Mud Tracks

November 06, 2024

We have received heavy rain over the last two days, and I tried to keep the kids out of the side yard. I monitor them when I do let them out to make sure they are not mischievous (Loki is a digger and Zena is a roller) and end up covered in mud. Today the rain stopped, and I decided to brave our walk site at the lake. A portion of the walk is on a paved parking lot, but the majority covers packed dirt tracks that lead out to the end of two spits. We were the only ones there when we arrived to begin our walk. We walked to the end of the first spit and while it was wet, we were able to pick our way through the puddles without getting our paws muddy. As we were coming off the spit two 4-wheel drive pickups pulled out onto the other spit and began to cut mud tracks through the vegetation. As we walked around the paved lot on the trail the trucks moved to the area we had just left. This had a wider area that had been torn up by previous off-road activity. It did not take long for one of the trucks to get stuck axel deep in the mud. This was obviously why they had come in the first place. After extricating the truck, they drove to the boat ramp and took selfies of the mud covered truck to share with their friends. Teenagers in pickups are not the only ones that leave mud tracks.

When I looked online, I found one of the more famous mud tracks is located at Racetrack Playa in Death Valley. Racetrack playa is approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) long and 1.2 miles (1.9 km) wide and is located at a height of 3708 feet in a north-south valley east of the Panamint Range within Death Valley National Park. The playa receives only 3 inches of annual precipitation and is bounded on all sides by north-south ranges rising 1500 to 2000 feet (457 to 610 m). The surface of the playa is mainly dried clay and provides a hard, smooth, and level pavement. The sailing stones, also called sliding or walking rocks, move and inscribe long tracks along a smooth valley floor without animal intervention. The movement of the rocks occurs when large, thin sheets of ice floating on a brief winter pond break up in the sun. Rocks weighing up to 705.5 pounds (320 kg) travel across the playa and leave mud tracks. Stones with rough bottoms leave straight striated tracks, while those with smooth bottoms tend to wander. The mud trails differ in both direction and length. Rocks that start next to each other may travel parallel for a time and then one abruptly changes direction to the left, right, or even back to the direction from which it came. This phenomenon has been documented since 1948 and is not unique to Racetrack Playa. Tracks in the mud have been observed around the world.

Traditionally, these rocks were considered to be pushed by wind over a wet and slippery playa surface but observations from 2014 called this assumption into question and several aspects of the mud tracks remain a mystery. A thorough system was put up to investigate the rock movement that included a weather station near the playa, time-lapse cameras centered on the southeast corner, and 15 GPS-equipped boulders on the surface. The researchers went to the location for maintenance and data retrieval 5-8 times per year and from November to March of each year the time-lapse camera recorded hourly conditions. Interwoof GPS loggers were also installed in limestone blocks northeast of natural stones and captured GPS and temperature data every 60 minutes. The GPS trackers began recording constantly at one-second intervals after being triggered. The shape of the shallow lake named Ontario Lacus on Saturn’s moon Titan has been compared to that of Racetrack Playa.

THOUGHTS: Despite the signs and barriers forbidding driving on the surface and making mud tracks posted along parts of the playa, park rangers still find new tire tracks on it every couple of years. The walking rocks will not slide if the surface is defaced. Destruction of such natural wonders takes decades to repair. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Flat Stanley

October 31, 2024

Last week we received a text from my son saying we would receive a package from our grandson. His second grade teacher in Washington state started a project for the students to connect with their relatives living in different parts of the country. The idea was to get responses over the next month and a half by sending a journal to track the progress of his avatar, a two dimensional representation of himself. When the package arrived, I took pictures of the avatar participating in activities around our house. He joined the fall pumpkin display, hung out with the succulents on the porch, and spent time in the garden among the tomatoes. I e-mailed these back to his teacher to share and sent a letter to describe the fun he was having in Arkansas. As requested, I sent the package along to my sister in Maine for her to do the same. The project was based on the children’s book character, Flat Stanley.

