we're gonna start piecing this together. The things that feed on the base of the food web are herbivores. The bunnies, deer, sea urchins and anything that doesn't eat animal flesh. Which is fine, but if it's just herbivores that's where we hit another bump. Again we rub against limiting factors. For example if we have rabbits, just rabbits and plants, eventually there won't be any edible plants left in the area. The bunnies die a slow death from starvation.(Assuming there's enough water to go around.) Arrgh! That's a horrific idea, or at least it should be. So again Nature, like the anti-hero it is, rescues the population of bunnies from starvation...by having a predator eating some. There are even predators that eat other predators. These are called apex predators. But do you know what's neat about this? Predators are part of a healthy eco system. By keeping the herbivores from devouring all the plants they keep the ecosystem they exist in healthy. When predators die, their remains are broken down by saprovores. Providing nutrients to grow plants to feed bunnies!(The circle of life completes...and cue that song from The Lion King!) Robust ecosystems are not only pretty but help humans survive and stay sane.(see my entry on the importance of plants for why we need these. Oh yeah did I mention that, by and large, humans are omnivores? So having things to eat is just kinda a big deal.) Hey, look at that! It's all connected. Almost like a giant web. Obviously this is a simple model with only "daisies", bunnies and wolves. In reality, there are thousands of species all competing for their piece of the web. The point I'm trying to make here is that everything depends on everything else. If one piece of the web, whether it's an autotroph, herbivore or predator, were to fail, it would have huge consequences for the rest of that ecosystem...and us.(Humans are not above this, we are a part of this web of life.) Now for the ultimate reveal...what about lichens? Why did I include them crossed out in both heterotrophs and autotrophs? Because they're both. See a lichen isn't ever one organism. They have a photosynthetic algae or bacterium that lives in the moisture trapped by a heterotrophic organism, a fungus. In a way a lichen, by being symbiotic, is like the larger ecosystems. The microbe is dependent on the fungus for shelter and protection, the fungus in turn gets to eat some of the sugar produced by the microbe. Can these two organisms live without each other? Nope! Without their partner, the individual organism would die. See? Even the bits we don't look at are connected. |
| I know this isn't exactly what I promised in the entry before last. I feel like, since I'm planning on wrapping things up in a couple of entries, I ought to combine a couple of topics. Today I will be writing from experience and stuff I've learned and stored in my noggin. If it's wrong, well I apologize, there are plenty of ways to either verify or refute what I'm writing. So if you don't agree, keep it for yourself and do your own homework. There. I've had my rant. Moving on. A lot of people like to visit National Parks and Wilderness Areas for hiking, fishing, camping and other reasons. These are fun and I won't condemn people for doing so. I will however cringe at some of the stupid, dangerous, disrespectful, things I've heard of people doing. Stay On The Established Trail All National Parks, State Parks, and Wilderness areas have maintained trail systems. They want you to stay on them for a reason. It's not political, it's not irrelevant, the rule exists to protect visitors and the nature they've come to observe. While I was working in Shenandoah National Park, I knew of some people who broke this simple rule and ended up in a bad situation because of it. One foggy fall day, a boy went up to Black Rock, a geological feature near the historic Big Meadows Lodge. He was taking pictures and managed to fall off a small cliff. A few hours later he was reported missing. He had to spend all night out in the woods with a search party looking. This incident could've been avoided if he'd stayed on the trail. (Well that and he should have waited for better weather.) Thankfully, he survived but it still probably wasn't a good night. Another example of why you should always stick to the trail is from my own life. Yes, I'm a hypocrite, but I will never do this again. I was in college and had gone hiking with some people up to this area called The Wind Caves, in Logan Canyon, Utah. The trail was extremely steep and it was getting dark. Two people who thought they knew the area decided we should take a "shortcut". Without waiting for anyone else, they started off and quickly left the rest of our group. All us had followed them in the direction indicated. We ended up stranded on a cliff top with a thin ledge between us and the path down. What happens when you have a bunch of twenty somethings and a rock ledge? No flashlights, no safety equipment, no experience, we climbed across. I was terrified and out of shape. We could have been badly injured or killed. Even if you don't care about the living beings on the side of the path. Or think about the historic landmarks that may be present, you should still stay on the trail. Don't Feed or Touch The Wild Life I really can't stress this enough. We have moved on from subsistence culture of hunters and gatherers. (If you have a permit to hunt, fish, are a wildlife biologist or game warden, fine, that's your business.) Therefore there is no good excuse to get close enough to touch a live wild animal. Purposefully getting close to a wild animal when it's not your job is dangerous. You could be bit, trampled, gored, catch a disease or even killed. It's not worth it for a photo op, a dare or any other reason. A good rule of thumb is to keep at least ten feet between you and anything larger than a sparrow. If it's a predator like a wolf, bear or bobcat, try to keep a minimum of fifty yards between you and said animal.(this should probably extend to large ungulates such as deer, elk, and moose. They can be very dangerous close up.) Nature lovers seem to adore things with wings or tiny fluffy animals.