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This image was taken February 14th on the UNCW campus in Forest C. Pictured in this photo is Tillandsia usneoides (L.), otherwise known as Spanish Moss. Interestingly, this is not moss at all, but a flowering plant. This Spanish Moss is native to SE America and Tropical America. Ideal temperature is 70 degrees or higher in the summer and no lower than 60 degrees in the winter. They are found in areas with high humidity, such as near swamps and coastal regions. Oak and Pine trees can be found with the Spanish Moss growing on them for support. They wiry plants reach up to 8m long, if not more. It's stem and leaves are covered with silvery-gray scales, which are used for absorbing water, dust and nutrients. These scales can hold more water than the plant requires, allowing it to survive during any drought periods. The Spanish Moss provides nesting pieces for many birds, as well as habitats for spiders and frogs.
This snake was photographed on 27/3 in the Greenhouse Bay on the UNCW campus. One feature of the snake that isn't very discernible in this picture is that its eyes are located on the sides of its head. This brings up the question of the role of vision in prey detection and capture. Since the snake doesn't have forward facing eyes it doesn't have the advantages of binocular vision when striking at prey. As a result the prey that the snake captures has to be relatively close to it since it doesn't have good depth perception. In addition the snake likely has round pupils and more cones than rods in its eyes since it's diurnal instead of nocturnal.
UNCW Seamen host Easterns Qualifier 2023 at North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex. Little River, South Carolina, Saturday, February 25, 2023.
This picture was taken in the Bluethenthol Wildflower preserve on campus. It is of what I believe to be a cinnamon fern (Osmundastrum Cinnamomeum) in the form of a fiddlehead. I remember my dad has always told me that fiddleheads are edible, and I always wondered why ferns are curled up like that, and usually have a wooly substance on them. They tend to grow in wetlands where the water table is close to the surface. What fiddleheads are are actually early fronds, or fern leaves. Spores are released from sporophytes on pinnae of fronds, usually from the bottom of the leaf, but this specific fern has a special fertile frond which is the tall brown shoot of sporophytes sticking up from the middle of a mature cinnamon fern. These fronds are very important in the life cycle of a fern, which have special life cycles, because the fronds hold sporophytes which release spores and these spores travel by wind or just fall off around the spore. The spores are what hold genetic information to grow a young gametophyte that will grow a sporophyte after fertilization occurs, which comes in full circle and eventually releases more spores which grow more, and release ore, achieving the ultimate goal of this plant- to reproduce. The spores mark the transition of the fern's life cycle form the diploid generation to the haploid generation.
This mushroom was found outside of friday hall on the UNCW campus on january 23 2017. I have identified it as American Caesar's Amanita (Amanita jacksonii) by using "The mushroom observer" and "mushroom appreciation". These mushrooms extend from eastern Quebec Canada to Mexico state of Hidalgo.
The ecological process comes from the type of mushroom, Mycorrhizal. This means they form symbiotic relationships with rootlets of surrounding trees. The mushroom covers the rootlets with a sheath and helps with nutrient and water absorption. The tree provides amino acids and sugars to the mushroom. The relationship is essential for both the tree and the mushrooms. mushrooms are unable to produce their own energy. They must rely on other organisms. (mushroom expert)
www.mushroomexpert.com/glossary.html#mycorrhizal
www.mushroom-appreciation.com/learning-about-mushrooms-in...
UNCW alumni toasted their connections to the Seahawk family during the inaugural Alumni Champagne Brunce at Burney Center sponsored by College of Arts & Sciences, Cameron School of Business, College of Health and Human Services and Watson College of Education February 4, 2017. PHOTO BY: KYLE MAPLES/UNCW
Here we have the Canada Goose, the most common bird we can see around our homes, especially after they have migrated south and end up on our campus where this picture was taken. Since we were on the topic predation, the best way to represent it is catch the goose doing what it must: eat. As you can see from the video, the goose is picking at the grass with its beak, showing that it is an herbivorous creature. It is possible the goose is trying to eat a few small insects which would technically make them omnivorous but it's a little too small to see. One unique thing about Canadian geese are their territoriality. Most of us who try to get close to a Canadian goose may end getting chased, even if we were minding our own business. That just proves how small a goose's territory can be and how easily it can be changed to the point that they'll chase after you when they feel you've intruded on them.
