Journal Entry #5: Redmond Watershed Fungi

As I made my way into Redmond I noticed very ominous dark skies and knew it was going to rain hard. Since it was going to rain that meant the fungi in my natural area would be fresh and prominent within the wet decomposing forest. When I arrived to my spot it was pouring down rain and I was forced to wear my rain suit from boy scouts. I marched through the mud and rain trying to take photos without soaking my phone and only took notes within my rain jacket. I sat at the base of a larger western red cedar to make my observations. I heard numerous bird calls even though it was hard to hear with the falling rain against the wood and ground. Even though I did not see any of these birds since they were tucked away in the leaf cover, there were many other creatures roaming about. There were hundreds of frogs that could be heard from the pond near my area. I walked close to the water and saw a Pacific tree frog underneath a sword fern. He jumped away into the water before I had a chance to get a photo but I recognized its darker green body color with strips on the its back. Back at my natural site, the Devil's club population was completely gone and all that remains are the  spiked branches erecting from the decomposing conifer litter. Many ferns are still looking healthy and moss covers the entire patch of ground my site is located. A key phenological change I noticed though was the emergence of different fungi since I was last there. As I walked through my spot searching for mushrooms I noticed many areas that were once dominated by White matsutakes have been overrun by Shrimp mushrooms and Goats beard. This could be due to changes in leaf litter and the ability they have to decompose specific leaves. Also, the temperature is starting to drop drastically and new fungi that emerge are possibly more tolerate to colder temperatures than other fungus that were emerging earlier in the season.

This was the first mushrooms I stumbled upon during my trip into the watershed. This is a Shrimp mushroom or Russula xerampelina and it can be characterized by it's bright pink cap with a darker red ring in the center. Also, this specific mushroom can tend to have an almost fishy smell to it which allows it to be easily identified. This fungi was found on the dead conifer and dirt litter near a decomposing tree. The bordering habitat was composed of sword ferns and and water soaked wood that have fallen off of trees. The weather was extremely wet and rainy and this gave the mushrooms and shiny tint to their caps.

This strange mushroom is called Goat's beard or Hericium abietis and can be characterized easily by it's strange physical structure. This fungal formation is different from the usual cap and stem and this allows it to stand out and be distinctive to the wondering eye. Goat's beard is a darkened white in it's early stages of growing but as it ages it retains an almost orange/brown color. When I discovered this fungi, it was at the base of a living tree and seemed to be connected to it's main root. It was surrounded by dead conifer needles and various sticks and twigs. Also, this mushrooms was in a highly dense moss area which might contribute to it's growing ability. The weather outside was very rainy and had been hours before I arrived.

This odd fungal colony on the side of this tree are Angel wings or Pleurocybella porrigens. Charaxterizing this fungus is easy due to its distinctive structure and location of growth. This fungus was found on the side of a nurse log that was covered in various mosses and lichens. These white formations are very smooth on the top and curve downwards but have noticeable gills. The surrounding area was full of moss and ferns with extremely wet and moist ground directly below. Water had collected in some areas on top of the emerging fungi from the rainy weather.

At a distance I first though this was a piece of trash someone had left behind but I soon realized it was a fungus. This thick and hard fungal formation is called Varnished conk or Ganoderma tsugae. This fungus can be characterized by it's fan-like shape and dark orange color on the top of it's structure and a dirty white middle section that collects water droplets. This mushrooms was found emerging out of a wet decomposing log with moss all over mush like the tree that harbored the angel wings. The surrounding area was dead conifer needles and wet patches that have started to form puddles. The weather was still very rainy when I stumbled upon this species.

This fungus is very prominent in the watershed I visit each time yet it is very different from many other species of mushrooms in this area. This mushroom is a type of Chanterelle due to its cap formation and it's distinctive gill structure that is angled upwards.The top of this mushrooms was covered in the dirt that was above it when it emerged out of the soggy ground. This fungus was found on the side of the trail in a thick layer of decomposing conifer needles and dirt with a thin layer of moss on the surface. the surrounding area was dominated by moss and a scattering of twigs and needles but was covered by the canopy of trees above which prevents a lot of water falling directly on the fungus. the weather was very rainy but this mushrooms seemed to be quite dry.

