Journal 1: Getting to Know Ravenna Park

My Experience in Nature

As a molecular biologist, I have always been interested in nature on a smaller scale. I find it fascinating to be able to understand the connection between an organism’s genetics and structure and function. I was not as interested observing nature on a larger scale, such as studying ecosystems or natural history, until I had the opportunity to study abroad in New Zealand. Being able to learn from many people who were experts in different fields, such as professors, Park Rangers, tour guides, and native people, I learned a lot about the conservation efforts, native species, and indigenous knowledge of the country.

Conservation

When New Zealand was colonized in the 1800s many species were introduced that wreaked havoc on the native ecosystem. I found it very interesting to learn how most native birds of New Zealand evolved to flightless because a lack of natural predators! When species such as possums and stoats were introduced by British colonizers, they found the flightless birds to be easy prey and decimated populations of native birds, such as the national bird, the kiwi. Although I had already understood how human behavior can affect ecosystems, I was inspired to learn more about how human behavior has affected the environment of my home in Seattle and the Pacific Northwest, and how to minimize harm humans cause on the environment.

Native Species

I was able to go on a field trip to Goat Island as a part of my Biology of Fish class and get a closer look at the native fish there and how their structure has evolved to be optimized for the their specific diet. We were able to examine fish that had been caught in the area and their jaw structure and gut contents to see visually how their jaw structure and gills evolved to be functional for their specific diet. Although marine biology is not my primary of interest, that was my first experience doing hands on field work for any biology class I had taken and it got me interested in being able to observe biology in practice, rather than just theoretically or on a molecular level.

Indigenous knowledge

Visiting many National Parks and talking to Park Rangers and tour guides, I learned about how the different species I was seeing were used by the indigenous people of New Zealand, the Maori. I also learned how landscapes were taking care of by indigenous people, and how they were misused and neglected when New Zealand was colonized. Through this experience I came to understand that a lot of thing I have learned in my biology class were known by indigenous people far before any white men discovered them. I became interested in taking classes that centered indigenous knowledge rather than erasing it.

 

Exploring My Site

I began my observations at 11:45am in Ravenna Park on October 13^th, where it was sunny with gusts of wind and 61°. For having lived about a five minute walk away from Ravenna Park for two years of my time at UW, I have only visited on time, so I look forward to become more acquainted with the park and the species here. The spot I chose to observe was along Ravenna Creek.

My observation site at the 50 square meter scale.

The ground was entirely covered in leaves. There were many boulders and fallen longs with moss, fungi, and more growing on them strewn about the area. There were many different types of trees and shrubs all at different life stages. Small insects were buzzing lazily around the edge of the creek, and water bugs darted across the creek’s surface.

Water striders darting across the surface of the pond. They were difficult to photograph as they blended into the water, so I attempted to sketch them. They had four legs that rested on the surface of the water, a pair of antennae, and a slim dark brown body.

The creek babbled softly, while occasional gusts of wind whistled through the forest. The wind blew leaves off trees and snapped branches and twigs off trees and shrubs. It had rained the day prior, so everything was wet, the ground, moss on the trees, logs, and boulders. The dirt on the ground and moss felt soft beneath my feet. The smell of fresh fallen rain and dirt was in the air.

Of the many species I observed, I was able to identify a fungi and several types of trees and shrubs. The fungi was Mycena purpureofusca, common name purple edge bonnet, a very small mushroom growing out of moss on a tree log. This fungi was which was a darker brown at the pointed top of the mushroom and got lighter near the bottom of the cap. I was also able to identify Acer pseudoplatanus, or Sycamore Maple. These trees had large green leaves with five lobes, and the ones I identified appeared to be younger because they were smaller and lower to the ground. Additionally, there were many birch trees, Betula papyrifera. These were the tallest growing thing in the area I was observing and curiously had no leaves and few branches at lower levels, and only grew leaves near the top of the tree where it was exposed to the most sunlight. As a biologist, this really intrigued me to consider what caused this tree to evolve to grow leaves in this pattern and why it might be favorable for this tree to only grow leaves near the top.

Birch trees with little leaves or branches at lower level and the leaves growing higher up the tree. It had very light colored bark with darker brown spots, almost in a camouflage like pattern. The leaves are green, medium sized (around 3 inches), and edge has ridges.

For my smaller observation area I chose a site also along the creek with a fallen moss covered log.

My one square meter observation site.

There appeared to be several species of moss but I was unable to identify them. One type was very thin and wispy and a darker green color, while the second one was a bit larger and looked like leaves of a Cypress tree and appeared to have a more fuzzy texture. There was small white bugs that moved slowly, and a large insect that looked like a bee. However instead of striped it was black with yellow dots and did appear to have a stinger. It was lingering around the bottom of the fallen log.

Although there were many species I was not yet able to identify, I really enjoyed getting to spend some time outdoors and getting to know the place I've lived my whole life a little bit better. I'm looking forward to seeing how my site changes throughout the quarter!