Habitat Management for Endangered Species protection

Public Is Invited

Fall 2017 Newsletter

Thursday, October 12, 7:00 PM Beiser Field Station – Meet at 6:30 PM at the Hermann Fine Arts Parking Lot to Carpool to the Station Leader: Dr. David McShaffrey

Join us on our annual night hike. We will have light sheets set up for moths and other night-flying insects. We’ll lookfor glowworms, listen for owls, hunt for florescent millipedes and hope that our resident coyotes will serenade us. Dress for the weather and wear footwear suitable for light hiking.

Friends of the Lower Muskingum River (FLMR) has partnered with the Fish andWildlife Service and Pheasant Forever to convert ~7 acres at Luke Chute ConservationArea to a haven for bees, butterflies, birds, and other pollinators. We learn how the sitewas prepped, learn which seeds were planted, and seen how the habitat changed over thecourse of its first year. Expect lots of photos of flowers, plants, and insects.

Thursday, November 9, 7:00 PM Selby 150, Marietta College Presenter: Lynda Andrews Lynda is a Supervisory Wildlife Biologist with the Wayne National Forest, which is composed of nearly a quarter of a million acres. Several federally endangered and regionally sensitive species inhabit the National Forest. Seehow the Wayne is employing differentmanagement activities in order to facilitateand provide habitat for these species.

Autumn Night Hike

Planting a Pollinator Paradise

Thursday, December 7, 7:00 PM Selby 150, Marietta College Presenter: Dr. Katy Lustofin

Marietta Natural History Society

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Upcoming Events at the Anderson-Hancock Planetarium

Each of these shows will begin with a star talk pointing out the highlights of our current evening skies, including

visible planets and other notable sky features.

Dark Matter MysteryFriday, October 13 at 7:00 pm

This program delves into the evidence for the existence ofdark matter and how we hope to one day detect it moredirectly. This program will be accompanied by a brief startalk focused on the autumn evening sky.

Season of LightFriday, December 8 at 7:00pmFriday, December 15 at 7:00pm

Monday, December 18 at 2:00 pm and at 3:30 pmPlease join us for our annual presentation of the holidayprogram "Season of Light", which traces the history and

development of holiday traditions, including the Yule Log,mistletoe, and the Christmas tree. The programconcludes by exploring possible astronomical

explanations for the Christmas star.

Oasis in SpaceFriday, January 26, 2018 at 7:00 pm

This presentation will be a tour of our Solar System witha special emphasis on where water can be found. The

program will be accompanied by a brief star talk focusedon the winter evening sky, including which planets are

current visible.

Please email (planetarium@marietta.edu) or call(740-376-4827) for reservations

The AH Planetarium is located in the Rickey Science Center, Marietta College

Dinner with the speakers

We will meet at 5:30 at the Levee House RestaurantCheck first with Dave (376-4743) or Elsa (373-5285). to be sure speaker will be there. Members should make their own reservations.

“Finale”That is this newsletter’s special word. (The special word of theprevious newsletter, mysteriously formatted away by Adobe Acrobat, was “Penultimate.”) , and with this I wrap up 20 years of quarterly newsletters. Of course this was not possible without the help of numerous people - far more than I could list here, nor without fear of forgetting to mention someone - who contributed articles, artwork, and many useful ideas - so thank you to everyone. But I would like to give a final recognition to Marilyn Ortt, who unfailingly arranged monthly speakers and field trip locations for the Society from 1993 - 2014, and wrote numerous articles for the newsletter. I’m very pleased that Jason White, a great birder and naturalist, youthful, and full of energy, is taking reins and will do a great job as the new Editor of the MNHS newsletter.

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It’s Bird Feeder Watch TimeIt’s almost time again for the WinterBird Feeder Watch. Participantsrecord species and number ofbirds at their bird feeders everyother weekend from November tomid March. You don’t have to watchevery weekend; all data collectedcan be used. As you see, the Annual Bird Feeder Watch data formhas been included with this newsletter. The form is alsoavailable on the MNHS web site on the Local Phenologypage (http://w3.marietta.edu/~biol/mnhs/mnhsphenol.html). If you use the online version, you will need to write in theobservation dates in the left-hand column (the dates are inthe calenders included in the Fall and Winter newsletters),and tape the two pages together into one continuous form. Our Data Coordinator is Brad Bond, and you can give your completed forms to Brad at a MNHS meeting or mail them to him at 101 Hillside Way, Marietta, OH.