When I looked online, I found Flat Stanley is an American children’s book series written by author Jeff Brown. The idea began as a bedtime story for Brown’s sons, which Brown turned into the first Flat Stanley book published in 1964 featuring illustrations by Tomi Ungerer. Brown did not continue the series until two decades later, when he published five more books: Stanley and the Magic Lamp, Stanley in Space, Stanley’s Christmas Adventure, Invisible Stanley, and Stanley, Flat Again! By 2003, the Flat Stanley series had sold almost one million copies in the US and had been translated into French, German, Spanish, Italian, Japanese, and Hebrew. Brown died in December 2003, but other children’s book authors have continued the series under a new name, Flat Stanley’s Worldwide Adventures. The Flat Stanley Project began in 1995 under the direction of Dale Hubert, a third grade teacher in London, Ontario, Canada. The project is meant to facilitate letter-writing between schoolchildren as they document Flat Stanley accompanying them around the world. The goal of the project is to increase reading and writing skills, as well as teaching children about people and cultures from different places. In 2008, more than 6,000 classes from 47 countries took part in the Flat Stanley Project.

My grandson’s teacher gave the Flat Stanley project a different twist. Rather than having Stanley travel around the states, it was a (flat) picture of himself who was to participate in the adventures. The students begin by reading the book to become familiar with Flat Stanley’s story. Stanley is flat because a bulletin board had fallen on him, but he was able to overcome this drawback to excel and travel. The journal will document the places and activities along the avatars’ journeys. Each student’s journal is to be mailed back to the school with entries from family and friends. Postcards or letters returned to the class during the project help track the various places their avatars travel. The project is similar to the traveling gnome prank, except that the Flat Stanley Project has a focus on childhood literacy. While the project is focused on writing letters, my grandson’s teacher also suggested using email (as well) to assist with quicker travel time. I wrote in the journal, sent three pictures via email, and wrote a “flat” letter to the class about the wonders of Arkansas.

THOUGHTS: When I asked my sister if she would participate, she mentioned she had met the Flat Stanley author. She was with her daughter and entered a café in Maine that had cutouts of Stanley on the tables. They had read the book, recognized the character, and exclaimed, “Flat Stanley!” A man behind them answered “Yes?” and identified himself as the author. Education can be innovative and fun when teachers take time to present learning as more than “just the 3 R’s”. More critical is for the parents and larger family to participate. It is one thing to force a child to do math at the kitchen table, it is quite another way to sit with them as they read or do their math tables. It may not always take a village, but village support certainly helps. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Sea Robins

September 30, 2024

David Kingsley, the Rudy J. and Daphne Donohue Munzer Professor in the department of developmental biology at Stanford University’s School of Medicine, first came across an odd looking fish in 2016 when he stopped into a small public aquarium in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. “The fish on display completely spun my head around because they had the body of a fish, the wings of a bird, and multiple legs like a crab,” Kingsley said. Kingsley and his colleagues decided to study the fish in the lab and found differences between the sea robin species and the genetics responsible for their unusual traits. The findings of the study team’s new research show how evolution leads to complex adaptations in specific environments, such as the ability of sea robins to be able to “taste” prey using their highly sensitive appendages. According to their research, some types of the bottom-dwelling ocean fish use taste bud-covered legs to sense and dig up prey along the seafloor. Sea robins are so adept at rooting out prey on the ocean floor with their leglike appendages that other fish follow them around hoping to snag some of the freshly uncovered prey themselves.

When I looked online, I found sea robins (order, Triglidae), commonly known as gurnards, are a family of bottom-feeding scorpaeniform ray-finned fish. Triglidae is one of the five largest orders of bony fishes and is divided into 3 subfamilies and 8 genera that include 125 species distributed in temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Most species are around 12 to 16 inches (30 to 40 cm) in length with the females typically being larger than the males. They have an unusually solid skull, and many species possess armored plates on their bodies. Another distinctive feature is the presence of a “drumming muscle” that makes sounds by beating against the swim bladder. Sea robins have three “walking rays” on each side of their body that are derived from the supportive structures in the pectoral fins (fin-rays). During development, the fin-rays separate from the rest of the pectoral fin and develop into walking rays. These walking rays have specialized muscle divisions and unique anatomy that differ from typical fin-rays to allow them to be used as supportive structures during underwater locomotion. The rays are used for locomotion and prey detection on the seafloor via tasting (chemoreception) and are highly sensitive to the amino acids in marine invertebrates.

