Week 7 Journal

5/28/14

3:00 PM

65 Degrees F

Partly Cloudy

Week 7 Journal

This week the site seems to have grown exponentially in terms of the giant horsetails and skunk cabbage. The horsetails themselves are at about 4.5 feet now. I heard a few more birds this week compared to last week. Specifically the song sparrow as well as a number of crows that were eating some scraps of food left behind by visitors. 

The brown creeper nest I found two weeks ago was still in the tree bark, however I did not see it or evidence of offspring so I'm assuming it left for another nest. 

Like last week, I was able to find many bugs, especially millipedes and mosquitos because of all the moisture on the ground. In the thickest parts of the horsetails the ground is complete mud. 

Gray squirrels were everywhere around the site and chasing each other around trees which I've heard is a mating ritual of sorts. In any case, it is funny to observe.

Fungi and Lichen

On this tree I was able to find two different species of lichen. The more prevalent free/yellow species appears to be of the crustose variety while the light gray species in the small patch is a foliose. It is interesting how two species can live in such close proximity to each other.

This fungus enjoyed the benefits of a fallen nurse log as it grew out of its rotten exterior. This species had long slender gills beneath the caps and produced a greyish spore.

This species of fungus was very rigid and stubborn when it came to prying it from the log. The spores produced were black when tapped out. There wasn't much as far as gills went, and this species really had no stem.

I found a fruticose lichen in a ball laying at the base of a tree. There was more attached high up as well. The majority of the mass was green with some brown and gray portions as well.

This fungus was very stubborn when it came to its attachment to the tree. No spores were produces from its hard, thick body when prompted. It appeared to be feeding on the heartwood of the tree. I wonder if it was negatively affecting its host.

Lastly, a lichen that greatly resembles a head of lettuce. Of the foliose variety, it was fairly flexible and had deep dimples in the surface of the leaves. The hue of green changed in different locations on the lichen. I'm wondering if this was due to sunlight exposure.