Diario de lugefool

On the field trip to the Berkeley marina area there is a mixture of niches including dump. In the intertidal niche we saw a number of interesting species form different branches of the tree of life. Birds were particularly obvious and are adapted in many ways: long legs for wading, long bills for probing or sharp for fishing. Under the rocks the crabs exploit the fact that not much can get to them.

The small periwinkle is adapted to hold tight to the rocks while being battered by wave action.

Further inland there is grassland habitat. Bur clover has adapted its seed to hitch a ride on passing animals as well as exploit disturbed ground. Willows are adapted to wet areas at the edge of the grassland. Himalaya blackberry has defensive thorns to protect its niche. Salt grass and pickleweed exploit a niche between the intertidal and the grassland where salinity in the soil is high. They both are adapted to deal with salt. Pickleweed concentrates it and then drops that portion of the plant.

For plants the reproductive structures seem to be the most distinctive characteristics. I observed several ferns and focused on the leaf shape as well as the underside of the leaf where the spore structures are.

For the pine I have photos of both the male and female cones
The two lichens that I observed are a good comparison of their structures, one small lobe shaped structure and the other much longer in structure and hanging from the branches of a tree.
Animals move a lot faster than plants and it is hard to focus in on individual traits. The easiest characteristic is coloration. Examples the red tail's tail, The butterflie's orange wingtips, and the beetle's wing casing.

My observation of a bombylius isn't research grade but this is an interesting fly.
The bombylius, also called a bee fly, is a bee mimic and resembles bumblebees. The thing that is most interesting about the bee fly is what is does with its eggs. The female uses her hind legs to flick eggs toward or into the nests of digger bees and other bee and insect nests. The bee fly seems to have a preference for diggers bees like the ones that we saw on campus. When the larva hatch they are a parasitoid and pray on the larva of the digger bee. They will also consume any of the food provided for the digger bee larva.

Failing to find a place suitable to flick its larva the bee fly will deposit its eggs in a location, usually on flowers, that other pollinators frequent in the hopes that the eggs can hitch a ride back to the nest of the prey species.

The bee fly is mean looking with its long proboscis but it is not a stinger. The long proboscis is used for feeding in a similar way to humming birds. In its adult stage bombylius feed on nectar.