Peter Mountain mallow

Kingdom:	(unranked):	(unranked):	(unranked):	Order:	Family:	Genus:	Species:
Plantae	Angiosperms	Eudicots	Rosids	Malvales	Malvaceae	Iliamna	I. corei

Peters Mountain mallow, or Iliamna corei, is a type of flower which can be found on the rare plants list as one of the most endangered species in the United States. Peters Mountain mallow can only  be found in Peters mountain, in Giles County, VA, and it is given the name by where it is located.

As a mallow, Peters Mountain mallow is almost the same as the usual mallow, especially Iliamna remota, another endangered mallow found in Langham Island, Illinois, but scientists still consider them differently since they are genetically varied. A Peters Mountain mallow flower has five pinkish white petal, 15-20 of which can be bloomed for each individual plant.  

Peters Mountain mallow was discovered in 1927, when they found only 50 plants in the region. The number has decreased to 3 in 1992 due to different sorts of threats including other plants who either shrink the living space or block it from getting nutritions, and damages from animals like deers and goats. Also, it takes a Peters Mountain mallow seed six years to grow to bloom, which makes it extremely har to reproduce themselves.

However, as Peters Mountain mallow was categorized as an endangered species, people start to protect this rare plants. They preserved the seeds from the flower, an even set up fence to keep Peters Mountain mallow from animal attacks. It must be maintained in a good condition now.

I feel surprised having read that there was such a special rare flower in Virginia. If people can know the endangered species more, the biologists might pay more attention to protect more species since people cares about them. Peters mountain is a lucky plant that it was at least got preserved when it only had 3 of the plant in the mountain space. Biological diversity will, for sure, keep the natrue in a beautiful way.

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/anlist2016.pdf

http://www.fws.gov/northeast/EcologicalServices/pdf/endangered/Peters%20Mountain%20Mallow%205YR.pdf

http://explorer.natureserve.org/servlet/NatureServe?searchSpeciesUid=ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.155689

http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/natural-heritage/document/fsicorei.pdf

Beech tree In February

It was a cold day in the late February, different from an April dog day afternoon. I can still remember that the snow has already melted when we got the Thaiss Park at that time, however, there were a huge pile of snow that is hard enough to stand on the top. Everything seemed as dead as hell in before spring so that I wrote poem themed desolation. I appreciate Nathan for his enthusiasm in such a cold weather, but in general the nature was waiting for the new green passively.
If the scene was not clear, we can talk about it more specifically. There were trees in the Thaiss Park, a considerable number of them, with no green leaves at all. The winter were so mean that broadleaf deciduous trees can't maintain the accomplishment in the spring and the summer. For instance, the beech trees, Fagus Grandifolia, one of the most common trees in the east of Northern America, has leaves like this:

However, in late February, the Beech tree leaves looks like this:

The leaves are totally dried-up.

The branches were so brave that they didn't just throw the old leaves away, but instead the leaves were still be attached to the tree to show the loyalty. They are American Beech trees. Unlike those in Asia or Europe, leaves were the most significant difference. Human would not logged down the Beech trees in the park for the wood material, which means keeping alive was the only thing they should do.

I didn't recognize that tree anymore, even in April, when trees started to grow leaves for the following year, and squirrels appeared in the Thaiss Park. The old leaves would fall down, then becoming a element of soil. The park is as lively as a teenager now, decorated with various forms of greens. However,despite people coming to enjoy the new season, the park is still quiet.

The dead leaves on the Beech trees, along with the coldness and desolation, is the flip side of the thaiss park. The spring and the winter are both real, and they are dramatically close to each other.

http://www.fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/american_beech.htm

http://hort.ufl.edu/database/documents/pdf/tree_fact_sheets/faggraa.pdf

Thoreau Reflection: The Same Sun

We might try our lives by a thousand simple tests; as, for instance, that the same sun which ripens my beans illumines at once a system of earths like ours. If I had remembered this it would have presented some mistakes. This was not the light in which I hoed them. The stars are apexes of what wonderful triangles! What distant and different beings in the various mansions of the universe are contemplating the same one at the same moment! Nature and human life are as various as our several constitutions. Who shall say what prospect life offers to another? Could a greater miracle take place than for us to look through each other’s eyes for an instant? We should live in all the ages of the world in an hour; ay, in all the worlds of the ages.

Here, Thoreau reminds us of the simple wonders of nature, but also emphasizes the importance of empathy—an interesting comparison in relation to his theme of appreciating nature. Does Thoreau want to imply that empathy, “look[ing] through each other’s eyes,” is as important and natural as “the same sun that ripens [his] beans”? Surely, it must be. We should all strive to view the world with more care and love—this much Thoreau and I agree on. Perhaps, then, some of our environmental issues would be solved—would you destroy a forest you truly understood? Would you have to, therefore, destroy any understanding of it you may have in order to destroy it? I believe so. If we all strive to know and love each other and our surroundings, we may find ourselves enlightened and in love.

Let’s all try to care a little more.

Signing off,
—Rebecca

Spot Poem

I walk down the black path going to my spot. I see a squirrel run away from me and scurries up a tree.I cut through the dead grass to get to the steep side of the creek so i can jump to my spot. I jump down from the dead grass landing onto the wet sand. My hands are now sandy and there are hand prints in the sand. I walk over to the spot that i always sit at. The tide is a bit high this time so i sit up the bank. I look into the water and its quite clear. I see a leaf floating down the stream and a minnow follow the leaf. I want to go catch the minnow but its 30 degrees and i would freeze to death. I can still hear the cars on the road so that distracts me from the birds talking to each other. I look at the time and its 3:55 so I pop up and run back to campus making prints in the sand.

