holly_m_hill
April Sunsets Bring May Mosquito Nets
This beautiful sunset photo was taken in early April on the UNCW campus. Although this photo is on a large scale, it is representative of ecology nonetheless.
We might consider the overall biogeochemistry occurring in this photo: even though it's not visible to the naked eye, we know that this photo includes particulate matter, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, and atmospheric gases (and their cycles) like carbon dioxide and nitrogen. We might think about the fact that Earth is an open energy system, demonstrated by the colorful, warm rays of sun that are ever so slightly fading from the scene. We can consider the organisms of the area in UNCW's longleaf pine forests and the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve: what nocturnal species are beginning to stir? I sometimes wonder where all of the geese that seem to plague campus go in the evenings when they're not grazing on the grass outside of my apartment window. How close is the area in the photo to being a wetland? Will it ever become a wetland in the future? How will the vegetation change over the years, with human development, climate change, and natural processes?
In short, this photo encompasses so many aspects of ecology that it's impossible to name them all. What I've learned throughout this course is that ecology is omnipresent, and it's also always shifting. There are so many possibilities, so many species interactions, and so many changes that can occur in a seemingly dull place; one just has to look for them.
April Sunsets Bring May Mosquito Nets
This beautiful sunset photo was taken in early April on the UNCW campus. Although this photo is on a large scale, it is representative of ecology nonetheless.
We might consider the overall biogeochemistry occurring in this photo: even though it's not visible to the naked eye, we know that this photo includes particulate matter, photosynthesis, nutrient cycling, and atmospheric gases (and their cycles) like carbon dioxide and nitrogen. We might think about the fact that Earth is an open energy system, demonstrated by the colorful, warm rays of sun that are ever so slightly fading from the scene. We can consider the organisms of the area in UNCW's longleaf pine forests and the Bluethenthal Wildflower Preserve: what nocturnal species are beginning to stir? I sometimes wonder where all of the geese that seem to plague campus go in the evenings when they're not grazing on the grass outside of my apartment window. How close is the area in the photo to being a wetland? Will it ever become a wetland in the future? How will the vegetation change over the years, with human development, climate change, and natural processes?
In short, this photo encompasses so many aspects of ecology that it's impossible to name them all. What I've learned throughout this course is that ecology is omnipresent, and it's also always shifting. There are so many possibilities, so many species interactions, and so many changes that can occur in a seemingly dull place; one just has to look for them.