cunninc's Journal

Today I walked at Bare Pond. The weather was slightly muggy, sunny and in the high 50s. There was no water in the pond itself (which is what makes it a vernal pool, I suppose). While walking around, I noticed that the most clearly visible plants were trees, naturally, mostly deciduous, which means the majority of the organisms I was observing were angiosperms. I noticed that mosses (nonvascular plants) thrived on the bases of trees and on rocks, and generally in damper places where water might run down. I had difficulty finding any vascular seedless plants (ferns) at the start of my walk, but as I walked down in elevation I noticed some patches of brown shriveled up ferns and when arrived at a small brook there were actually some ferns still well and alive. This made me think about our conversation about water in class and the challenges plants face when living out of or further from water.

Today I went for a walk in the Houghton Gardens and in the Hammond Pond Reservation. The weather was overcast, about 56F, and misting. I was surprised at first by the amount of fungi I saw when I started looking. At first I could pick out one or two, but the more I looked, the more astounded I was by all the different types of fungi I was seeing. So far in class this week we're talking about microbes, not fungi, but a similarity I found between them is their role in "hidden" biodiversity, i.e, biodiversity that is not readily visible. What I typically think of when I think of biodiversity is a visible array of different organisms, but in reality invisible microbes and innocuous fungi are equally indicative of biodiversity. Even on a single log, I could find 3 or more different types of visible mushrooms and other fungi, along with a plethora of fungi that I can't see, I'm sure, which speaks to the alpha diversity present in a very small area. Traveling through the reservation led me to think about the beta diversity between where I started my walk and where I ended. Perhaps it was just me looking more closely to the end of my walk, but I asked myself if closer to the pond there could exist different species of fungi due to the differences in ground moisture between there and slightly higher elevation as water generally flows towards this watershed. One thing I learned when trying to identify the various fungi I observed is to take pictures both as close as possible and from various angles, as the underside, stem, and cap are often vital to distinguishing between mushrooms.

I walked by the Chestnut Hill Resevoir today, and went to some of the woodland that lies between the resevoir and Chestnut Hill Drive. I was somewhat surprised that even in an area that is very dominated by humans, with a very small habitat for any wildlife, that I found at least 3 different bird species (possibly more) just walking around. I observed bluejays, what appeared to be some sort of sparrow, and the downy woodpecker (which I was able to get a picture of, albeit not very high quality). The weather was slightly overcast, and about 60F.