Recycled Paper 30% Post-Consumer

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Cool Critters!By Steven Spilatro

I recently read an interesting book called Fury Logic,The Physics of Animal Life, written by Martin Durrani andLiz Kalaugher. Dr. Durrani is editor of the magazinePhysics World and Dr. Kalaugher is a science andenvironment writer. Their book explores a fascinatingassortment of animals with anatomical and behavioralinnovations. These cool critters exploit the fundamentallaws and principles of physics to better compete forresources and defend themselves against predators. Hereare a few brief synopses of theinteresting animals and theirstories from the book.

Shake your Booty… A wet Labrador dog weighing30 kg (66 lb) will carry about 1 lb ofwater in its fur. To try to dry itself, the dog does the“shakes” at a frequency of about 4.5 times a second, whichis sufficient to flinging off 70% of the water. If that waterwere allowed to simply evaporate, the cooling effect wouldcost the dog about 480Kj of energy, or about 1/7th of itsdaily food intake.

A meal Too Hot A mosquito sucking blood is at risk of overheating fromthe thermal energy of the blood itself. To avoid beingbaked by its blood meal, the mosquito urinates upon itself. As the urine evaporates, it cools the insect.

Hive Hoard Heats Harrowing Hornets

The Japanese giant hornet (Vespamandarinia japonica) is about 2 inches longand annually kills 30 – 50 people in Japan. However, these hornets are far more lethalto honeybees (Apis spp.), whose nests it

will attack in packs of 20-30. Each hornet can kill around40 bees a minute; and in a pack of 20 – 30 hornets, candestroy a hive of 30,000 bees in three hours. Due to thesize difference, an individual bee is no match for the gianthornet, but with teamwork the Japanese honey bee is notentirely defenseless. They attack the earliest hornetinvaders en mass, forming a mini swarm of severalhundred bees around the hornet, generating enough heatto essentially roast the hornet.

Heat Thieves The Red Garter snake of chilly Manitoba spends asmuch as 8-9 months of the year snoozing in dens deepenough (~20 feet) to avoid frozen ground. The males arisefirst to nippy Canadian spring air, hoping to find and matewith a female ASAP. The somewhat delayed arrival of the

ladies (outnumbered10 to one bymales) unleashesa mating frenzy asdozens of malesform a slitheringmound around eachfemale, each hopingto the lucky winner. Butsometimes we would findanother male at the center ofa mass of reptilian lust. Somemales secrete pheromones to impersonate females, andas other snakes twist around in an amorous tizzy, thesetricksters actually “steal” heat from misguided malecompetitors. With the ambient temperature a cool 50OF, theadded heat affords a metabolic boast and a leg up(figuratively speaking, of course) in the competition withbona fide members of the opposite sex.

Feather Sounds We well appreciate the iridescent beauty of a peacock’stail feather display, but only peahens are also charmed bythe sound of those feathers. Peacocks and peahens are

the males and females, respectively, ofthe species Pavocristatus. Researchers

have found that thepeacock’s mating ritualsinclude not only thedisplay and rustling oftheir tail feathers, butinaudible sounds that wecannot hear. Humans

can hear sounds in thefrequency range of 20 –

20,000HZ, at least young ears thathaven’t spent several decades listening to loud rock music. Some animals, such as dogs can hear (and in the case ofbats, also produce) ultrasounds of much higher frequency.The audible range of other animals (most notable whales,but also P. cristatus) extend below 20 Hz, into the range ofinfrasound frequencies. By rapidly “shivering” those longtail feathers, the peacock produces infrasounds in the 3 - 6Hz range, which apparently are irresistible to peahens, andis part of the evidence she uses to gauge the fitness of amale suitor.

