October 31, 2024
Date and time: 1:00
Present climate conditions: Cloudy, windy, light rain
Temperature: 66 degrees
length of day: 10 hours and 20 minutes
organisms smelled, felt, heard, or seen, etc (sketches/photos/video where possible)
Water: The water by the cattails was covered in the dead leaves that had fallen from the trees. It was very windy, so most of the minnows were by the shore under the dead leaves. See the video I attached to see the minnows. The water was definitely more clear then any of the other times I have seen it, and much more cold.
Meadow/Beach: This area looked very similar to what I saw last time, if not the same. The major changes were how some of the plants have died, the beach being very muddy (probably from all of the rain), the cattails were in the process of turning yellow, and there were a few new sets of deer tracks.
Woods: In the woods, pretty much all of the leaves have fallen of the trees, but there are a few small saplings that still have yellow or brown leaves on. The wind and rain have probably wiped all of the leaves away, because there was still some leaves on the treas a few days ago. The pinecones on the trees have finally opened up as well.
Changes noticed since last visit: Almost every plant has died, or gone into a dormant stage whether aquatic or on land. There were a lot of leaves in the pond, and there was almost no algae in the water. I was hoping to see some fall colors today, but the wind took all of the leaves from the trees. The water temperature was also colder.
Response to your last comment about the sassafras: From my understanding now, I think the spots are caused from three different causes. The first possible option is from a bacterial disease that causes spot on the leaves. The second option is a fungal disease that is spread by the ambrosia beetle, which give the leaves spots. The last option is caused by some insects, such as the Japanese Beetle, which can damage the sassafras leaves and cause some leaf spots.
Pictures
Trees without leaves
Cattails changing color
Leaves in the woods
Picture of leaves in the water
Pictures I have been taking since the beginning of the other field studies:
Video of bluegill minnows:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1cMs1ZdksEdNPnysEmXDQ05x98BtnA35L/view?usp=sharing
Also, here are the sources for the question you asked about sassafras:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.srs.fs.usda.gov/pubs/misc/ag_654/volume_2/sassafras/albidum.htm#:~:text=Foliage%20diseases%20are%20primarily%20the,occurring%20leaf%20spots%20of%20sassafras.
https://www.uky.edu/Ag/Entomology/treepestguide/sassafras.html
https://forestry.ca.uky.edu/laurel-wilt
Nice work! Did you notice any patterns in the color change/leaf fall...or what still has leaves?
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