(and bigger things) Some of the starry eyed idealists might think they're doing a favor by sharing tasty snacks with these native creatures...they're not. See a lot of the food we eat has been cooked or processed in some way.(this is not a nutrition blog so please let's leave that for somewhere else.) This makes for a lot of readily available "nutrients" for these creature's microbiome.(e.g. the bacteria on their teeth and in their guts) If an animal eats human food as part of their diet, it can lead to dental problems, obesity and digestive problems. As mentioned before, animals can't always digest the same things humans do. So that's another reason not to share food with wild life. Another worse case scenario is that the animal expects people to feed it. That can get to be a nuisance or dangerous. I will give you some examples. Wildwood, New Jersey is home to the world's longest Boardwalk. Every year this stretch of shops, restaurants and planks is full of tourists and seagulls. It's a fun place...until a seagull steals your food. Why do they do this? Because some, thoughtless fool threw them a couple of fries because it's no big deal right? Nope! By throwing them food, the seagulls learn that they're entitled to it. If people don't give, seagulls swoop in and grab. It's gotten so bad, some open dining venues have put up deterrents to keep avian thieves at bay. Demanding animals don't end there. My mom told me the story of how when she was a little girl, she decided to share a bag of potato chips with a deer that wandered by her family's camp site. The deer loved the crunchy salty snack...but it ran out. My mom, was still holding the bag and the deer started pawing at her. Since she was a small child, this could have ended worse. Before her dad managed to chase off the deer, it managed to injure my mom badly. It's probably fortunate that she hadn't been trying to feed a bear or an alligator. That has the potential to turn lethal. Leave Nature Where You Find It and As It Was Unless you have the permission and training to take samples, it is generally not okay to take anything you find in a National Park.(In fact, in the US, it is considered a felony to remove any rock, animal, plant or artifact you find. Even where mushroom hunting and berry gathering are permitted, strict guidelines are in place to conserve numbers to help animal populations survive.) While I cannot speak about State and local parks and beaches, always call ahead to see what regulations are in place. In general your best option is to leave the plants and other things alone. I don't care how cool that indigenous arrowhead is, do not pick it up. By removing the artifact you destroy the context and anthropologic value of such discovery. Leave that thing there. All plants play a role in their environment; this is not your garden or back yard, don't yank 'em or take 'em. Rocks provide shelter and habitat to both flora and fauna, leave them there! Even decaying logs are habitat, they were here before, give these ecosystems respect. That goes for any microbes, fungi or animals found in the wild as well. Right, beat that one to death. Moving on. Nature Is Not Your Trash Can and Poop Responsibly Yeah this shouldn't need to be said again. But the "great outdoors" is not your trashcan or ashtray. Also if you have to "answer the call" and there is no facilities, make sure to dispose of your waste responsibly. At the risk of sounding like Leviticus, don't poop near a water source and bury it deep so the rain doesn't wash your germs into the river, lake or stream. (Also, this should be common sense, don't poop near where food is being made. Make sure to use and have a sanitation kit, to clean up yourself, using leaves is not a good solution in fact it's dangerous.) Always Plan And Stay Together You should always know how long you'll be out on a hike or camping trip. That way you know what to take and you can let somebody know where you're going. When you do that you're less likely to end up being a headline like "Unidentified woman/man's Skeleton Found in [Some Area],Believed to Be [Insert Name], Had Been Missing For Weeks!" Also, especially in the mountains, weather conditions can change rapidly. One minute it's a bright warm day, the next you got a storm blitzing your butt with hail! Always make sure to dress in layers and have a change of clothes in a water proof pouch. Make sure to have a first aid kit on your expedition.(a small one works most of the time.) Take plenty of water. If you drink from a river, spring or lake, you run the risk of catching e.colli, Giardia or another infectious disease. Giardia and Amoebic dysentery are both life ruins you can't get rid of.(Antibiotics only work on bacteria. The parasites that cause both of those aren't, so they can be difficult if not impossible to treat.) Also there may be other contaminants and no matter how much treatment solutions and filters you run that water through, there are some contaminants you can't eliminate unless you have some government budget technology. So if you can, bring your own water. Filter and treat as a last result. The Bottom Line There's a lot here. I am pretty sure I've missed stuff like insect repellent and checking for ticks. Anyways, if you take nothing else from this just remember three things. Be prepared, the wilderness in general is not to be treated like your back yard, wild animals are not your pets so no food sharing. |
| So it's been over a week. Apologies for the late entry. I needed time to take care of some other things. So I can get back to being productive. Just so you know I'm still alive I do intend to come back but I feel a little too unwell to blog right now. Between the Amoxicillin I'm taking to make sure my dental procedure doesn't become septic and recently starting other healing processes I'm not 100% able to focus on making an entry. The only reason I'm making this update is to let anyone reading know that as soon as I am up to it, I'll be back by unpopular demand. |
View Portfolio
Visit Notebook
Send Gift Points
Awards
Badges
Send Email
Community Newsfeed
General Discussion
Sponsored Items
Book of Trinkets
Static Items
Books
Groups
Interactive Stories
Audio
Campfire Creatives
Community Notes
Crossword Puzzles
Documents
Folders
Images
In & Outs
Madlibs
Photo Albums
Polls
Product Reviews
Quizzes
Survey Forms
Web Pages
Word Searches