Maxwell’s Dactyl Hammer? Anyone enjoying a crab dinner (other than on a softshellvariety) knows the need for shell crackers (and a bib), toget to the tender inner meat. The crab shell succumbs tothe force we can exert by our massive and powerfulmusculature (relatively speaking, and aided by a period ofcooking). Crabs, as well as various clam and snailspecies, will also succumb to the diminutive harlequinmantis shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus),

see Critters, page 5

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Take the acornquiz!

Pictures of theleaves and acorns

of regional arepresented here. Canyou identify them?(Key is on page 7)

Critters, cont. from page 4found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Harlequin mantis shrimpare1 – 7 inches in length and weigh at most only a fewounces, yet can pound their way through the shells of ourfavorite shellfish. This is accomplished not with largemuscles (obviously), but by rapidly accelerating a littlesledgehammer, an appendage called a dactyl.The shrimp acceleratethe dactyl at a ratesufficient to create aforce more than2500x its own weight.The acceleration isgenerated with amechanism similar to that of a catapult,which preloads and amplifies force to accelerate aprojectile farther and faster than we could with our armsalone. At impact, the dactyl is moving at about 50mph,striking the shell with great force. At this speed the dactylalso creates cavitation bubbles – microscopic vacancies inthe water, which strike the predator as well and implode,releasing tremendous amounts of energy. Against hammerand cavitation bubbles, a protective shell is no match.

Magnetic Migration Loggerhead turtles hatching from egg clutches

along Florida’seast coast

eventuallytravel tothe kelpforests oftheSargasso

Sea off thecoasts of

Portugal and NorthAfrica. After feeding in these productive sub-marine ecosystems and achieving a 2 foot girth, they’reready to head back to sunny Florida and reproduce. Whata marvelous example of genetically programmed migration– from birth to feeding grounds never before seen and thenback to the beach from whence they came 20 years earlier!Equally marvelous is the ability of loggerheads to use theEarth’s magnetic field to find their way. At birth,hatchlings imprint a magnetic signature that isdistinctive to their home beach. When returning,they follow the ocean currents most of the wayand then the coast until the magnetic lines ofinclination match their imprinted pattern.Ultimately they must be lucky enough to findtheir home beach has not been converted intocondominiums.

Hearing with hairs Unlike mammals with eardrums that vibratein response to sound traveling through air, it’swater vibration in their aquatic habitat thatCalifornia Spiny Lobsters (Panulirus interruptus) hear, and

they do so with specialized hairs on their legs. Becausesound travels more efficiently in water than air, lobster legscan hear with great sensitivity movements of potential preyanywhere in their vicinity.

Fall is Acorn Season by Steven R. Spilatro

(This article originally ran in the Fall 2002 Newsletter)

Acorns are theseeds of oak trees andthe bounty of ourforests. Not only dothey regenerate themighty oak tree andprovide food and homesfor wildlife, they were adietary staple forhumans throughoutmuch of the history of

ourspecies. Only recentlyhave we forgotten thevirtues of these goldennuggets of the forest and come to seethem only as hazards on sidewalks. Surely we can rediscover their virtues. Around the world there are severalhundred oak species, and over eighty ofthese are native to the U.S. Theseproduce acorns of much varied size andshape; pin and willowoaks produce

somewhat smaller ones, whereasthe bur oak produces the largest (anacorn measuring 2 ½ inches wascollected from one in Tulsa,Oklahoma). Oak flowers begin to form acornsin spring shortly after pollination

occurs. By late summer smallscale-covered acorns (called

‘nubbins’) have formed. When mature, acornsare true nuts –a one-seeded fruit with ahard, woody covering.

To a botanist, the hard‘shell’ of the acorn is actually the ‘fruit’ of the oaktree, corresponding to the edible flesh of cherryor plum, the meat of the pumpkin, and the winged‘key’ of the maple.

