adamremba's Journal

5 Observations:

Milk Thistle, California Polypody, Bermuda Buttercup, French Broom, Wild Oat

I found these all near Stanley Hall.

1. A plant with regular flowers
2. A plant with irregular flowers
3. A monocot
4. A dicot
5. A plant in the pea family (Fabaceae)
6. A Gymnosperm
7. A terrestrial plant that is not a seed plant
8. A plant with pinnate leaves
9. A plant with opposite leaves
10. A plant in the sunflower family (Asteraceae)

I have not been able to identify the plants of the photos I have taken, but in the plant descriptions I have selected, it says whether they fulfilled one of the ten requirements. I have tagged ten photos.

The five observations I had are two Brewer's Blackbirds, a California Poppy, and two unidentified species, which I believe to be a millipede and a slug. The reason I have two brewer's Blackbirds is because one is male and one is female -- I observed these in San Francisco. One definite spring observation is the California Poppy I observed. In the image, it is flowering and that is a typical characteristic of the Spring season. The two observations from today I had are the slug, which I had observed before and saw about five on my hike today, and the millipede, which I hadn't seen before. The hike was great since it stayed light, even though I was out till 6:15pm. I'm looking forward to more night springtime hikes.

Eucalyptus Tree and Ivy: The Ivy is living on the tree.

Honey Bee and Sage Plant: Honey Bee is pollinating the plant.

Eucalyptus Tree and Shield Lichen: Shield Lichen is living on the tree.

The five organisms I observed on this part of the hike were a Hummingbird, a Honey Bee, an orange lichen on a rock, a Grasshopper and a large green and white striped plant. The hummingbird was found closer to a place where there were many plants, I'm not sure if the hummingbird is typical in a chaparral environment. Regardless, the long beak it has helps it get nutrients from flowering plants. The Honey Bee is adapted to this environment because it gets its nutrients, like the hummingbird, from flowering plants. The orange lichen probably lives on the rock because it has a mutually beneficial relationship with it, but it is difficult to tell what it may be. The grasshopper is green and difficult to spot in the chaparral, but it thrives because it doesn't seem like there are many predators to stop it even though it is so small. Lastly, the green and white striped plant has large leaves because it doesn't get/need a lot of water most likely.

The five organisms I observed on my three hour hike through the Berkeley Hills and Claremont Regional preserve were a Slug, Rough Speckled Shield Lichen, Fox Squirrel, a fungi, and a white flowering plant. The slug lives in more wet environments or else it will dry up, which is why it lives under leaves and more shady places. The Rough Speckled Shield Lichen probably lives on the tree because it is mutually beneficial for both the tree and itself. Perhaps it gets nutrients from the tree which is how it survives. The fox squirrel has adapted to the moist evergreen forest by what it eats and the furry coat it has to keep it warm. The Fungi I observed, just like the Lichen, probably feeds of the tree bark as well. Lastly, the flowering plants are small to save water. Maybe because they are white they also reflect sunlight to keep it shady under them? This would be part of the broader ecosystem and how this biome functions.

Here are the observations about the five iconic taxa this past week:

1. Mammals: On Observatory Hill today, I was able to snap a photo of the infamous Fox Squirrel. This squirrel, seen all over campus was quite a relief to see since photographing images of other animals such as birds was getting quite difficult and I just really wanted a 5th taxa. It was still quite tricky observing this taxa since it kept running away, but luckily it paused for a moment on the tree. Under it, you can also see some lichen on the tree branch.
2. Arachnids: At University Village when I was walking along the creek, I found some California Sagebrush and decided to look through it. After a few seconds, I spotted a tiny spider, about the size of a piece of rice and got an extremely close zoomed up photo of it. It has white stripes on the bottom of it and I am starting to think I discovered a new species. Most likely not, but I'll keep telling myself that until it's identified as something else.
3. Insects: After lecture was over, and we were on Observatory Hill, our professor Scott Loarie flipped over a log to demonstrate just how easy it is to find 5 different taxa. He was right. Besides the fungi, salamander and other random taxa, there was a Western Yellowjacket as well. I absolutely despise Yellowjackets since I always think they will sting me, but seeing one that might have been a queen as well was pretty cool.
4. Plants: Just like the Fox Squirrel and Yellowjacket, I spotted the Bermuda Buttercup on Observatory Hill. There were a good number of these sprawled out indicating they were wild. The bright yellow really made them stand out compared to other plants in the area.
5. Fungi: I noticed the Common Greenshield Lichen on a tree after I took a photograph of a not-wild, clearly maintained Camellias. It is next to a blue lichen as well, which I have not yet identified. I noticed this lichen all over Observatory Hill, it seems like it is a pretty common fungi.

I enjoyed this exercise and realize now it is actually possible to find five different taxa quite easily, you just have to go to the right places. For the next assignment, I'm definitely making my way over to Strawberry Creek or a different hiking location and getting tons of research-grade observations.

My observations in this journal post have come from either Observatory Hill, next to Mccone Hall or University Village, located in Albany about twenty minutes away from campus.

In University Village, I found the species "Willows," which was completely bare. Originally, I had no idea what kind of tree it was, but with help, someone identified it.

On Observatory Hill, I found three species of plants: Bermuda Buttercup, Himalayan Blackberry and Toyon. Each of the three were found within less then 20m of each other. The Toyon is leafed out, but it doesn't have any flowers. On the other hand, the Himalayan Blackberry is a plant that doesn't have any flowers currently and is therefore bare, also. Lastly, the Bermuda Buttercup is a plant with flowers. Of all the plants I've observed so far, this has probably been my favorite one so far.

I need to work on my identification when it comes to these flowers and distinguishing their phenology. Hopefully throughout the semester I improve this skill.