Reef Madness

Last week we explored the dynamic barrier islands, a great place for wildlife and a popular vacation destination. This week, we venture beyond the island into the coral reefs just offshore. As an avowed landlubber, I'll probably never get to see a coral reef for myself, but I'll live vicariously through myself telling you all about them.

Coral reef (Smithsonian)

Coral reefs are hard, rocky structures made of the skeletal remains of what was once living coral. Corals are a marine animal, not a plant, and the best-known form a symbiotic relationship with algae. Because algae needs sunlight for photosynthesis, many coral reefs are found in clear, shallow water. Cold water corals that live in the deep sea. Without sunlight, these organisms filter feed plankton. Because of their inaccessibility, we are still learning about them.

Coral polyps (NPS)

The most popular corals are the shallow ones, because they are relatively easy to reach. Scuba diving, snorkeling, and even glass bottomed boats bring humans right to the biological hot spots. People are drawn to coral, not just because of the beauty of the coral itself, but the amazing biodiversity found within the reef. Fishes, crustaceans, sponges, anemones, and countless other sea creatures call the reef home. The coral structure provides hiding places for mobile critters and anchorages for sessile ones. Hiding places benefit predator and prey alike- they provide somewhere to hide from bigger fish, or place to launch a quick strike at an unsuspecting meal.

Coral reef (NPS)

Cold water corals provide the same habitat and ecosystem, and may be even more important than their shallower counterparts. Most sea life can be found near the coast and relatively shallow. Corals in the deep sea for a sort of island in an area that is otherwise mostly devoid of life.

Deep sea cold water coral (Joint Nature Conservation Committee)

Like just about every ecosystem in the world, coral reefs are in trouble. Coral is dying as sea temperatures and carbonic acid levels rise. The algae component of the coral either dies or evacuates in a process known as coral bleaching. Some corals show some resistance to slightly warmer temperatures. Research into this is continuing. If you ever get a chance to explore coral reefs, either by boat or underwater, remember to look but don't touch.
This week's information comes from NOAA and the Smithsonian Institute.

Summer Vacation Guide

Spring just started, but it's not too early to start thinking about summer vacation. National parks have figured into vacation plans ever since the invention of national parks. They are great places to see amazing scenery- and crowds, or have a chance encounter with wildlife- and crowds. Here are a few lesser-known parks with fewer visitors. Just be careful getting there- some are very remote with little or no road access, which always makes for a better adventure.
By taking these roads less travelled, you'll get to experience more than the stereotypical majestic mountains and sweeping desert vistas. Our national parks have so much to offer!
Kobuk Valley National Park, Alaska

Great Kobuk Sand Dunes

Surrounded by mountains, this park is home to a vast caribou herd and extensive sand dunes. Yes, sand dunes North of the Arctic Circle! The sand is the result of glaciers grinding the mountains down. Also found in the park is the boreal treeline, where forest yields to tundra. Be prepared to fly in; there are no roads leading to Kobuk Valley and no services, either.

Tundra fire

National Park of American Samoa, American Samoa

Tutuila Rainforest

This is America's only national park south of the Equator. Full of white sandy beaches and coral reefs, it's a rare ecosystem in the park service holdings. The mountains and rainforests host fruit bats and several species of virds, including a beautiful blue kingfisher. Aside from natural splendor, you can also learn about traditional Samoan culture. Travelling there can be expensive, as American Samoa can only be reached by a long flight or a long ship voyage.

Pola Islands

Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota

North Woods winter

This northern Minnesota park is a kayaker's dream. About 40% of the park is water. This system of interconnected lakes, streams, and wetlands was named after the voyageurs, or four traders, who used this area to transport their wares from the interior to civilization on the Great Lakes. Today, the park preserves water quality, ancient rock formations, boreal and hardwood forests, and endangered species like wolves. While not as remote as Alaska and American Samoa, it's a long drive from the Twin Cities and getting around without a boat of some sort is limited.

Loons on a lake

Great Sand Dunes National Park, Colorado

Sand dunes with Sangre de Cristo Mountains

Off the beaten path in the Rockies, but not too far off, this park features alpine tundra, subalpine meadows, wetlands, forests, mountain streams, lakes, and of course sand. Such a diverse landscape attracts an equally diverse array of flora and fauna. Thousand year old trees share the park with prairie grasses, wildflowers, and scrub sage. Animal life ranges from dung beetles to horned toads to pronghorn, elk, and bear. There is only one road in, but it's an easy drive from Pueblo.

