Wild About Utah - A Utah Public Radio production featuring contributors who share a love of nature, preservation and education

April 15, 2019April 16, 2019

Gulls

California Gull <i>Larus californicus</i> Farmington Bay Davis County, Utah 9 Feb 2003 Courtesy & Copyright 2003 Jack Binch, Photographer See UtahBirds.org — California Gull
*Larus californicus*
Farmington Bay Davis County, Utah
9 Feb 2003
Courtesy & Copyright 2003 Jack Binch, Photographer
See UtahBirds.org

“When it seemed that nothing could stay the devastation, great flocks of gulls appeared, filling the air with their white wings and plaintive cries, and settled down upon the half-ruined fields. All day long they gorged themselves, and when full, disgorged and feasted again, the white gulls upon the black crickets, hosts of heaven and hell contending, until the pests were vanquished and the people were saved.” Orson F. Whitney, June 6th 1848. Over a century later, the California gull, was selected as the state bird of Utah and a gull monument placed on Temple Square in SLC.

My first serious encounter with this bird occurred in the mudflats of the Ogden Bay Bird Refuge. On a date with my 3 young children and a lovely lady whom I later betrothed, we walked several hundred yards to a small island consisting of an outcrop of mica schist. As we approached, a white cloud of screaming gulls arose. We soon discovered the island to be covered with nests of young and eggs. Mesmerized by this remarkable display of turmoil and alarm, the gulls went on the attack by releasing offal from both anterior and posterior ports. The gulls won the day with our rapid retreat.

I’ve had many gull experiences since: being attacked by mew gulls in Alaska, who also attacked bald eagles that strayed into their territories; witnessing Franklin gulls returning to Utah landfills with a pink glow from gorging on brine shrimp; watching with amazement as western gulls opening clams and mussels by shattering them on rocks while backpacking on the Washington coast.

I’ve come to respect North America’s 28 species of gulls as graceful, intelligent, and skillful seabirds. The following gull trivia may win a few more admirers.

Gulls are monogamous creatures that mate for life and rarely divorce. As parents, they are attentive and caring, both involved in incubating the eggs as well as feeding and protecting the chicks until fledged. They also teach their young creative methods of hunting, showing the intelligent ability to pass skills to others.

They are one of the few species of seabirds that can survive drinking salt water, enabling them to venture far out to sea in search of food when necessary. This is made possible by a special pair of glands just above the eyes that flush the salt from their system out through their nostrils.

They are expert fliers, having mastered control of wind and thermals, sharp directional changes, climbs and dives.

They have developed many clever ways of stealing the catch of other seabirds using their flying skills to pluck fish from birds in flight, or fascinating maneuvers to pester them until they drop the food which the gull will catch before it hits the water.

So how is our state bird predicted to weather a shifting climate? Unfortunately not well, losing 98% of its summer range and 72% of winter range by 2080. Until then, I will continue to marvel at the great flocks following the plow turning up fresh earth and the hidden banquet they relish.

This is Jack Greene and I’m utterly wild about Utah!

Credits:

Pictures: Courtesy & Copyright Jack Binch, Photographer
Audio: Courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver
Text: Jack Greene, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Additional Reading:

Bingham, Lyle and Huren, Richard(Dick), Wild About Utah, August 19, 2009, https://wildaboututah.org/a-moment-to-think-about-our-state-bird/

Bonaparte’s Gull: https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0600id.html; http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Bonapartes_Gull.html
Herring Gull: https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0510id.html; http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Herring_Gull.html; http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsD-K/HerringGull3.htm
California gull Larus californicus: https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i0530id.html; http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/California_Gull.html; http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsA-C/CaliforniaGull.htm; http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsA-C/CaliforniaGull2.htm
Franklin’s gull Larus pipixcan: https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i0590id.html; http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Franklins_Gull.html
Thayer’s gull Larus thayeri: https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i0518id.html; http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Thayers_Gull.html; http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsS-Z/ThayersGull2.htm
Ring-billed gull Larus delawarensis: https://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i0540id.html; http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Ring-billed_Gull.html
Mew Gull: http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsL-R/MewGull.htm
Glaucous-winged Gull: http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsD-K/GlaucousWingedGull.htm
Sabine’s Gull: http://www.utahbirds.org/birdsofutah/BirdsS-Z/SabinesGull.htm

April 8, 2019April 9, 2019

Habitat Heroes Explore More Utah Biomes

Utah is a wildly diverse place. Ecological and biological diversity are usually tied to an abundance of water; but here in Utah, despite our relative lack of the wet stuff, we boast of at least nine unique biomes spanning from the low-elevation Mojave Desert around St. George to the high Alpine Tundra of our many snowcapped mountain ranges. You can think of a biome as a large community of similar organisms and climates or a collection of similar habitats. Just recently, my third grade students wrapped up a semester-long investigation into seven of those biomes found in Utah including the high Alpine Tundra, Riparian/Montane Zone, Sagebrush Steppe, Wetlands, and the Great Basin, Colorado Plateau, and Mojave Deserts. We explored those biomes by way of researching a specific animal endemic in Utah to each of those biomes. We called our project “Habitat Heroes.” I’ll let a few of my students explain their findings.

(Student readings)

Zach's Rubber Boa Head, Tongue and Scales Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Zach’s Rubber Boa
Head, Tongue and Scales
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS
(Full Student Name Redacted)

Zach’s Rubber Boa:
My name is Zach, and my animal is the rubber boa. The rubber boa lives in the riparian/montane biome in Utah. The rubber boa eats shrews, mice, small birds, lizards, snakes, and amphibians and is usually found along streams and in forests and in meadows.

