Interspecies Interaction

Marlyss Simmons shared a video with me which raises a question of what is "natural".  Certainly, we as humans have long ago left our state of "nature", sometime between when we picked up a rock as a tool and when we learned to plant crops and live communally around 9000 years ago.  Somewhere before that time, humans and canines were competing for the same food sources and became slowly codependent.  The story of canine development was outlined in this past   Natural History magazine article.
The more we associate with wildlife, the more their behavior toward us is modified.  My neighbor in Ravenwood chases "wild" deer out of her back yard garden, only to have them follow her back down the block.  Squirrels become emboldened after daily association with humans.
An even more interesting relationship is seen at times between various animal species which hang around us gregarious humans.  Marlyss sent this video which shows the spontaneous relationship between an orangutan and a stray hound dog.  The internet provides lots of examples including Noah the dove, a foster mother to baby bunnies.  Almost all of these stories have in common one thing- one or both animals having a longtime association with humans in a nurturing relationship.

First Armadilla of Spring

Merrill Dubach has reported the first armadillo of spring.  Unlike the ground hog this probably has no meteorologic meaning.  They have been increasing in numbers over recent years, slowly expanding out of their usual Texas territory because of a decrease in serious predators.  There was however a time when man became a preditor and then a armadillo farmer.

It all started when young Charles Apelt, a German basket weaver, moved to Texas in 1887.  By chance he saw and killed an armadillo and noticed its curved shape would make a good basket. He attached the head to its tail, making a nice handle.  After making a few baskets, his novelty item became more popular.
Soon he recruited neighboring farmers and had a growing industry.  In the 1920s,  at least six separate suppliers in Texas making silk lined sewing baskets from the shell of an armadillo.
The business grew through the 1940's with ads in magazines and newsreels.  The business survived his death in 1944 and the family later began raising armadillos commercially.  The business finally closed down in 1971.  The whole story is available at this web site.

Before you start to chase dreams of riches, a few words of caution.  Dillas tend to have a lower body temperature than most other mammals and are carriers of leprosy.  There have been a few documented cases of transmission to humans, probably by scratches, bites or biting them back (i.e. eating them).  We are probably advised to leave them alone.
These "Texas speedbumps" get that nickname from their unfortunate habit of jumping straight up when scared.  This probably served them well when escaping a predator, but is a liability when a car tries to avoid hitting one with the wheels by passing directly over them.  You can read more from Missouri Conservationist online or download a booklet from MDC for the pros and cons of getting rid of them.

Winter is for the Birds

Birdwatching in February?   Try it from your window.  The Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) is an event for all with no training required.  In case you missed the News-Leader article today (available here), the GBBC collects data for Audubon and Cornell Lab of Ornithology which helps scientists understand the effects of conservation and environmental change.
"From novice bird watchers to experts, everyone is invited to participate in the free event by dedicating as little as 15 minutes (or as long as they wish) on one or more of the four days to count birds, record their sightings (on a standardized checklist) and then report them to GBBC officials.
For a more hands-on introduction — with instruction and guidance from members of local Audubon society chapters — folks around the region can show up at scheduled GBBC events at the Springfield Conservation Nature Center (9AM-11AM Friday and Saturday morning); Lake Springfield (9AM-11AM Sunday and Monday morning); and the Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center in Joplin (all day Saturday)."
All the details and the on-line reporting is at this site, Birdcount.org.

Killdeer

For those who didn't see the February 4th News-Leader, there was an article by MDC's own Francis Skalicky on the killdeer (Charadrius vociferus).   It is a member of the plover family which has forsaken the  normal wetland habitat for a life on the prairie.  The name is perfect for its call is definitely vociferus with its shrill, penetrating "kill-deer" heard day and night.  Check out this MDC clip.
They lay their eggs on exposed gravel, including roads and rooftops apparently assuming that no self-respecting predator would look there.  As you can imagine, this strategy was developed before cars and tall buildings came about.  Allaboutbirds.org describes the leap of faith required to follow the parents urging, including one instance of a set of chicks surviving the drop from a seven story building.
I can recall the first time I saw a killdeer.  It put on its dramatic act, flopping around on the road with one wing apparently broken, an ancient dance similar to those seen in clubs today.  I followed after it as it lead me away from where its chicks must have been.  Then suddenly, convinced it had fooled me, it flew off.  Although anatomically impossible, I would swear it had a big grin on its bill.  If you have never seen the act, there are videos on on the web including this Youtube clip.
Francis Skalicky's weekly column never fails to enlighten.  The whole story is at this News-Leader site.