This colorful fungus is called Turkey tail or Trametes veriscolor and can be characterized by it's layers of changing colors and it's resemblance to the tail feathers of a turkey. I has a wet and slimy coat over it and is quite stiff with touched. This fungus was found emerging off of a tree that had half submerged in pond water and the other half suspended in the air at a horizontal angle. The surrounding area was extremely wet since it was right next to a pond and it had been raining earlier. Also, it coexisted with moss on this old and damp log and shared it with no other noticeable fungi. The weather was still very rainy and it had been rainy for a long time while I was in my natural area.

Journal Entry #4: Invertebrates

My third visit to my natural area in Redmond, there were many significant changes that have occurred during my two week absence. While I was at Mount Rainier for my natural history field trip, Bigleaf maple leafs began to turn a bright yellow and fall to cover a majority of the forest floor. When I arrived to my area, only decomposing needles and moss covered the ground. Since there are many Bigleaf maples in other areas of the reserve, my area was free from decomposing broad leaves. Many plants are at the early stages of dying off before the winter such as the Devil's club. As I observed my site carefully I noticed that there was no longer any recognizable Devil's club leaves. Only their spiny and sharp branches emerged from the ground but have started to slightly lean over. Along with the Devil's club, many fungi that have seen in this area have completely disappeared, yet some new fungi have emerged but in different locations. Shrimp mushrooms have started to grow near decomposing logs and wood that have high amounts of moss on them. Along with the shrimp mushrooms, Witches butter has also emerged on dying logs but this type of fungi could only be seen near the developed paved path in the reserve. It's odd bright orange gelatinous shape easily catches the eye of either people or animals walking by. Another bright orange fungus that began to grow on old trees was the Orange peel fungus. Characterized by it's cup-like shape and distinctive orange color also makes it easy to see in this dark green and brown natural area. Although the fungi was plentiful, the skunk cabbage was also in full force. Since this area is a wetland, the moisture concentration is very high and allows this plant to grow large leaves to catch sunlight. While sitting at my natural area I could hear the constant hammering of a woodpecker at work. From my previous experience seeing woodpeckers in this area, my best guess for the species would be a pileated woodpecker. I continued to walk through the reserve towards the water to gaze upon the stillness it brings. Small chipmunks would make squeaking noises as I walk through the dense forest. But I spent the majority of my time in this area observing numerous insects in my natural area.

 This invertebrate is common called a Blue Darner or Aeshna multicolor. It is characterized by it's distinctive blue spots that run along the top of its segmented abdomen. Also this species of dragonfly has two fore wings and two hind wings which give it more control and maneuverability while in flight. This insect is covered by a hard black exoskeleton with a few blue spots. Also, it has three pairs of legs and uses these to land on plants and other objects. While observing this organism I noticed that it tends to land on vertical blades on thick grass. As I watched it fly across the water in the still pond, it would move quickly to various logs where it would land for about three to five seconds and then move on to the next area.

This cute little fuzzy insect is called the Banded Woollybear Caterpillar or Pyrrharctia isabella. This caterpillar is not very hard to distinguish and many people have seen these in the wild before. It is characterized by it's two black bands on each end of it;s body with an red/orange band directly in the middle. This caterpillar is engulfed with small bristles which give it some defense against predators and some species in it's family produce histamines that can be transferred when the bristles are touched by a foreign object. Also, I gently touched it with a twig and it quickly formed into a curl and stayed in that position until it believed the threat was gone. Also, a completely black head can be seen at  one end of the caterpillar yet all of its legs are covered by bristles.

This invertebrate is called the Ground Beetle or Pterostichus lama. This beetle is very common in decomposing coniferous forests under rotting or fallen logs. It can be characterized by it's ridged abdominal exoskeleton structure as well as it's constricted thorax and abdomen junction. This beetle is usually nocturnal so I have to lift up a few pieces of decomposing wood in order to see and observe this organism. I would flee immediately when exposed to sunlight and I tried to cover it with a leaf to test whether the darkness meant some safety for them. When I placed a leaf on top of the fleeing beetle, it completely stopped moving and would not emerge from under the leaf until it thought the threat was gone. Also, when exposed to sunlight this beetle would scramble towards any wood and covered areas.

