Site: Behind my house in a wooded area
Date: 5-29-08
Time of day: 6:55 am
Temperature: 37 degrees
Weather Conditions: Sunny
Wind Conditions: Calm
Soil Conditions: moist
Notes: There is little physical change from yesterday in terms of weather and fauna. I looked into the reason why some of the trees seemed to have some kind of disease and found out that it was the fault of the Pine Beetles. The pine beetles dig little holes inside of the trees to build their homes. They lay there eggs in the bark so their young can be protected.This is called parasitism, where one organism benefits while the other organism is harmed. The beetles eventually end up killing the tree. When the pine beetles come, it is similar to an epidemic. This can kill off large numbers of trees in one area. Once a tree is infested, there is nothing anybody can do to save it. The young that come out of one hole can kill up to three trees the next year. Pine beetles can only be kept in check by having people quarantine the tree somewhere else. This is usually done by helicopter. Our land usually has three to four trees removed this way. I saw a coyote hunting for its prey a little distance off my land. Overall, I did not see that much during this observation.
1 comment:
Fantastic last two observations! Not only were you detailed in what you saw both in the plants and behaviors of the animals, but you explained the significance of these observations. In addition, your research on the pine beetle was extremely thorough and added great value to your observations!
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