SF Natural History Series

I now know at least a little bit about newts. Karen Goetz, with beautiful photographs,  introduced us to the natural history of the California Newt (Taricha torosa). Karen, as part of her graduate studies in Conservation biology, had studied how female newts selected their egg laying sites in the hills of the East Bay.

She lead with the life cycle of these amphibian’s (a type of salamander in fact): from their start as eggs the size of o large cherry, through their larval stage on into their adult life, their mating habits, and how they lay eggs, growing 6-8 inches, with toxins in their skin, and living for a surprisingly long time (20 years at least in the wild, with a record of 35 in captivity). Despite their toxic skin, they still have their predators, crayfish and garter snakes, and other newts as well.

What Karen had studied in particular was where the female salamanders lay their eggs. It turns out they tend to lay their eggs in deeper pools (greater than 37cm in depth), on woody objects of 9mm diameter or greater,  near muddy banks. Her hypothesis being that their choice relates a lot to biomechanics — how eggs fare in the seasonal flooding of California creeks: eggs fare best when laid on woody branches resilient to turbulent waters, and deep enough that they would avoid being hung out to dry before the eggs hatched.

Her pictures from under the water were ethereal glimpses of the lives of these animals. Probably the part we know best, as when they crawl out from the creek, there’s not a lot of data of how far, or doing what. We do know that newts, like many other amphibians, are vulnerable because they are so dependent on water for such a crucial part of their life. Humankind has had a huge impact in what it has been putting into the water, as well as how the water flows.

Liam O’Brien would like San Francisco to be remembered for more than the first known eradication of a butterfly species from the planet. The Xerces Blue went extinct in the 40s due to urbanization, and possibly because of the popularity of the butterfly in people’s butterfly collections in Victorian times. He would like to see the Green Hairstreak survive on the hills of San Francisco.

Liam took us through the biology and ecology of butterflies and why they can be so susceptible to human interference. Butterflies have host plants on which eggs will be laid, and some species including the Green Hairstreak is very particular (Deer weed and coastal buckwheat). Further, butterflies have a nectar source, and here again the Hairstreak is a picky eater of Wild Cucumber and Seaside daisy.

The butterflies only fly from 8-10 days in March through Mid May. The length of the season depending on the amount of spring rain. The larva sits in leaf litter for months before it pupates. The hairstreak is also one of 15 species in San Francisco that is a hill topper. Around 3pm in the afternoon the butterflies will fly to the top of one of the few hills they congregate looking for a mate. The females then disperse.

In an urban world this is the danger point for butterflies, especially the Green Hairstreak females looking for a spot to lay their eggs.

This where the Project comes in, trying to create corridors of habitat for these little minute creatures. Organizing people to grow and plant the host plants and nectar sources that will allow this “charismatic micro fauna” to survive. In this little project there is now a community of people who are coming together to plant a community of plants that will keep a community of animals.

Hopefully this can be a model for some of our other native species, and in the process bring us back a little of what we have lost. To find out more, check out their page on Nature in the City.

Using photography, old maps, and any scrap of archival information they can find, Robin Grossinger and his colleagues at the Historical Ecology Program of the San Francisco Estuary Institute piece together what San Francisco Bay Area landscapes used to look like. In trying to solve climate change and other environmental issues, can we calibrate ourselves better with the california landscape better than we currently do. As much as we have collectively changed the Californian landscape, especially in the last 60 years, the landscape has never really gone away.

From the distribution of oaks and other trees in the bay area, to interior marshes, to beaches in the bay and the way creeks flow down into the South Bay, it seems like there is things that we could do a lot better.

The value of seeking to return areas to their former state is not from a sense that “more natural” is better, but that it can be a pragmatic and worth doing from a cost savings perspective, working with the landscape rather than fighting to change it. Restoring wetlands which could help with flood control, not trying to turn intermittent streams into perennial ones that we constantly have to dredge, and for which we have to import water to keep running.

Of course, the problems are now complicated by our growth and how we have changed things. One example of the complexities that we have created is the steelhead salmon runs that go up rivers in the South Bay… Salmon that can no longer return to the delta partly because so much water is pumped away from it — to ironically feed these kind of rivers.

We can hope that the work that Robin and his colleagues are doing can help lead us to a better path to living within our environment.

Mike Boom gave us a fantastic introduction to the ecosystems off California shores. He started with an amusing pantomime description of what it takes to suit up and equip oneself to make his underwater videos.

The video camera itself was surprisingly normal looking for the stunning results he had on screen. He started with Southern California waters off Catalina Island, showing us from plants, to invertebrates, to fish the host of creatures that inhabit the seas. He left us with a litany of names that probably only scratched the surface of the water’s diversity, but the images brought oohs and aahs from the crowd.

His second segment showed us the waters off Monterey, with a similar progression of creatures — noting how the waters differ in plants and animals and how they are similar, as well as noting the difference in water, how southern waters can be much clearer if only a little bit warmer.

He ended the night with two extra little clips, one showing waters even further north in Alaska — again bringing out the differences of life as water gets colder (creatures from the deep in the south tend to show up at higher depths); the other showed a chance encounter with a juvenile seal which was a delight to watch. First shy, then coy, then outright showing off its splendid mobility in the waters — every now and again stopping for a scratch.

Check out some of his videos (from waters above and beyond Californias) at laughingeel.com.