The insect shown in this sketch is the Black Carpenter Ant or Camponotus pennsylvanicus. This ant is very common in decaying forests and moist environments. This ant can be characterized by it's large head, hairy thorax, and slightly brown legs. The behavior of this ant was very strange and complex. this species of ant is usually found in large swarms and there were only a few I found in my area. I dug through some decaying bark and wood piled on the ground and found some to observe. They usually scatter when exposed to daylight light and taken from their decomposing warehouse of wood. Their abdomen is plated which allows more maneuverability for the exoskelton which tend to be stiff and hard.     

Finally the last invertebrate I decided to sketch was the Sow bug or Oniscus asellus. When observing this organism, I thought it would be able to roll into a ball as a defense mechanism but I was surprised to notices that the edges of it's exoskeleton were horizontal and flat. This structure prevents the sow bug from rolling into a ball and therefore much look to shelter for protection. This insect is characterized by it's overlapping shelled exoskeleton as well as it;s two large antennae that it uses to detect objects. Also, this bug has seven pairs of legs making it distinctive from other insects. When exposed to light, the Sow bug would retreat to dark moist areas and would try to remain covered no matter what.

Some other invertebrates I encountered on my trip to my natural area were Waterstriders (Aquarius remigis), Brown marmorated stink bugs (Halyomorpha halys), and a Yellow-spotted millipede (Harpaphe haydeniana)

Journal #3: Mt. Rainier Field Trip

The first plant I identified at The Nisqually Refuge was the Common Snowberry or Symphoricarpos albus. This plant is characterized by its distinctive white berries it produces as well as its pinkish bell-shaped flowers in the spring. This shrub tends to prefer shady and moist conditions such as wetlands or floodplains. Also, this plant produces a think system of roots and is actually usually for erosion control due to its ability to stabilize surrounding soil. It has adapted to grow this thicket of roots in order to be able to survive in moist and loose soil environments. Also, this plant has evolved to produce berries that are edible to animals so when these animals expel their waste it spreads its seeds to different areas.

  

The Bigleaf maple (Acer macrophyllum) was also present at the Nisqually Refuge. Characterized by its large leafs with five lobes, the Bigleaf maple retains these huge leaves in order to catch large amounts of sunlight yet lose a lot of water in the process. This tree tends to be near riverbanks and high moisture soils due to their water lose during photosynthesis. Also, these trees tend to live in windy areas, which has driven them to evolved winged protection for their seeds. This adaption in seed structure allows the wind to carry it greater distances and it allows the seed to fall slowly and safely to the ground much like a helicopter.

These trees were spotted at Mima Mounds and are actually two different species. Directly in the middle is a Red alder (Alnus rubra), which is characterized by its ability to produce both female and male catkins. Also, the red alder has adapted to be a pioneer species in that it can grow on extremely poor soils and surfaces due to its ability to fix nitrogen from the air.  The two trees on each side of the red alder are Oregon Oak trees (Quercus garryana) and tend to dominant these prairie lands. Like many trees, Oregon oak protects its seeds with a hard shell and they are eaten by birds and small mammals which then spreads the seeds across the landscape. This adaptive relationship allows this tree to spread rapidly and in areas where other trees typically don’t grow thus making it easier for the oak to gain sunlight and deal with less competition.

While I trekked up Mt. Rainier I noticed this tree which is a Mountain hemlock (Tsuga mertensiana) which was much scarcer than the dominant subalpine fir. This tree is characterized by its smaller needles and its conical crown and drooping leader. This adapted shape allows it to survive in snowy environments because the conical shape and drooping tip sheds snow off easily. An adaptation that allows this tree to grow in such extremely cool temperatures and poor soil conditions is its ability to have a thick and strong root system gives it support during the permafrost winters. Also, this tree is highly shade tolerant which allows it to survive the long foggy falls and winters on Mt. Rainier.

This low-land shrub is called Red-mountain heather (Phyllodoce empetriformis) and it grows all over the upper alpine range of Mt. Rainer. This plant is characterized by its short blue/green needles and its pink bell-shaped flowers in the spring. Also, this plant usually thrives in high elevations zones and moist environments. This shrub has adapted to combat high winds and cold temperatures by growing short and having a slow growth process in order to remain under the snowpack during the winter. By doing this, they are protected by the snow from open surface temperatures that could freeze the plant and the high winds are unable to harm the shrub.

