Connecting with Nature through Silent Sports

This summer, the Discovery Center has been offering free weekly drop-in silent sport activities that not only connect silent sport enthusiasts, but provide opportunities for participants to connect with nature in unique ways.  Each activity this summer has provided us with a special glimpse of the Northwoods.  (Unfortunately, cameras have not always been handy.)

While biking on Papoose Lake Road (7/19), a small red fox trotted across the road just a few feet in front of us and while hiking at the WinManTrails (7/26), we observed a variety of berries, including pin cherries, chokecherries, and bright red elderberries.

Caption: Red elderberry

 

Paddling a section of the Manitowish River (8/2) led to a close encounter with a large, camouflaged snapping turtle basking in the sun and hiking at the Van Vliet Hemlocks (8/9) provided us with an up-close look at numerous species of fungi, including bioluminescent blue stain fungi, shiny varnish fungi, and both orange and white varieties of coral fungi.

Caption: Coral fungi (Photo by Peter Rebholz)

 

Our most unusual find came during a kayak paddle on Tamarack Lake (8/16).  Floating just under the surface were large circular masses of bryozoa, also known as moss animals.  In freshwater environments, these colonial microorganisms often secrete a mass of gelatinous material, which can cause them to be confused with eggs.  More information on bryozoa can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bryozoa.

 

Caption: Bryozoa

 

As we have experienced this summer, every adventure in the Northwoods can lead to an exciting discovery. The Discovery Center’s drop-in silent sport activities will continue into the fall season on Fridays - who knows what else we will find!

Howling at the Wolves!

You cup your hands around your mouth, tilt your head back, and let out a long, low howl echo out into the shadowy forest and clear star-filled sky.  And, you wait for the majestic return howl of a wild wolf...

 

 

A radio collared wolf was located within a mile of the location from where this photo was taken -- just the day before.  We anxiously await and hope this wolf and its pack will respond with a howl. After letting out five loud howls, you strain your ears into the silence that fills the air.  As you listen carefully, you begin to notice the night sounds: the faint rustle of leaves that might indicate the movement of small mammals, insects, or amphibians on the forest floor; in the distance, the rhythmic, unrelenting calling of a Whip-poor-will; overhead, the mechanical squeaking and chirping of bats as they wing their way around your head.  And then...

Your intense focus is interrupted by the howl of a Gray Wolf whose solo howl is soon joined by the howl of other adult wolves and the higher pitched "yipping howls" of pups.  This is the unforgettable experience many wolf howl participants seek when they participate in a wolf howling program at the Discovery Center.  Though wolf howling groups are not assured a response from a wolf, the experience of being out at night in the territory of a wolf pack is, nonetheless, unforgettable. 

This summer Discovery Center wolf howl participants have lifted their voices to howl at three of the known wolf packs in the area around the Discovery Center - and have received a response once thus far.  Wolves are territorial, and use howls to communicate within a pack and with nearby packs.  Wolf howling surveys make use of this form of communication, prompting wolves in the area to respond through a series of human howls scripted by a wolf howl survey protocol.  Data from these wolf howl adventures and other wolf howl surveys around the state are submitted to the Wisconsin DNR and used to monitor the size and reproductive success of wolf packs. 

 

We begin a wolf howl evening with an interactive wolf ecology presentation and opportunities to examine the diet of Wisconsin wolves, explore the status of statewide wolf populations, and feel the sagittal crest on a wolf skull which provides surface area for attachment of powerful jaw muscles. 

 

 Wolf Ecology presentation by Research and Monitoring Coordinator Heather Lumpkin

 

Examining the difference between wolf and coyote pelts and skulls during the wolf ecology presentation.

 

There is still time to participate in a wolf howl this season.  Our wolf howl programs fill quickly, so be sure to Register Soon: Friday, September 13, and Saturdays, September 28 and October 19. 

 

And, for more on wolves, visit the Timber Wolf Alliance via WEB or FACEBOOK or contact me at TWA@DiscoveryCenter.net. The Timber Wolf Alliance is an affiliate organization within the umbrella of the North Lakeland Discovery Center.  Its mission is to use education and science-based information to promote an ecologically-functional wolf population within areas of suitable habitat.

