Burning Up In San Bernardino

Posted on June 15, 2015 by Carlene Gallant

I have finally arrived at the famous Sierra Nevada Mountain range. It has been a long 700 mile journey, with a wide variety of suffering and reward.

The Sierra Nevada mountains! — The San Bernardino mountains!

The desert has been thoroughly draining with it’s own set of mental and physical challenges.

I have hiked all night, and seen almost every sunset and sunrise in the pursuit of cooler hiking conditions. I have even hiked 30 miles in one day to reach the Sierra in good time! It comes as a huge relief to no longer be carrying 6+ liters of water at a time.

The San Bernardino Mountain range that lies behind me is home to several snow capped peaks, but in between lie miles of extremely dry desert. This area of California has been host to numerous and devastating wildfires on an annual basis. These fires are fanned by the Diablo and Santa Ana winds which causes the state billions of dollars every year in damages.Throughout my hike, I have had to take two detours because of wildfire danger, and hiked through several areas that were previously burned. The landscape created by these burn zones is completely alien looking, but stunning in its own way. Often in the sub-alpine areas at high elevation, there are towering dead trees that are twisted and charred from heat.

These areas aren’t always left lifeless for long, many other plants seize the opportunity to colonize these bare areas that have nutrient-rich soil from ash deposits. One infamous plant that follows fires is called poodle dog bush (Eriodictyon parryi). This has also caused detours on the trail because it secretes a nasty skin irritant. Despite the danger, it has a beautiful flower, and many of the other burn-following plant life have vibrant and fragrant blossoms…such a welcome change from my hiker stench!

Poodle Dog Bush plants in the Sierra Nevada mountains — Poodle Dog Bush plants in the San Bernardino mountains

I can now rest easy as I begin the Sierra, I will have plenty of water and less danger of fire. Soon I’ll be swimming in mountain lakes every day, what an amazing and variable planet!

Until my next update, enjoy the great outdoors!

-Dragonfly

A beautiful sunset after a long day of hiking — A beautiful sunrise to start a long day of hiking

Aquatic Invertebrate Identifications

Posted on June 12, 2015June 15, 2015 by Kareina D'Souza

Did you know that more than 95% of described animal’s species are invertebrates? We’re talking about 95% of the world’s animals not having a backbone! Owing to their huge numbers, invertebrates are a vital part of both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. They are important links in the food chain, passing nutrients from plants and algae to larger organisms such as fish, frogs, salamanders, reptiles, birds and mammals. They also tell us about the quality of the environment due to their sensitivity to factors such as sediment load, pollutants, pH and more.

In order to know what invertebrates are telling us, we need to be able to accurately identify them. One way to identify specimens is by using morphological features. This summer I will be using morphology in order to sort and identify aquatic invertebrates that were collected during last year’s BIObus trip. As I’ve learnt over the last several weeks, this is no easy task because aquatic invertebrates are extremely diverse. Aquatic invertebrates may live beneath the water, or they may live on the surface or on the plants surrounding it. Some breathe water, others breathe air. They may be able to walk, swim, float, skate, fly or glide on their bellies—or they might not move at all. On top of that, a large number of insects lead double lives. Dragonflies, mayflies, stoneflies, caddisflies, dobsonflies and more are aquatic as juveniles. Then, when they undergo their final molt, they leave the water and become winged adults that fly in the air. Other aquatic invertebrates remain aquatic their whole lives. Water boatmen, predaceous diving beetles, whirligig beetles, water striders, fishing spiders and others spend all their days hunting in and around water.

Essentially, the point I’m trying to get at is that there are a lot of animals that need to be identified, and it would take an expert to have them all memorized. Since I’m not an expert, I rely on an identification key. There are several different types of identification keys, but the one I’ve been using is similar to this one.

A simple aquatic invertebrate identification key that can be used in order to identify specimens using morphological features. Credit: goo.gl/XKVp92

This type of key uses a fixed sequence of identification steps, each with multiple alternatives, the choice of which determines the next step. For example, if I have this specimen:

Crayfish can be found at many of the sampling locations we will be visiting this summer.

I would say that it has no shell, it has legs, it has 10+ legs, and it is lobster-like which leads us to the identification of crayfish.

An example of how to use an identification key, using a crayfish as the specimen. Credit: goo.gl/XKVp92

We use keys similar to this one at BIO in order identify specimens accurately and quickly. This skill is called taxonomic identification, and we use it in combination with DNA barcoding. Many people believe that in order to identify a specimen, one must choose between taxonomy and DNA barcoding. However, both techniques are used for two different purposes and are integrated for optimum efficiency. Taxonomy gives names to species, define their limits and the diagnostic characters to recognize them. DNA barcoding use genetic data to assign a name given by taxonomy to an unidentified organism. The two approaches used together will help us continue to identify species and expand our knowledge.

-Kareina

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