Callophrys hesseli (Hessel’s Hairstreak)

Kingdom: Animalia (Animals)

Phylum: Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum: Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class: Insecta (Insects)

Order: Lepidoptera (Butterflies and Moths)

Family: Lycaenidae (Blues, Coppers, Hairstreaks, Harvesters)

Genus: Callophrys

Species: hesseli (Hessel’s Hairstreak)

Callophrys hesseli, also known as Hessel’s Hairstreak, is a rare and possibly endangered butterfly found on the eastern seaboard of the US, with an estimated population count between 21 and 300. Because its environment of choice (bogs and swamps with white cedar trees) is fairly niche, Callophrys hesseli is very rare. Although they are not found on the IUCN Red List, NatureServe lists them as having a Rounded Global Status of G3, meaning it’s vulnerable. Although logging has thinned out the possible habitats for Callophrys hesseli, recolonization is a possibility (as long as logging is done in moderation)—bigger threats are the development of new settlements/neighborhoods and the spraying of biocides. Callophrys hesseli’s unique brown and green coloring makes it particularly well-suited to camouflage. We, as humans, can reconnect to Callophrys hesseli by going out to our local bogs and hiding in bushes for hours on end, peering into our binoculars and straining our eyes in a hopefully fruitful effort to defeat Callophrys hesseli’s perfect camouflage. No programs are underway to help restore and protect Callophrys hesseli that I’m currently aware of.

Further reading at

• The Atlas of Rare Butterflies, Skippers, Moths, Dragonflies & Damselflies of Virginia
• Butterfliesandmoths.org
• Bug Guide
• iNaturalist
• NatureServe
• ITIS

Virginia Big-Eared Bat

The Virginia big-eared bat, corynorhinus townsendii virginianus, is a species native to Virginia, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky, and North Carolina.  These bats have soft, brown fur, and their ears are about half the length of their entire bodies.  Virginia big-eared bats usually live in caves, and often stay in the same habitat year-round.  In 1979, the Virginia big-eared bat was added to the list of endangered species after the decline of their population was noticed.  Around the time, the population of these bats was estimated to be around 2,500-3,000.  The Virginia big-eared bats are sensitive to disturbances of their habitats, and it is thought that the decline in their population is mainly due to human activities, such as spelunking in the caves in which the bats live.  Virginia big-eared bats can be affected by white nose syndrome; the fungus which causes white nose syndrome will grow on the bats' noses during their hibernation.  However, there have been no documented cases of this species of bats dying from white nose syndrome.  This is because these bats have developed a natural immunity to the fungus.

In an effort to help save the species, five caves in West Virginia, which were home to the Virginia big-eared bats, were closed off to human exploration and disturbance.  Additionally, a more recent attempt at protecting the Virginia big-eared bats was to find caves in which these bats live by using infrared sensors, which do not disturb the bats nearly as much as if a human were to look through the caves.  Caves that are found to be home to Virginia big-eared bats are often closed off, or will have signs put around them explaining that the caves should not be disturbed.  By the year 2009, the population of these bats had increased by about 75%.

Kirtland's Warbler

Kirtland’s Warbler, scientific name Setophaga kirtlandii is  a small grey and yellow bird native to the area around the great lakes. In the winter, they migrate through much of the US east coast on their way to the Bahamas. They lay 4-5 eggs at a time, which the female incubates for fourteen days, and the young usually stay with their parents for 9-10, once hatched.

It is classified as endangered, and was nearly extinct until the 1990’s, with a population of only ~200 singing males. There are many reasons for this, with the two most prominent being their exacting nesting requirements and cowbird parasitism.

Kirtland’s Warblers require jack pines for nesting. They nest on the ground near young jack pines that are 5-20 feet tall and 6-22 years old. These two factors, height and age, have been found to be crucial for Kirtland’s Warbler’s nesting, though the reason for this is unknown. For a pair of Kirtland’s Warblers to nest, they require at least eight acres of young jack pine surrounding them, and 30-40 acres may be required for raising young.

Kirtland’s Warbler also fall victim to cowbird parasitism. The brown headed cowbird, who wouldn’t naturally be found in the same areas as Kirtland’s Warblers, is a brood parasite. That means that, rather than raising their young, they leave their own eggs in the nests of other birds. Brown headed cowbird hatch before and are larger than most songbirds, so they often push the others out of the nest. Brown headed cowbirds have been able to reach the jack pines forests in Michigan because of the large amount of logging that occurred there, thinning the forests greatly.

There is currently a recovery plan for Kirtland’s warbler, the aptly named Kirtland’s Warbler Recovery Plan. This plan has five main objectives: to develop and maintain 36,000 to 40,000 square acres for nesting by rotation cutting 140,000 square acres of jack pines, protecting warblers along their migration routes, reducing the main factors harming Kirtland’s warblers, monitoring breeding patterns to evaluate their response to habitat changes, and develop emergency measures to prevent extinction.

Kirtland’s Warblers aren’t the only species that need a large amount of space. Many other organisms are also evolved to live in the deep woods, and are unable to transition into other habitats. Habitat fragmentation, discontinuities in an organism’s environment, threaten not only Kirtland’s Warbler, but many other species we take for granted today.

Sources:

http://www.fws.gov/midwest/endangered/birds/Kirtland/kiwafctsht.html

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10370_12145_12202-32591--,00.html

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Dendroica_kirtlandii_-Michigan,_USA_-male-8_(5).jpg

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/81/122281-004-F3C2E75B.jpg