keythan's Journal

For this nature walk, I had a nice change of scenery as I was back home in Hawaii for thanksgiving. The weather outside was warm and sunny, at low 80's degree weather. This was completely different than weather back in Boston and it was very nice to take a nice stroll observing Hawaii's animal life. For this walk, I decided to travel into the valley behind my house. I started off the walk encountering a freshly dead cockroach on the side of the road as well as zebra dove which are extremely common in Hawaii. I eventually ran into a red fire ant hill and ended off in the inner valley running into a wild chicken and mongoose which was quite common in Hawaii and very common in the area and valley near my home. In the spirit of the insect theme of this nature walk, I recognized some similarities and differences between the two insects I encountered. Although the ant and cockroach are both arthropods and insects, there share key differences. Of course they have their shared similarities such as six legs, compound eyes, segmented bodies, etc. However, differences included the ants missing wings and having only one antenna while the roach had two. All in all, it was great to talk a walk in beautiful Hawaii and enjoy some scenery and wildlife. Additionally, I connected these two insects to class through the concepts of cooperation behavior in ants and deceitful communication as the cockroach might be special and have learned to play dead. In the end, the insects and animas in general were a great theme and the topics and concepts we covered in class such as diversity, body plan, traits, and ecology raced through my head the entire walk.

For over half an hour from 4:35 pm to 5:15 pm, I walked around Edmand's park on the Newton campus. The weather was quite chilly but the sky was clear. Additionally, the fall atmosphere felt and looked so nice especially because I'm from Hawaii where there are no seasons. Through the walk, I ended up seeing various plant life such as goldenrods, pines, northern lady fern, tree-skirt moss, and Norway maple tree. Throughout my walk, I made sure my observations matched the four main groups of plants. The goldenrod and Norway maple are both angiosperms. The pines are gymnosperms. The Northern Lady Fern is of the polypodiopsida group. Finally, the tree skirt moss falls under bryophyta. Overall, this nature walk was a great experience and I can't wait to do another one.

For about half an hour from 3:45 pm to 4:15 pm, I walked around the pine tree reserve. The weather was quite warm to the point where I was sweating just walking around. Although I always pass the reserve on the way to the plex, this was the first time I walked around. Through the walk, I ended up seeing various plant life such as burdocks, American burnweed, koyamaki, and the leopard Earthball fungi. In addition, I also encountered some animal life in the tree squirrels scampering around the reserve with their bushy tails. Moving to the focus of the nature walk, this was the first time I've seen brown colored fungi around the campus. Typically, fungi around BC are white and it was interesting to see the biodiversity of fungi stands strong. At first, I thought the earthballs were rocks because of their small and circular shape but a closer look was all I needed. Additionally, after looking around, I noticed a ton of leopard earthballs in a single area. However, throughout the rest of the walk, I didn't encounter another. This made me question the causes of fungi growth and how much this would affect beta diversity. In addition, what are the genetic similarities and differences of fungi and humans because I've heard of fungi growing in and on humans. In the end, this walk was a great experience and I can't wait to do this again soon.

For about half an hour from 2:45 pm to 3:15 pm, I walked around Edmand's park adjacent to Newton campus. The weather was slightly chilly with cloudy skies but it was wonderful weather to walk in. I know this because I came across many dog owners taking their daily stroll. Prior to this walk, I didn't know the park trails existed as I thought it was simply an unapproachable forest. Through the walk, I ended up seeing various plant life such as the pokeweed, conifers, and hackberry. I was drawn to them because they stood out through their color, texture, and rarity compared to the rest of the forest. In addition, I also encountered some animal life in the eastern chipmunk and supposed brown-headed thrush. Something that struck my eye during this walk was the abundance of chipmunks throughout the forest which reminded me of species evenness and relative abundance between the chipmunks and other wildlife. Eventually, I'd like to walk through another forest or park and compare the two different areas' beta diversity in terms of plants and especially chipmunks. In the end, this walk was a great experience and I can't wait to do this again soon.