As humans spread invasive species around and alter fire regimes, we change the basic functioning of single keystone species, which ultimately radiates to other species. With whitebark pines declining from 40%-90% throughout their range, these high elevation regions are drastically being transformed. Grizzly bears depend on these fatty pine nuts to get them through the harshest winter months when little else is available. As these tree populations decrease, the fight for survival intensifies. It is time we all think about plant conservation and our role as humans in protecting these truly wild places. I’m here to remind you, and remind myself, that the struggle for survival in Yellowstone is ramping up, and that the decimation of one species radiates throughout the food web, which increases competition, which unfortunately increases the rates of human-bear conflicts.
Read moreLecture 16: Trophic dynamics in Eastern mixed forests
In today's lecture, I'm going to describe trophic dynamics using examples from Eastern mixed forests. Depending on the ecosystem, bottom, middle, and/or top trophic levels may influence the species living in a specific place and actually structure the ecosystem. Changing the abundances of organisms with strong structuring power relays to changing trophic dynamics. As I hike around Allegany state park, I'll go over examples I find in greater detail. Together, we'll look at these patterns and hopefully be able to better understand forest ecology from the perspective of the forest floor.
Read moreFungi Friday; Turbinellus floccosus, the wooly chanterelle
This fungus was an awesome find last weekend in the Catskills! Although the wooly chanterelle is considered toxic here in America, it is widely consumed in Mexico. In this weeks edition of Fungi Friday, I postulate two different theories that help describe its geophysical duality.
Read moreFungi Friday-Golden Spindles emerging from the forest floor!
Kickstart your weekend by learning a bit about a really cool coral fungus!
Read more