Elk with snowy sand

Wind Cave National Park, South Dakota

Cave boxwork

If you're looking for a good time above or below ground, Wind Cave is the place for you. Upstairs is a convergence of short and tall grass prairies and forest, right on the edge of the Black Hills. Downstairs is one of the world's longest cave systems. Sacred as the birthplace of the Sioux Indians in their origin stories, the cave gets its name from the wind blowing in or out of the small natural opening. Wind direction changes based on barometric pressure and is a good indicator of weather. While rare formations like boxwork can be found in the cave, rare animals like bison and black-footed ferrets are found above. This park is also easy to reach, about an hour south of Rapid City.

Prairie and forest

This week's information and all pictures comes from the National Park Service. Great Sand Dunes pictures come from their Flickr page.

Animal Attraction

People are more like animals than we like to admit sometimes. Rather, we tend to believe that animals can be so human sometimes. One area where the lines between humans and animals can become blurred is that of courtship rituals and relationships. This Valentine’s Day let’s look at “love” in the animal world. Hopefully our finned, feathered, and furred friends don’t feel as awkward as we do.

Many times, in the animal world it is the female who chooses a mate. Males might compete with each other not by fighting, but other means. Bowerbirds build little houses with decorated yards to impress females. Prairie chickens and sage grouse gather in a lek, where the males display for the females. South American birds called manakins show like an 80s break dance fight from a movie. It reminds me of teenage boys trying to upstage each other to get a girl’s attention.

In other species, brute strength carries the day for males eager to win mating rights. Large mammals like elk and bison have a dominant male who controls a harem of females, unless a younger and stronger challenger is able to put him out to pasture. This behavior reminds me of countless schoolyard and lunchroom fights over a girl.

Once these critters become an item, how long does their relationship last? It depends on the critter, just like with us. Some species are monogamous pairs, some are promiscuous males, and some are promiscuous females. For those that have a hard time getting around, like corals and clams, it’s free love. Look around at our own society and you’ll see the same scenarios, though not always for the same reasons.

In promiscuous relationships it is the female who raises the young with no paternal help in most cases. The bison and elk, where a male controls a harem, are male promiscuous. He will mate with as many of the females as he can. His goal is to have as many offspring as possible, while the female’s goal is ensure that her offspring have the best chance of survival. Surely the strongest and most fit of the males has the genes that offer better odds.

Sometimes it is the female who gets around. Several species of primates and birds practice this. The female hopes for better reproductive success by keeping her options open. It may also have the advantage that comes with several males all believing the offspring are theirs. Since the male’s goal is to have as many offspring as possible, the uncertainty will make sure they are looking out for any that are potentially theirs.

Everyone’s favorite relationship is monogamy. A pair mates for life and we think it’s so sweet. It’s almost like they’re married. This behavior is seen in bald eagles and gray wolves, for example. In this situation, both parents care for the young. In most cases, the pair nest together year-round. Not so for the Laysan albatross like Wisdom, who we met a few weeks ago. While she has a monogamous partner, they spend most of the year apart, coming together only for the breeding season. Once they chicks fledge the nest, they all go their separate ways. Wisdom and her mate will see each other again next year.

The messiest mating strategy is dispersal. Wind pollenating plants (think of pine trees) use this method, as do many sea creatures. Some environmental cue triggers corals, clams, and other sessile critters to release sperm and egg cells simultaneously. The sea becomes a soupy mess as the currents mix everything together. The pinnacle of group sex, critters who have never met or even seen each other become proud parents of children drifting off to parts unknown.

Every species is adapted to whatever mating and parenting style works best to ensure the next generation will survive. A general rule of thumb: fewer offspring get more intense parenting, while more offspring get little to no parental care. Either way, parents are playing the percentages to make sure they win the mating game.

 This week's information comes from Nature Education and the Washington Post.

Everglades Ecosystems

This week and next we’re taking a look at the largest subtropical wilderness in America, the Everglades. What we now know as Everglades National Park is just a fraction of the original Everglades, and unfortunately, almost daily it becomes a larger percentage of what of remains today. While what remains is an incredibly diverse variety of habitats, each with their own plants and animals, it is not without its challenges. We’ll explore what’s so special about this place as well as what’s going wrong there.