This picture was taken on Monday 1/23/17 at 10:34 AM just outside Friday Hall. The photo itself is a collection of water in an area below sea level from Sunday night's rain. This picture greatly describes the ecological concept of weather. Weather is the state of the atmosphere at a give time. That night, it was cloudy and rainy compared to the bright and sunny sky seen in the background, and it all accumulated into this ditch. It also shows the concept of precipitation which takes many forms such as rain. While not shown explicitly, there was presence of small insects striding across the water, and their occupying the area shows the concept of population.The picture also demonstrates the connection the Lithosphere has with the Hydrosphere. With the Lithosphere consisting of dirt and soil and Hydrosphere consisting of all water in any form, the two interact because the soil absorbs the water, providing nutrients for planets rooting in the ground. But since soil can take up a finite amount of water, it can lead to overflows, such as shown.
UNCW Alumni gather at Hoggard lawn for the annual Tealgate during Homecoming weekend January 30, 2016. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
The following image is one I took earlier in the semester when I took a trip to Grandfather Mountain. Streams, not matter how big or small, play an important ecological role in their ecosystems. First off, they are a very important resource for non aquatic species as they serve as a source of drinking water. For aquatic species, they provide habitats and pathways to other rivers, streams, etc… They are also crucial in transporting nutrients and other goods throughout the area. If a tree falls, it can move materials/ debris downstream for species to make use of. For example, the beaver can use the branches to create dams. Which in turn are beneficial in preventing erosion and can provide valuable habitats for other species. Streams can also improve productivity throughout the environment. Streams with higher velocities can transport more sediments quicker providing and replenishing nutrients downstream. Another benefit of streams is pollution prevention. They are able to filter out less beneficial nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen leaving the water that flows into a larger body of water healthier.
UNCW Alumni award winners (Young Alumnus Travis Corpening '00, '06M, Distinguished Alumna Caroline Reda '85 and Distinguished Citizen A. Farrell Teague '54) were celebrated during a reception at the Kenan House January 29, 2016. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
Pictured here are three saucer magnolias (Magnolia x soulangeana) from the front of Friday Hall on the campus of UNCW. I took this picture on February 6, back before it became unseasonably warm, so all the trees on campus were just starting to bloom. Saucer magnolias flower in the early spring and are beautiful! These trees are characterized by their “porcelain” pink and white “goblet” shaped flowers. The species is seen as a “landscape show-stopper”. Most early blooming trees time their flowering off of changes in day length or temperature, both of which are factors in this region’s climate. Climate is an average of the weather conditions in an area over a long period of time. Microclimates refer to the climate of a much smaller zone, often only a few meters square. These three trees demonstrate a very simplistic example of microclimates. I noticed that each tree received different amounts of early morning sunlight because of the shade cast by the pines. The more shaded magnolias seem to be flowering later than those with more direct sunlight. Just a slight change in the climate can vary the life cycle of an organism. It was really interesting to see such a drastic difference in the same species only a few meters apart!
References:
2015 UNCW Homecoming Step Show coordinated by S&J Concierge including regional NPHC step show teams competing for the title of best step team in the Port City February 13, 2015 at Kenan Auditorium. PHOTO BY: WILL PAGE/UNCW
This photo was taken Monday April 16, 2018 on the UNCW campus by the wooded area adjacent to the pond next to the recreation complex. I think that this bird is an American robin, Turdus migratorius, which I found in the first reference. They are common across the US (Kaufman, 2018). They can live in a variety of habitats: cities, towns, lawns, farmland, and forests (Kaufman, 2018). The ecological concept displayed in this photo is the Fundamental Niche Constraints. American robins migrate in response to food availability across the continent . They feed on fruit in the winter, migrating south, while they feed on earthworms and insects in the spring, migrating north. They require more food the colder it gets which requires the robins to move due to the diminished fruit supply. They are more spread out in response to the limited fruit supply in the winter (Learner.org, 2018).
References
Kaufman, K. (2018). American Robin. [online] Audubon. Available at: www.audubon.org/field-guide/bird/american-robin [Accessed 16 Apr. 2018].
Learner.org. (2018). Facts about Robin Migration. [online] Available at: www.learner.org/jnorth/tm/robin/ConfusingMigration.html [Accessed 16 Apr. 2018].
UNCW Alumni award winners (Young Alumnus Travis Corpening '00, '06M, Distinguished Alumna Caroline Reda '85 and Distinguished Citizen A. Farrell Teague '54) were celebrated during a reception at the Kenan House January 29, 2016. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
UNCW Seamen host Easterns 2023 at North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex. Little River, South Carolina, Sunday, April 2, 2023.
