This morning I walked out to the ditch on Priestley and was quietly happy to see the water draining into our section from the clear ditch down at the end of Andrews lane. It was a small water ripple, and,as often happens when a person stops and watches a scene quietly, the frame seemed to shift and I could discern at least three sleek grey shapes that turned out to be very large carp trying to get into the iron corrugated tunnel. This was no salmon leaping up a weir, however, the entrance was choked with debris both natural logs and man-made drinking containers.
A half planned rescue mission was planned, using a bucket and a long handled landing net. Not well thought out, however. Most people who have an input (mostly sports fisherman and water use managers) consider carp invasive; a pejorative term which while accurate is also designed to stifle debate. Invasive animals, like bullfrogs, red eared sliders, goldfish and carp are usually persecuted for both real, and imagined slights against the manifest destiny of humans.
I just thought it would be cool. Calling in the reserve team (my sleepy family, just after morning coffee) we headed up to the culvert for do-gooding. Working with nature is often humbling, as any farmer or biologist will tell you. As we approached the huge, flapping grey fish stuck out of water just magically shrugged- and vanished. The pool was a shiny mirror of contemplation. Turns out, the ape ancestor in us was unable to be repressed and all the shouting and "communication" the hunting apes are famous for was definitely a issue. i couldn't even blame my kid, most of the shouting was my own. This episode is a good illustration that nature does not always need our "help". Invasive species also have another skill, they can adapt well to us humans, and are tough. I might check on them again, but right now those fish are doing fine and the water level is rising.
This estuarine river system, with "tides" brought on by irrigation and other human activities also illustrates how strange fish find shallow water strandings. There are many fish that adapt quite well to it. Some fish only breath air, other fish modified their buoyancy aid organs into lungs. Those that developed wrists and necks conquered the land, like Tiktaalik did 375 million years ago. The basic fish shape, however, is awful at shallow water marshes, which is why so many other species can flourish. Turtles and frogs are laughably bad at living on land, or deep water. But at the boundary, they are it's masters. Turtles, especially seem well adjusted to using the culverts to migrate from place to place.
The insects are getting busy, with many mating swarms over leaf litter. The cabbage white butterflies are at the early flowers, like the mustard grass. They are very cold tolerant and are active long before other butterflies. This is a good general adaptation for many different species who use the same resources. My nighttime insect trap is showing up many wasp species, which are amazingly diverse, along with the expected moths and midges. Inaturalist is doing a good job keeping me educated on the amazing abundance. Each night, my front porch becomes a frenzied battleground, where small midges congregrate for unknown reasons. This lures out many expectant spiders, some delicate, who have webs, and some muscular hairy, hunting and pouncing spiders. Unexpectedly, the clean up crew comes out as well; ants in many different forms and sizes. Carpenter ants, acrobat, and sugar are some of the types I've noticed so far. they seem to be scavengers of bug bits left over after the carnage of the spiders along with some beetles and crickets. In the trees I've seen how the web spiders use their threads to avoid marauding ant groups by hanging below the branches until the danger passes. Those ants, however are more interested in the flowery nectar and general detritus. Typical nature, a web is a snare, and also an escape strategy, while the ants' diet is flexible depending on their environment.
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