In its former glory, the Everglades was a huge watershed. Water flowed south from areas north of Lake Okeechobee and drained to the east, west, and south. Some of the water flowed east and west into the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, respectively, through traditional rivers and streams. Some water flowed out through the slow-moving “River of Grass”, as the Everglades became known as. Where the water goes and how much gets there determines the many different ecosystems.

Many other factors go into building an ecosystem, including geology and climate. To me, what gives an ecosystem its character is its plant life. The Everglades has quite the cast of characters, with grasses inhabiting the freshwater sloughs and marl and coastal prairies. Marl prairie is grassland of thin soil formed on top of limestone bedrock. The soil is high in calcite and the bedrock may be exposed in some areas. Rainwater becomes acidic as it dissolves plant material, and even a weak acid can easily dissolve limestone. The bedrock here is very porous. Marl prairies drain slowly.

Marl prairie (Florida Museum of Natural History)

Freshwater sloughs are main arteries for water flowing to the sea. The water moves very slowly and is very grassy. The sloughs are dotted with “islands” of trees and are bounded by the higher and drier marl prairies.

Freshwater slough (NPS)

Mangrove forests line the channels and rivers in the coastal and estuarine areas of the Everglades. Mangroves buffer the coast from storms, collect sediment to form new land, and harbor a vast array of birds, reptiles, mammals, and fishes. See my earlier blog post for more details.

Mangroves (NPS)

Hardwood hammocks are dense wooded areas on slight rises. Temperate and tropical tree species mingle here, and because the surrounding lowlands are either wet or not land at all, fire rarely reaches here. The dense canopy creates a dark and humid environment where ferns thrive.

Hardwood hammock (NPS)

Pine rocklands form on high ground around exposed limestone bedrock. These forests are less dense than hardwood hammocks. Fire keeps the understory open and hardwoods at bay.

Pine rockland (NPS)

Marine areas of Everglades National Park also have plant communities. Seagrasses stabilize the bottom, trap sediments, provide a nursery for fishes, and feed underwater herbivores. Lobsters, crabs, shrimp, corals, and sponges are also found offshore.

Florida Bay marine habitat (NPS)

Next week we'll look more at the plants and animals of the Everglades, as well as challenges the region faces. Information and photos this week come from the National Park Service.

Keystone Species

Ever come home at the end of a long week at work, wondering how the place could function without you? It might feel like you’re the only one holding it all together, like a keystone. This week we’ll take a look at the keystone that holds an ecosystem together- keystone species. Without the keystone species, the ecosystem would collapse, or at least be severely altered.

Examples of keystone species are the gray wolf, limber pine, and sea otters. We’ll take a quick return trip to the lava fields of Idaho, then the kelp forests of the Pacific coast to see how limber pines and sea otters are the keystones of their neighborhoods. We learned about the gray wolf and the good work they do at Yellowstone back in September here.

The limber pine is one of the few trees I saw growing at Idaho’s Craters of the Moon National Monument and Preserve. Back in September I spotlighted Craters of the Moon in “Volcanic Idaho”. In that blog post, I mentioned the diverse ecosystem found there. Much of it centers around the limber pine. Limber pine is a pioneer, one of the first to colonize an area following a disturbance, such as a volcanic eruption in Idaho. Its seeds, needles, and sap feed a multitude of mammals, insects, and birds. Without the limber pine, those critters would have to live elsewhere in Idaho, maybe even Utah or Wyoming.

Limber pine at Craters of the Moon

Off the Pacific coast, one of the most important marine habitats is the kelp forest. The kelp hosts many species of fish, somewhat resembling a coral reef (sans coral, of course). The kelp also absorbs storm surge and carbon dioxide. However, kelp tastes delicious, at least according to sea urchins. Lucky for the kelp, sea otters think sea urchins are delicious. Without the otters keeping the urchins in check, the kelp forest becomes an undersea clear cut. Local biodiversity plummets.

River otters (Marine Mammal Commission)

Kelp forest with and without sea otters (Sea Otters.com)

This week's information comes from Great Ecology's blog on limber pines and Sea Otters.com