on Florida Swampprivet (i think)
on western comandra
I had been meaning to come check this area out for a while now as there was a large brush fire here not too long ago. Coolest plant that I noticed was a good amount of Vernonia blodgettii in some areas. This area features wetland habitats and also some invasive Melaleuca
and Australian pine forest but overall has lots of good plant diversity. It is threatened by a highway known as the Kendall Parkway. I posted a video about it last year: https://youtu.be/zCTnIi3oCJI
News reports/videos about the brush fire from late March 2022:
https://wsvn.com/news/local/florida-forestry-service-brush-fire-in-west-miami-dade-off-sw-8th-st-and-137th-ave-80-contained/
https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/03/31/west-miami-dade-brush-fire-continues-to-burn/
All my observations from this day. Some show that fire obviously passed through and other areas seem to have been spared:
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2022-05-24&order_by=observed_on&place_id=any&subview=table&user_id=joemdo
Project for observations taken within area threatened by highway: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/no-to-the-kendall-parkway
Abundant on bryophytes on decomposing log in open Quercus Acer wooldand.
Possible range expansion for this introduced species.
My ID is a guess. Found on Melanthera sp. (angustifolia or parvifolia)
My family had planned a day trip to Fort Myers so I took advantage of the ride and was dropped off at the SR29 entrance of Bear Island. I bicycled along Bear Island Grade & Perocchi Grade to the main Bear Island Campground (just under 9 miles) and then just a bit east of that area to do some botanizing in an area that seemed to have been burned in the last year. I didn't have a ton of time and so really mostly focused on plants!
All of my observations from today: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?on=2023-11-25&order=asc&place_id=2348&user_id=joemdo
Both subsp. americanus (native to North America) and subsp. australis (introduced to North America) are found at this site, sometimes growing intermixed. In the photos the former is indicated with an “N” and the latter with an “I”. On the date I visited this site, 16 September 2019, these are the differences I observed with living stems between the two subspecies:
•Relative stem height: subsp. americanus usually shorter, subsp. australis usually taller.
•Relative stem spacing: subsp. americanus usually more dispersed, subsp. australis usually denser (rarely solitary).
•Stem breaking: subsp. americanus fibrous and hard to break off, subsp. australis often breaks off easily.
•Stem color (lower/older internodes): subsp. americanus red and often shiny, subsp. australis yellow-green and not shiny.
•Stem texture (lower/older internodes): subsp. americanus smooth, subsp. australis minutely ridged.
•Stem & leaf sheath dots: subsp. americanus often present, subsp. australis absent.
•Leaf condition: subsp. americanus has lots of senescence, subsp. australis generally are healthy.
•Margins of upper leaves near panicle: subsp. americanus finely serrated, subsp. australis coarsely serrated.
•Sterile stems more abundant than fertile: subsp. americanus yes, subsp. australis no.
•Panicle branches for panicles of similar length: subsp. americanus fewer, subsp. australis more.
•Panicle branch spacing: subsp. americanus farther, subsp. australis closer.
•Flowering status: subsp. americanus finished flowering, subsp. australis flowering.
There probably are other characteristics I overlooked that distinguish these two subspecies from each other. Perhaps these characteristics listed above hold up at other sites in North America. I don’t use leaf color to tell them apart because although some clones of subsp. australis are strongly blue-green, some clones of that subspecies are more green or yellow-green. See this observation for an illustration: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/30610594
Observation of P. australis subsp. americanus from this location: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32878566
Observation of P. australis subsp. australis from this location: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/32888630
Shumard Oak
ID is for placeholder until I can look at it closer. In the field, one side of the section seemed to have an insect, but I couldn't be sure.
Galls? Host: eastern skunk cabbage
A single one of these plants among the sedge.
A continuing rare vagrant Western Flycatcher at Burlingame SP Campground. It may be a state first. First reported the day before: https://ebird.org/checklist/S154845502
Extremely abundant gall on cherry.
On leaves in the white oak group (possibly Q. austrina x stellata).
Galls on leaves of a tree in the white oak group (possibly Quercus austrina x stellata).
3 Years old.
The purpose of this project is to demonstrate fish ageing techniques. Using the crack and burn method, otoliths were “flamed” using a zippo lighter carefully with the blue part of the flame lower to the chimney to avoid scorching and soot. The otoliths were then embedded in Crayola modeling clay and submerged in canola oil.
Then viewed and photographed using a stereo microscope.
Scales were viewed and photographed using a stereo microscope.
Counting the annuli on both the scales and otoliths, the age of the fish can then be determined.
Please feel free to leave a comment on what age you think these fish could be.
All scales and otoliths were collected with guidance and permission under MNRF guidance.
Paracraspis patelloides?
On Canyon Live Oak
Quercus chrysolepis
Plants along pond shoreline. The area where the plants are located is usually submerged, but the water level has been dwindling.
2005, Northern Kentucky University's Costa Rican Natural History course. We spent a couple of days in the cloud forest at Finca de Quetzales. A morning hike to hunt for quetzals was more of a plant-viewing expedition for me. This Peperomia was interesting both because it's something you can't see in the forests of Kentucky, and because it had red insect galls decorating its inflorescences.
On tanoak
Collected: 10-21-2023
Dissected: 10-24-2023
2 larvae preserved in 99.8% EtOH and stored in the freezer
Dasineura rosae et Macrolabis luceti = larve blanche (inquilin)