Jewelweeds Help Each Other

Some plants are known to reduce their uptake of nutrients when growing close to others of their species, helping the other plant to thrive.  Now our common jewelweed (Impatiens pallida) has been found to do the same thing above ground.  A study from McMaster University in Ontario reports that its usually short leafy stalks are present when growing close to other species.  When growing close to other jewelweed, "it grows taller stalks with fewer leaves, thus sharing the sunlight".  The story is reported in this months Smithsonian Magazine.

This is just another fascinating aspect of this common Missouri flower.  Also known as the pale touch-me-not
Impatiens pallida is distinguished from its cousin Impatiens capensis pictured below by its pale yellow flowers and the spur that points downward at right angle to the flower. 

Jewelweed frequently is found growing close to stinging nettle in low moist woods, thickets and along streams.  Their close proximity may be how Native Americans discovered that the jewelweed juice soothes the burning skin caused by coming in contact with the stinging nettle's hairs.  
Many cultures felt that plants with medicinal properties grow next to toxic plants. The gumbolimbo tree whose sap is used to treat sunburn as well as the poison ivy-like burning from contact with its neighboring black poison wood tree.  In Belize, the gumbolimbo tree is also called the tourist tree as it has a red trunk with thin white strips of bark that look like a sunburned tourist.  You have to love a tree named gumbolimbo.
A more entertaining characteristic of jewelweed is found in the seed pod.  When ripe, they seem to literally explode as the pod springs open, throwing the seeds out several feet. More details about this plant with pictures of the seed pods can be found on this page of  Missouriplants.com.

Red-eared Slider

We are all familiar with the ability of some species of chameleons to change their coloration to match their background or their mood.  Alas, the poor turtle has to hope that its carapace color matches its habitat's color- or does it?  Research has recently demonstrated their ability to change their melanization, similar to chameleons and squid, although being turtles, this is slower like everything else done at a turtle pace.

John W. Rowe and colleagues from Alma College in Michigan,used gravid female midland painted turtles and red-eared sliders from the wild in a study of coloration.They collected eggs and then kept half the hatchlings in control groups on either black or white substrate, for 160 days.  The other groups were kept on either black or white substrates for 80 days, then switched to the other color substrate.  They measured the color changes on the carapace and head of the animals with a spectrometer.
After 80 days, the colors were the same in the control and study groups.  After 160 days, the controls had their same color while the study groups who had moved to the opposite color substrate were changing color to match their latest background.  More details are covered in Natural History magazine.
 Red-eared sliders are a common turtle found all over Missouri.  They tend to live in muddy bottoms of ponds and rivers and are less common in our gravel based Ozark streams.  They have a tendency to develop progressive darkening (melanism) when they grow old, covering both the yellow stripes on the carapace and their red ears.
If you are of my generation- which few are- you will recall when you could buy a small plastic turtle island with a baby red-eared slider at Woolworth's Five and Dime.  (Have I lost some of you yet?)  You would raise them on turtle food, clean the island when Mom insisted, and hopefully remember to put them back on their island.  Fortunately for the turtles, the discovery that they could carry and transmit Salmonella led to outlawing their sale.
There are still come companies breeding them for sale in Europe and Asia.  Just like pot-bellied pigs, when they get bigger and no longer cute, they are released in the wild where they are able to out-compete native species.  This may sound somewhat familiar if you think of kudzu, thistle, and the English sparrow.  It is interesting to think that our red-eared slider is now an invasive species on other continents!

Sharks in Missouri?

Just when I thought that the only danger in Bull Creek was drowning (or hypothermia presently), a friend gave me something else to worry about- sharks!  Although our stream teams are unlikely to run into them, bull sharks can come up the Mississippi north of St. Louis.
A past story in National Geographic that was new to me describes these salt water creatures that can live in fresh water as well.  They have been found in the Ganges, Lake Nicaragua, and 2,500 miles up the Amazon.
A map showing their worldwide range is on Wikipedia.  These are not true freshwater sharks but migrate to and from the ocean.  These sharks have been tagged in Lake Nicaragua and caught in the ocean and visa versa.  Like salmon, they are able to jump up the rapids of the San Juan river which connects the lake with the Caribbean.
They are able to live with a 50% dilution of their normal concentrated salt and mineral blood levels.  In fresh water they are said to produce 20 times as much urine as when in salt water.  (Catheterizing a shark might be an interesting occupation ready for "Dirty Jobs".)
There is much more to the story in the resources above.  Meanwhile, don't worry about them when wading our streams (much).