UNCW men's basketball team goes on their longest winning streak as they defeat College of Charleston 65-55 in front of a sold out homecoming crowd January 30, 2016 at Trask Coliseum. PHOTO BY: NEKIRA WOODSBURY/UNCW
UNCW Alumni Associated invited legacy students and family alumni to the Legacy Pinning Ceremony to cemmemorate making UNCW a family tradition at Kenan Auditorium September 16, 2017. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
This photograph was taken on March 21, 2018, at 9:34AM at Fort Fisher Beach, North Carolina, and depicts a coquina. A coquina is a man- made structure composed of shells that have been crushed together to act as a rock. This structure is used to prevent erosion of beaches by collecting sand. Not only does this structure act to protect the coastal ecosystem from erosion, but it also acts as a model of community dynamics. Algae appears to be growing on the structure. Because no community previously occupied the man- made shell structure, this is an example of primary succession. Additionally, this image depicts zonation. Species like seagulls and sand crabs live above the high- tide line. Species like the algae seen in this picture occupy the intertidal zone, and different species of fish occupy the below low- tide lines. All of these species live in the coastal community.
UNCW Crew Club Alumni gather in the Azalea Coast Room at the Fisher University Union for their annual reunion on Saturday February 18, 2017. PHOTO BY: ERIN WHITTLE/UNCW
UNCW and Wilmington community members packed Chancellor's Walk near the Teach Lab to participate in the College of Arts and Science 5k and 1 Mile Fun Run during UNCW's Homecoming Weekend February 4, 2017. PHOTO BY: KYLE MAPLES/UNCW
UNCW scholarship donors and receipients meet at the Burney Center at UNCW for the Scholarship Donor Appreciation Dinner on Tuesday, March 20, 2018. UNCW©/ERIN WHITTLE
UNCW Alumni Associated invited legacy students and family alumni to the Legacy Pinning Ceremony to cemmemorate making UNCW a family tradition at Kenan Auditorium September 16, 2017. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
UNCW Alumni from the Cape Fear Area enjoy an evening at Pour Taproom in downtown Wilmington for the Cape Fear Alumni Social on Friday, October 11, 2019. UNCW©/ERIN Whittle
This picture was taken today outside of my apartment in Wilmington, North Carolina. The Bradford Pear (Pyrus calleryana) tree is a very pretty tree that is commonly planted to beautify cities. It is actually not native to America but people started planting them around cities because they can withstand harsh conditions and are very hard to kill. All trees have special traits such as smell or color to attract certain pollinators. You might have noticed that these trees have a very raunchy smell that smells like rotting fish. This is because the tree evolved this smell in order to do two things. One thing this smell accomplishes is that the smell of rotting flesh attracts its main pollinator, the blowfly (Calliphoridae), a carnivorous insect that likes rotting flesh. Another thing this smell might accomplish is that it repels insects that might come to steal the tree's nectar. So even though we might cringe as we walk past these beautiful trees, just know it's for a good cause.
www.businessinsider.com/bradford-pear-tree-semen-sex-smel...
UNCW College of Health and Human Services welcomed home their alumni during a morning meet and greet at McNeill Hall January 30, 2016. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
UNCW Seamen host Easterns Qualifier 2024 at North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex. Little River, South Carolina, Sunday, February 25, 2024. The Seamen went undefeated and took the championship.
UNCW Watson College of Education gather for the Alumni and Retired Faculty Reception on Wednesday, November 1, 2017. PHOTO BY: ERIN WHITTLE/UNCW
These turtles are Yellow Bellied Sliders found in a pond at UNCW. Turtles are ectotherms which means that they must regulate their body temperature through solar heat or another heat source. As you can see these turtles are sunbathing to raise their body temperature. Most sightings of turtles are of them sunbathing around bodies of water. Unfortunately, roads trap heat and turtles are usually drawn to them to sunbathe and are usually killed by passing cars.
This picture was taken a few weeks ago on Masonboro island. This gelatinous sac is home to thousands of lugworm eggs. Although the worms are burrowed underground, their eggs lay above the sand anchored in these mysterious masses. These sacs are an example of an animal adapting to its habitat. These can be found along the shoreline in areas exposed during low tide and underwater during high tide. At the time the picture was taken, there was about 2 centimeters of water above the sac, but it was not low tide yet. The sac itself protects the eggs in the ever-changing shoreline- whether they are submerged underwater, or completely exposed to the air. It also keeps all of the eggs together, so none can wash away. These sacs are also an example of symbiosis. It is believed the mass of eggs provide a substrate for diatoms while they return the favor by providing the sacs with oxygen, giving them buoyancy.
This is the Drosera Brevifolia, otherwise known as the Dwarf Sundew. I took this picture on 1/12/2017. These carnivorous plant is normally found in sandy wooded areas, so finding this little Sundew on the outskirts of the wooded areas on campus makes sense. The dwarf sundews at the particular area in which this photo was taken were aggregated in small colonies of about two to six individual plants. Dwarf Sundews feed off of the small insects in our location such as ants and beetles native to Wilmington by excreting a clear sticky liquid to trap its prey. These among other native carnivorous plants in our area, such as the venus flytrap, play a role in our community by helping maintain a healthy insect population, but can be affected by aphids, mealybugs, scale, squirrels, raccoons, birds, and fungus.