While all sea robins have leglike appendages, only some have the macroscopic sensory organs that allow them to taste the environment. Research revealed digging sea robins depend on a regulatory gene called tbx3a not only to develop their specialized fin adaptations but also to form the papillae that cause them to dig. Tbx3 also plays a role in limb development in humans, chickens, mice, and other fish species. The fish grew legs using the same genes that contribute to the growth of our limbs and then repurposed these legs to find prey using the same genes our tongues use to taste food. Sea robins stand out among other walking fishes because their pectoral fins (walking fin rays) are highly jointed and their skeletal and muscular anatomy showcase unique modifications that enable the sea robins to walk.

THOUGHTS: Sea robins have firm white flesh that holds together in cooking, making them well-suited to soups and stews such as the French bouillabaisse. They were often caught in British waters as a bycatch and discarded, but as other species became less sustainable and more expensive, they became more popular. Sea robins (gurnards) are used as bait by lobster fishers but are also now appearing in fish markets in the US. As desirable species are overfished or become scarce humans turn to the “next one up” to meet our food needs. We need to find ways to make fishing sustainable, or even the rough (trash) fish will be in short supply. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Moo Deng

September 28, 2024

Moo Deng is a pygmy hippopotamus living in Khao Kheow Open Zoo in Si Racha, Chonburi province, Thailand, born on 10 July 2024. Her name was chosen through a public poll with over 20,000 people voting for “Moo Deng”, translating to “bouncy pig”. The zoo posted images of her on its Facebook page and Moo Deng quickly became a fan favorite for her playful and energetic romps. Her popularity led the zoo to sell clothing and other merchandise featuring designs based on her likeness. Other companies produced merchandise, including a cake shop (Vetmon Café) which created a realistic cake shaped like her. Moo Deng’s viral popularity resulted in a doubling of daily visitors in early September. The zoo is in the process of copyrighting and trademarking “Moo Deng the hippo” to raise funds for the zoo and plans to launch a livestream to allow fans to watch Moo Deng over the Internet.

When I looked online, I found Moo Deng is a pygmy hippopotamus (Choeropsis liberiensis) or pygmy hippo, a small hippopotamid native to the forests and swamps of West Africa. The pygmy is one of only two extant species in the family Hippopotamidae, the other being the larger common or Nile hippopotamus (Hippopotamus amphibius). The pygmy hippo was unknown outside West Africa until the 19th century and is a reclusive and nocturnal forest creature difficult to study in the wild. Like the common hippo, the pygmy hippo displays terrestrial adaptations but is semiaquatic and relies on water to keep its skin moist and its body temperature cool. Mating and birth may occur in water or on land. The pygmy is herbivorous and feeds on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses, and fruits it finds in the forests. Current pygmy populations are primarily in Liberia, with small groups in Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Ivory Coast. It has been extirpated (eradicated) from Nigeria. Pygmy hippos are primarily threatened by loss of habitat, as forests are logged and converted to farmland. The Pygmy are also vulnerable to poaching, hunting for bushmeat, natural predators, war, and are illegally hunted for food in Liberia. The species breed well in captivity and the vast majority of research is derived from zoo specimens. A 2015 assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature estimated that fewer than 2,500 pygmy hippos remain in the wild.

As a viral sensation Moo Deng has prompted a makeup trend popular with beauty influencers. Moo Deng makeup is in line with what beauty enthusiasts look for, super dewy skin and lots of blush. The trend is perfect for fall as the skin will be hydrated and glass-like as the drier months approach. The trend started with influencers trying to recreate her iconic look by achieving the baby pygmy’s glass-like skin with the prettiest shade of blush. Before applying makeup, you need to ensure the base is nice and dewy to capture the baby hippo’s glistening skin. The trend incorporates lots of grey hues to represent Moo Deng’s skin color. An element common among influencers’ is the heavily flushed cheeks. Any blush shade will do, as long as it has a great color payoff. Grey eyeshadow or lip gloss, followed by a particular shade of blush create the final makeup look.

