For this week’s environmental
biology assignment, we were told by our professor to find a little spot of
nature and, carefully, sit in it to observe the nature around you for at least
20 minutes. She continued to tell us to be safe, and namely, not to sit in a
dark forest alone.
So! For this assignment I
took my studies to my former hometown… well kind of… Basically, I went and
found some dark forest at the bottom of the San Bernardino Mountains and sat
there alone to study nature in its best… Or so I thought…
As I arrived on this cold,
cold, cold night, I discovered that nature is very peaceful at night, and also
very hard to observe. After awhile, all I could hear was the sound of the wind
and frogs in the background, and all I could see was dirt, exposed rock, trees, and small herbs and shrubs. Due to limited vision and cold temperatures, I decided to pack up my show and come back later on in the week, just as I did.
At a second attempt to
observe nature in the mountains, I arrived at the same location, just a few
hours before dark. This time I observed both more biotic and abiotic factors,
both from nature and from humans. As I walked down to the location where I
would sit, I could hear the song of birds chirping and singing in the
background, it sounded as if these birds were both up high on top of trees, and
on the ground. As I walked near my destination, I observed some very small
birds diving into shrubs and twigs, which led me to believe that resource
portioning has taken its course. Thereby allowing different species of birds to
use different parts of the same resources so they can coexist.
I then observed two rabbits
in the far distance running away, so I thought that wherever they ran off to
might be a good place to sit to observe nature. As I walked over I observed
some type of trail left by two different types of animals, one appearing to be a deer, and the other a possible rabbit or coyote (I’m obviously not an animal detective). This is where I decided to sit. From this point on I observed many things, both created from humans and nature. For example, I saw cans, fences, a cone (don’t ask), wire, a telephone pole, an airplane overhead, and some oddly large piles of some type of destroyed brush and trees.
 |
| Old Fence |
 |
| Wired Fence |
 |
| Pollution |
 |
| mysterious piles of cut up wildlife |
In the end, the biotic things I saw and heard were:
1. Frogs
2. Trees
3. Plants/Weeds
4. Birds
5. Rabbits
6. A worm
7. Moss
Abiotic:
1. Wind
2. Dirt
3. Rocks
4. Mountains
5. Telephone Pole
6. Airplane
7. Litter
8. A fence
9. Barbed Wire
10. Dead Leafs and Twigs
11. A Cone
In conclusion, the most interesting part of this assignment was observing nature and how both biotic and abiotic factors affect one another. Most prominently, I found it intriguing how biotic organisms reside with one another, and how their adaptations allow them to extract the same resources as other species, but in different ways, such as the aforementioned birds. All in all, I think I'll be spending a lot more time in the nature.... Just not at night....
In conclusion, the most interesting part of this assignment was observing nature and how both biotic and abiotic factors affect one another. Most prominently, I found it intriguing how biotic organisms reside with one another, and how their adaptations allow them to extract the same resources as other species, but in different ways, such as the aforementioned birds. All in all, I think I'll be spending a lot more time in the nature.... Just not at night....