Another tree that I spotted on Mt. Rainier was the Alaska yellow-cedar (Chamaecyparis nootkatensis) and it looks much similar to the western red cedar but some key differences. This tree can be characterized by its yellow/green scale-like leaves and its droopy type shape. This drooping shape allows for snow to easily fall off and keeps the tree from being weighed down by the snow. Also, this tree is extremely hardy and usually only needs conditions that have a lot of sun and moist soil making it well adapted to cold temperatures and high elevations.

This shrub called Devil’s club (Oplopanax horridus) was spotted in the old growth forests of Mt. Rainer. This shrub typically likes well-drained moist soils and can be characterized by it’s large spines on its stem and leaf bottoms. Also, this shrub produces a large amount of red berries that bears are quite fond of. This adaptation of producing berries allows it to spread it’s seeds through the waste of bears. Also, this plant has adapted to form hundreds of sharp spines that prevents animals from chewing on its branches and large leaves.

This thumbnail sketch shows the receding tides of the Nisqually Refuge. This area is unique in many ways but it is an estuary which means it is an area where salt water from the Puget Sound meets the fresh water from the Nisqually River.  This mixture of different waters presents nutrient rich environments where numerous different species thrive and live their lives. The Nisqually River flows from the Nisqually glacier on Mt. Rainer which is the source of all of its water. This glacial runoff ran down the mountain towards the southern tip of the Puget Sound where it finally met the salt water of the sound thus creating the Nisqually estuary.

This thumbnail sketch illustrates where the Nisqually glacier ends and where the start of the Nisqually River begins. The glacier is currently in retreat but about 14,000 years ago during the Ice Age, this glacier was much more massive and carved out the bowl-like canyon in the thumbnail. As present day neared, temperature began to rise and the glacier started to retreat and began to melt. This melting then formed the Nisqually River, which starts in this area in the thumbnail. The glacier caused the tree line to rise and to stop at where the glacier reached and carved out of the granite and other mineral.

Today many glaciers in the world are retreated and nearly diminished, yet the Nisqually glacier is still present but won’t be within the next century. Mount Rainer has been shaped and carved by glaciers throughout thousands of years. During the Pleistocene era, the Cascade Range was overwhelmed by massive glaciers and at this time ice volumes were at an all-time high. Valleys and Canyons were filled to the brim with solid ice and this glacier extended 60 miles down the mountain reaching the lower land regions surrounding the mountain. Since the little Ice Age starting from 1250 to the mid 1800’s, the glaciers on Mount Rainer have been receding due to higher temperatures. Currently the buildup of snow and ice is much slower than the melting rate thus causing the glacier to retreat up the mountain even when the glacier is moving down the mountain about seven inches a day.

Journal Entry #2: Redmond Watershed Preserve

It is slightly darker outside at my natural area but retained a cool breeze for the duration I was there. While walking through the forested watershed I noticed there were more species of emerging fungi from numerous decomposing logs that were there last week when I visited. The one fungi colony that fascinated me the most was Goat’s Beard, a white fungus with many spine clusters in a dense grouping. The tips were completely white indicating that is was a new emerging fungus since their spine tips usually gain a reddish tint with age. Along with the Goat’s beard, a small orange capped mushrooms emerged alongside the spine like fungus. As my observations continued I noticed that the Devil’s Club in my area seemed to be withering away since the leaves were much more yellow and wilting. Also, there seemed to be less individual plants so either they were tampered with or died off over the course of the week. The strange white fuzz or mold also seemed to be disappearing quickly mainly due to the lack of decomposing fungi in the area but I’m sure it is still prominent in other areas of the watershed. The male and common sword ferns are still dominant on the ground level as well as the moss that engulfs a majority of the ground. As I was sitting on a log in the watershed a chipmunk was making a chirp-like noise at a constant rate over my head. Maybe it was signaling others of my presence or trying to express its dominance and territorial boundaries. While I was there, it seems that there was more tree frog and chipmunk chatter compared to last week’s symphony of bird calls. This might be due to the time of day or the presence of numerous chipmunks in my area. Most of the King Boletes and White Matsutakes were smashed and decomposing. I flipped over a squished king bolete and about ten small narrow black insects scrambled from the stem and retreated. As I continued to walk through the forest I noticed a distant “hooting” that only occurred about every two minutes. From my past experience of seeing owls I assumed that it was a Spotted Owl. Although I couldn’t see it, I have seen many Spotted Owls in this area and this species of owl is one of few that call during the daylight.