See Acorns, page 6

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Acorns, cont. From page 5Likewise, walnut, buckeye and hickory all produce fleshy(rather than woody) fruits which later detach from the

seeds, nut-like though they may seem. Oaks are often classified intotwo broad groups. The first isnamed for the red oak, and also

includes pin, black and otherspecies. These speciestypically can be identified bythe presence of bristles at the

tips of the leaf lobes and a woollylayer inside the acorn shell. They typically require twoyears for their acorns todevelop. In our area, the ‘white oak’group includes the chestnut,

Chinquapin and swamp whiteoaks. Their leaves typically

have rounded lobes lacking bristles at the tips, and theinner surface of the acorn shell is smooth. The acorns ofthis group usually develop within a single growing season. There is some wonder to the continuance of oakspecies considering their reproduction involves merelydropping large, meaty seeds with no active means ofdispersal and which large numbers of animals and insectshave evolved to consume. Success lies in numbers andallowing others to do the dispersal. The average large, mature oak produces around fivethousand acorns a year. ‘Bumper crops’ may occur onlyevery three to four years – considering the prodigiousnutritional resources required to produce a crown-full ofacorns, it is not surprising that even healthy oaks cannotdo so year after year. Archeological evidence reveals that Homo sapiens wereamong those species depending uponacorns as a food source. WhileGreek legend holds that acornshelped feed their Golden Age,latter historical records alsoverify their importance to earlycivilizations. The Romanhistorian Plutarch called theoak "life-giver, mother, andnourisher," and Europeandiets included acornsthroughout much of the lastmillennium. The value of acornswas apparently known by thePilgrims, whose survival during thewinter of 1620 rested on stored acorns'appropriated' from Native Americans. For many good reasons, acorns were aprized food source among early civilizations as well as for many native American tribes. Oak forests along the U.S. eastern and western seaboardshad tremendous productivity in acorns, which are relativelyeasy to collect and store, and have high nutritional value.

Recent studies suggest harvests near 6,000 pounds peracre occurred in some areas. The annual harvest ofacorns by native Californians possibly measured in thetens-of-thousands of tons. Acorns store well,particularly when allowed todry, and some NativeAmericans held reserves forseveral years. Like mostnuts, acorns are high in Bvitamins and protein. Thefat content of some speciesis as low as 5%, unlike manycommercial nuts, which areover 50% fat. While it is doubtful that NativeAmericans completely shunned anysource of acorns, certainly those ofsome species were favored. Theacorns of the red oak are considered byall but the hungriest people too bitter to eat raw andunprocessed – neither your Newsletter Editor nor any ofhis coerced students have been willing to consume morethan a nibble. The astringent quality is due to the presence ofsubstances called tannins (the same stuff that causes thepungency of tea). Tannins, also abundant in the leavesand bark of oaks, serve a defensive function bydiscouraging many (but clearly not all) foraging critters. Seemingly, human cultures were not long discouraged, for long ago it wasdiscovered that the tannins from eventhe bitterest acorns could be leachedout. This is usually accomplished bycoarsely chopping the acorns andthen placing them in boiling water,replaced periodically. Ever the experimentalist, I tested acouple of leaching procedures. I canreport that acorns of local red oaksbecome edible after leaching for about 4hours. However, few people would raveabout their rather bland taste and chewytexture. Some books suggest that leachingin cool, running water can produce anedible, light colored nutmeat in a couple of days. However,the author’s attempts at this yielded a bitter, moldy mess. Not that this should discourage others from trying. Native Americans used cold leaching methods and a littlemold was nothing be scornful of. Some tribes would burythe acorns in swamp mud for a year to leach, while otherswould intentionally allow acorns to mold-over first and thenleach them in clean, freshwater sand. Maybe modernpalates are just too fastidious for acorn-ala-Roquefort. According to a number of published accounts, acorns ofthe white oak group are not bitter and edible raw. I testedthese favorable accounts with white oak acorns obtained inOak Grove Cemetery. See Acorns, page 7

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MNHS 2017 MembershipLet us know of any mistakes or omissions