 - Heather Lumpkin, Research and Monitoring Coordinator

Phenology 7/24-7/28

7/22- Pipsissewa blooming

7/24 – Turkey chicks out

7/25- Monarch went into chrysalis

-Wild lily-of-the-valley fruiting

7/26 – Chanterelle mushrooms are out

                  -Lobster mushrooms are out

                  -Baby wood frogs are out

7/28 - Bunchberry fruiting

-Indian pipe (corpse plant) in bloom

                  -Blue bead is fruiting

All photos by Peter Rebholz

Phenology 8/4 – 8/8

8/4- Trees are changing color

8/6 – Baby spring peepers are out

Photo: Peter Rebholz

8/7- floating leaf pond weed in bloom

8/8- milkweed pods in bloom

A bit about horsetail

by Courtney Davis

Did you know that horsetail (Equisetum arvense) was around when then dinosaurs walked the earth?  

 During the Paleozoic era, about 400 million years ago, horsetail could be found as a large, tree like plant. Today it is found in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and North America as a small plant. It has a hollow steam and the shoots look like asparagus at first. 

Ancient Romans and Greeks used horsetail as an herbal remedy. 

Today studies have suggested the use of horsetail to treat osteoporosis. 

A student holds up a segment of horsetail. It was her favorite plant of the day!

Photo by Courtney Davis

Source:

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb/horsetail

Corpse Found on the Interpretive Trail

One of our favorite plants along the Interpretive Trail showed up this week!  The hard to miss Indian Pipe can be found in several locations on the trail system.  This unique plant may look like a fungus, but is actually a member of the Wintergreen family (Pyrolaceae).  You will find this plant in the dense shade of moist woodlands; it doesn’t need sunlight as it doesn’t produce green chlorophyll.  It is involved in a symbiotic relationship with host plants that it absorbs nutrients from.  Also known as the “corpse plant,” the plant starts out a bright white standing straight up, and as the flowers open it bends down forming a pipe shape- they then turn brown as the plant ages.  Look for this plant and many other late summer blooming flowers all along the trail system at the Discovery Center! 

Photo by Peter Rebholz

It's not a plant, it's an animal!

By: Courtney Davis, Environmental Education Intern

There is never a dull moment in the program office at the North Lakeland Discovery Center. The excitement this morning was over a green animal found by Tim Dobbins while searching through a bucket of plants from Rice Creek.  It looked like algae at first but when I picked it up it didn’t fall apart like most algae would. What could it be? It was a freshwater sponge!

Caption: Tim Dobbins searches through his bucket of plants.

Photo Credit: Courtney Davis

Freshwater sponges are strong and remain intact when picked up and handled.  They will grow on hard substrates like sticks, rocks or plant stems and can be lobed, irregularly shaped or have fingered like projections. Freshwater sponges have very simple bodies made up of many cells but no organs.  Each cell has a very specific role in order to help the organism survive.

Caption: Excited about freshwater sponges!

Photo Credit: Anne Kretschmann

Freshwater sponges can easily be mistaken as a plant.  The greenish color comes from the algae living on the animal. The algae and the sponge have a symbiotic relationship, meaning they both benefit.  The algae get a place to live while the sponge is provided with oxygen and food.  Freshwater sponges are also filter feeders and will obtain food by running water through their bodies.

Caption: A freshwater sponge attached to a small stick.

Photo Credit: Courtney Davis

This animal is important because they are only found in clean bodies of water with high levels of oxygen. This makes freshwater sponges bioindicators. By finding them we know the body of water is healthy. They also are a vital part of the food web and are eaten by ducks, crayfish and many macroinvertebrates including caddisflies, midges, and spongillaflies. 

Caption: A segment of a freshwater sponge.

Photo Credit: Courtney Davis

Overall there are 219 freshwater sponges in the world with only 30 found in North America. In Wisconsin 13 different species have been found.  Freshwater sponges are most common in the summer and the fall. Keep your eye out for this amazing underwater animal next time you’re out and about on a lake, river or stream. They are tons of fun to find!

 -----

Sources:

http://www.umaine.edu/WaterResearch/FieldGuide/inthewater.htm

http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/wq/plants/plantid2/descriptions/bryozoan.html

http://www.nps.gov/prwi/naturescience/freshwater-sponge.htm

http://www.xerces.org/freshwater-sponges/

http://dnr.wi.gov/wnrmag/html/stories/2006/aug06/sponge.htm#1

http://winvertebrates.uwsp.edu/bertolami_361_2012.html