THOUGHTS: While Moo Deng may create viral views, sales, and makeup, she is at risk. Some visitors harassed Moo Deng by splashing her with water and throwing objects to wake her up, forcing the zoo to install security cameras around her enclosure. The zoo also implemented a 5-minute time limit for visitors to accommodate the high volume of visitors. While most marvel at the wonder of nature, there are others who find pleasure in destruction. Whether it is throwing objects at Moo Deng or toppling 100,000 year old rock formations the seconds of fame being sought are not worth the cost. “Influence” comes with responsibility. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.

Leopard Darters

September 25, 2024

Last week the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AFGC) released 80 leopard darters into the wild with the help of state and federal partners along with Conservation Fisheries LLC, a private hatchery specializing in propagating rare and threatened species. According to Chance Garrett, fish ecologist for the AGFC, this release is the first of two scheduled for the Cossatot River in western Arkansas this year and is the first historical reintroduction effort of leopard darters anywhere. The fish were grown from broodstock taken from the Mountain Fork River which flows from Arkansas into Oklahoma. Another 250 fish are planned for release in early October. Garrett said, “They originally thought it was only found in Oklahoma, but some populations were found in the Rolling Fork and Cossatot after its listing. Those two populations are thought to no longer exist, so this effort to re-establish them is extremely important.” This is the second year of the project, but the first year saw a low survival rate as the hatchery and were added to the broodstock rather than being released. The leopard darters measured and an inch or two (2.5 to 5 cm) at stocking size and were transported from the hatchery to their destination in one day.

When I looked online, I found leopard darters (Percina pantherina) are a species of freshwater ray-finned fish, from the subfamily Etheostomatinae. The family (Percidae) also contains the perches (Genus, Perca), ruffes (Gymnocephalus cernua), and pikeperches (Genus, Sander). The species is native to the US and is only be found in the Little River drainage in Oklahoma and Arkansas. A typical habitat is medium to large streams with rubble and boulder substrate. The leopard darter feeds on small invertebrates on the riverbed and spawns in March and April. Adults rarely exceed 3 inches (8 cm) in length and have 11 to 14 large, dark spots on their sides, which contrast against a light background that ranges from pale olive on the back to yellowish olive on the underside. The back of the fish has numerous saddles and bars. The leopard darter is threatened by impoundment, habitat loss, and runoff from agricultural activity. It has never been a common species and has been listed as a threatened species in the US since 1978.

Transporting and releasing the leopard darter was a full day affair. They left the Conservation Fisheries hatchery in Knoxville, Tennessee in the morning, were met by AGFC personnel in Memphis, and driven to the other side of other side of Arkansas by 6:30 p.m. that evening. Once at the river, the fish had to be tempered to adjust to the river water. They arrived in bags which were floated to slowly acclimate to the temperature of the river water. Then some river water was let into the bags to help them adjust slowly to the chemistry of that location. Finally, they are ready for release. The staff scanned the release pool the next day and found many of the fish had dispersed. Garrett said. “Hopefully we’ll see them in future survey efforts . . . Ultimately our goal is to see some spawning activity in spring.” The leopard darters represent one of the longest-standing members of the Endangered Species Act.

THOUGHTS: Leopard darters typically live less than two years, but individuals older than three years have been found. Introduction of these 320 fish (total) could reintroduce a viable population into the Cossatot River, but the fragile species still faces the loss of habitat due to construction of reservoirs and population isolation, along with agricultural and industrial activity, that drove them to decline in the first place. Species reintroduction and preservation takes the combined efforts of government agencies, business, and individual landowners to be effective. While it may take a village to raise a child, it takes concerned communities to preserve endangered species. Act for all. Change is coming and it starts with you.