Albaugh, DougAllen, RichardAmbrose, CrystalBarnhart, LynnBarry, Karen & GeneBeardmore, LynnBond, BradBrown, Gary and GloriaBrown, SamBrown, ShirleyBroyles, ChristineClark, CarolineColeman, NancyCollins, Patrick & HarrietDudzinski, DianeEmrick, Scott & JaniceEpler, JohnEsker, Richard & JeanetteFerguson, AmyFoster, Keith & BarbaraFredericks, MargaretGatewood, Mark & BettyGegner, SharonGrafton, EmilyGrubert, MaryHabel, NancyHawkins, Dave & RuthHewitt, DawnHines, BerniceHupp, BetsyJacoby, AnneJamison, MartinJeffers, JimJones, ElinKermer, ClareLayman, KathyLeVasseur, Doug & Ethel-MarieLewis, Paul & JudyLogue, MarilynLohse, JohnLudwig, KurtMalcomb, Peggy

McShaffrey, Dave & Ann DelleurMeagle, LaurieMelago, AnnaMeyer, Maggie & SteveMichael, EdwinMills, Jim & MarilynMitchell, DianeMoberg, Jack & BarbMoran, TomNoe, GwenNuss, JeanO'Brien, JanetOrtt, KathyParlin, FrancesPeterson, Tim & CarolPiekarski, Cathy & StanPiersall, JudyPreston, Ronald & CarolPrigge, PeterSites, AndreaSites, BobSpilatro, MarionSpilatro, Steven and JaneSteckel, TomSteinhagen, CarolStewart, PatrickStone, TeresaStowe, Jay & JoanThomas, DebbyThompson, Bill & Julie Z.Thompson, ElsaTing, CynthiaWall, AnitaWayne National Forest, John Whistler & Barb StewartWhite, CurtisWhite, JasonWood, Pat & FredWright, BeckyYoung, Rebecca

A – scarlet oakB – shingle oak

C – bur oakD – red oakE – pin oak

F – white oakG – chinkapin oakH – swamp white

Acorn Quiz Answers

Acorns, cont. From page 6Although much less bitter than acorns of red oaks, thetaste put to eternal rest any thoughts I had of adding white

oak acorns to the Thanksgiving nut-mix. Possibly acorns from othermembers of this group are better.

While acorns may no longer be amainstay of human diets, theirimportance to wildlife isundiminished. Birds, mammals andinsects depend upon this autumnharvest as part of their winterpreparations. Pheasants, turkeys,

water foul and many other birds dineon acorns. Deer, raccoons, mice and

bears will eat all they find, andchipmunks and squirrels will hidewhat they cannot eat. We grew up with stories ofsquirrels stashing acorns in the

ground as reserve for the leaner wintermonths. Some birds do so also, such asbluejays and woodpeckers. Insects put acorns to good use. They

provide food for many and a protective shelter for others. The acorn weevil is one consumerof acorns. The female laysher eggs in an acornnubbin, and in two to fourweeks the larvaeemerge to feed uponthe nutmeat. After theacorn drops to theground a larva will spendtwo or three days boringan escape hole throughthe shell. Afterleaving their acorncrib, weevil larvaemove undergroundwhere they reside for aslong as five years beforecompleting development and emerging one summer as amature acorn weevil. The acorns vacated by the weevil are not ignored by

other insects. The acornmoth lays an egg near theexit hole left by an acornweevil. After the mothlarva hatches, it crawlsthrough the hole into theacorn where it over wintersbefore maturing into theadult moth. After an acorn has beenused by both a weevil andmoth, it becomes suitablelodging for acorn antcolonies, which typically

have only 12 to 100 members. It appears that these acorninhabitants actively preserve its condition by secreting anantiseptic chemical that inhibits the growth of fungi. So next time you see an acorn, be it new or old, thinkabout the potential it holds...not just for the oak itself but forthe rest of nature that has come to depend upon it.

Invite a Friend to Join the

Marietta NaturalHistory SocietyWood Thrush — Individ’l $15River Otter — Family $25Monarch — Friend $50

Why not give a gift member-ship? Mail check to address given below

Benefits ofMembership

L Monthly programs

L Field trips

L Quarterly newsletter

L Educational experiences for kids and adults

L Conservation Projects

The MNHS Missioni To foster awareness of and sensitivity to our environment and its biodiversityi To provide a place where people with these interests can gather for information and activityi To create a presence in our community representing these ideas

Marietta Natural History Society P.O. Box 983 Marietta, Ohio 45750 (740) 373-5285