UNCW Watson College of Education gather for the Alumni and Retired Faculty Reception on Wednesday, November 1, 2017. PHOTO BY: ERIN WHITTLE/UNCW
Image 4:
This picture is of an Azalea bush on campus. Where I am from we don't have these beautiful flowers in such an abundance.
Azaleas are a flowering shrub that bloom in the spring. Their blooms only last a few week though. They are shade tolerant and are often found growing under trees, like they are shown in my photo. From my research about this relationship it doesn't appear to have any positive or negative affects to either plant. This may be an example of coexistance, a beautiful one if I might add
UNCW Alumni Associated invited legacy students and family alumni to the Legacy Pinning Ceremony to cemmemorate making UNCW a family tradition at Kenan Auditorium September 16, 2017. PHOTO BY: JEFF JANOWSKI/UNCW
UNCW Seamen host Easterns Qualifier 2023 at North Myrtle Beach Park and Sports Complex. Little River, South Carolina, Saturday, February 25, 2023.
The bird in this photo is the Poecile Carolensis, better known as the Carolina Chickadee. The photo was taken in late January in Mount Olive, North Carolina. The Carolina Chickadee is a rather small species of bird and very susceptible to predation. However, this species of bird displays some very intelligent anti-predatory behavior. In a study performed by Lisa R. Cantwell et. al, the Carolina Chickadee was more likely to avoid a feeder if the head of a model snake was nearby, while it would approach the feeder if the snake's tail was around it. This behavior keeps this little bird in the fight, despite its size.
The Friends of UNCW Grant Awards Ceremony was held on Tuesday, May 2, 2023 in the Clock Tower Lounge. Grant receipients and Friends of UNCW members were in attendance. UNCW Photo by Erin Whittle Photography
Nick McCall watches as his Trask Middle school students Andelica Tucker, Marcos Rios and Ann Tran use a computer program to navigate through a three-dimension world as part of an ongoing research project brought to the facility by Dr. Heidi Higgins, UNCW's Watson School of Education . - UNCW/Jamie Moncrief
Ecological succession is usually thought of as a large scale event. However, it is possible for the term to be applied to a smaller scale event like that shown in the image above. It may be unclear, but what's shown above is a small piece of a massive land clearing (which was difficult to capture due to its size and unusual shape). It appears that, during the construction of the river-to-sea trail, the land on either side of the trail was cleared 50 meters on either side for the entirety of the trail. It appears that there has been another clearing but only to about ten meters on either side. All this is made apparent by the transition from long leaf pine forest to dense foliage to sparse underbrush. In the distance, multiple specimens of P. palustris can be seen. The individuals stand far enough away from each other to indicate that other plants, most likely oak, wiregrass, magnolia, or (most likely) some combination of the three occupy the intervening space. There is a uniform line, beyond which the pines don't grow. This is assumedly the boundary of the original clearing. between that boundary and the trail, there is a dense foliage of magnolia trees (Magnolia grandiflora) interspersed with individual gray oak trees (Quercus grisea). Between this area and the trail is a section composed mostly of leaf litter and pine saplings. At the sapling satge it is difficult to tell whether these are long leaf pines (Pinus palustris) or loblolly pines (Pinus taeda).
The phenomenon taking place in this photo is called secondary succession, and occurs when all life is cleared from an area but the soil is left intact.
This is a photo of a pitcher plant I found here on the carnivorous plant reserve of UNCW. This is actually a photo of the flower which has grown far above the base of the plant that contains the "pitchers" which hold rainwater that dissolves poor insect that fall inside. The plant then absorbs the liquid, which makes it carnivorous. The flowers grow so much higher than the base of the plant so that it does not consume its pollinators, so the mutualistic relationship between the pollinator insects and the pitcher plants is able to thrive.
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri is commonly known as "mealybug destroyer." These white haired larvae mimic the appearance of mealybugs and have an appetite for mealybugs, aphids and some scales. I believe the aphids pictured are Aphis gossypii which are preyed upon by both larval and adult montrouzieri. Aphids such as these are commonly found in areas of new growth on plants such as this Hibiscus. Aphids suck on the fluids in new plant growth and produce honeydew as a waste product. This honeydew is eaten by many insects which also include mealybug destroyers. Adult montrouzieri will often lay their eggs near the eggs of mealybugs which allows the next generation a quick start. These insects are praised by gardeners for their effectiveness in eradicating an otherwise resilient group of pests.
Photo Taken at UNCW Greenhouse. Wilmington NC