Noah's Ringtail Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Noah’s Ringtail
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted)

Noah’s Ringtail:
This is Noah, and I’ve been studying the ringtail. The ringtail lives in the cold desert biome on the Colorado Plateau in Utah. The ringtail is gray and furry with a long black and white tail. How ringtails catch their food: number one-being very sly and waiting for the right time. They live in rocky deserts, caves, and hollow logs.

Muskrat Collage Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Muskrat Collage
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted)

The Muskrat:
My animal’s the muskrat. The muskrat lives in the wetland biome in Utah. Muskrats live in Mexico, Canada, and the United States where there are marshes, ponds, and vegetated water. Muskrats go out at night and find food like aquatic plants, grass, and fish. They have special abilities that can be used for a very special reason to help them survive.

Elizah's Long-tailed Weasel Courtesy & Copyright EBLS (Full Student Name Redacted) — Elizah’s Long-tailed Weasel
Courtesy & Copyright EBLS
(Full Student Name Redacted)

Elizah’s Weasel:
My name is Elizah, and my animal is the long-tailed weasel. The long-tailed weasel lives in the Great Basin biome in Utah. They are brown and yellow all year long except for winter. They are white during winter. [The] long-tailed weasel’s scientific name is Mustela frenata. They are mostly nocturnal.

In addition to researching the different biomes and learning about the adaptations animals must possess in order to survive there, these third graders have been visiting the several biomes local to Cache Valley and investigating their research animals’ habitats. These experiences have been powerful in helping students realize what it’s really like to exist in the wilds of Utah.

I’m Josh Boling, and I’m Wild About Utah!

Investigating Beaver Habitats Along Temple Fork Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS	Exploring an alpine-type biome along beaver creek Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS
Flying like the birds; Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS	Looking at tree migration in Green Canyon Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS
Investigating Beaver Curtis Creek wanderings; Hardware Ranch; Blacksmith Fork Canyon Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, EBLS

Credits:
Images:
Artwork Courtesy & Copyright Josh Boling’s 3rd Grade students
Photos Courtesy & Copyright Eric Newell, Edith Bowen Laboratory School Field Experience Director
Sound:
Text: Josh Boling, 2017, Bridgerland Audubon Society

Sources & Additional Reading

Boling, Josh and students, Habitat Heroes Explore Utah Biomes, Wild About Utah, Mar 4, 2019, https://wildaboututah.org/utah-biomes/

Edith Bowen Laboratory School, https://edithbowen.usu.edu/

Biomes, Kimball’s Biology Pages, http://www.biology-pages.info/B/Biomes.html

Mission Biomes, NASA Earth Observatory, https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/experiments/biome

The World’s Biomes, University of California Museum of Paleontology, UC Berkeley, https://ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss5/biome/

April 2, 2019April 17, 2019

Yellowstone Elk’s response to Wolves

Arguably the most scientifically-important (and controversial) elk herd in the world, because it has been scrutinized and studied the longest, is in Yellowstone National Park.

The first professional study of the herd was started in 1916 and the herd has been at the center of debates about the forces that shape wildland ecosystems ever since.

Yellowstone Elk’s response to Wolves: Spring Elk Herd Courtesy Utah DWR, Tom Becker, Photographer — Spring Elk Herd
Courtesy Utah DWR, Tom Becker, Photographer

In addition to providing insight into ecosystems, the Northern Yellowstone elk have been an important source population for restoring other elk herds in the United States and Canada where they were eliminated during the late 1800s. Many elk herds in North America trace their ancestry to translocated elk from northern Yellowstone.

Yellowstone Elk’s response to Wolves: Utah Cow & Bull Elk Courtesy & Copyright Greg Sheehan — Utah Cow & Bull Elk
Courtesy & Copyright Greg Sheehan

The herd has a seasonal migration route that stretches from the Paradise Valley in southwest Montana to the southern boundary of Yellowstone National Park – a distance of 80 miles.

Prior to the Yellowstone’s establishment in 1872, market hunting decimated the elk herd, reducing it to a few thousand animals. Through the 20th century the population gradually grew and in 1994 it reached a peak of over 19,000.

Yellowstone Elk’s response to Wolves: Collared Yellowstone Wolf Courtesy & Copyright Matt Metz — Collared Yellowstone Wolf Courtesy & Copyright Matt Metz

A year later, the first of 41 grey wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone.

People wondered what impact these wolves would have on the Yellowstone herd since elk are the main source of food for the canines.

Dan MacNulty, associate professor in the Department of Wildland Resources in the Quinney College of Natural Resource at USU, who has been studying Yellowstone wolves for the past two decades said, “people were concerned wolves were inducing a landscape of fear which was changing the way elk were using their habitat.”

They imagined the poor creatures hiding in less than ideal habitats because they had been chased off by the wolves.

However, studies conducted by MacNulty and others have since revealed that elk continue to maintain regular access to all their usual habitats irrespective of wolves. In one recent study, for example, MacNulty and his team found adult female elk established and maintained winter home ranges without regard to several measures of wolf predation risk including the density of wolves and the risky areas where wolves often kill elk.

Yellowstone Elk’s response to Wolves: Female Yellowston Elk Defending Herself From a Wolf Courtesy & Copyright Robert Landis — Female Yellowston Elk Defending Herself From a Wolf
Courtesy & Copyright Robert Landis

Elk coexist with wolves in a variety of ways. One way is elk use the riskier areas of the landscape when wolves are resting, which is in the afternoon and, surprisingly, at night. Wolves don’t have ideal vison for nocturnal hunting, so they often settle down after sunset and resume hunting at dawn. These nightly lulls in wolf activity allow elk to graze the open grasslands in relative safety.

But even when wolves are on the prowl, elk don’t seem to go out their way to avoid them. MacNulty’s recent study found the rate at which elk encountered wolves was no different from what was expected if elk simply ignored wolves. This is possible because elk often survive their encounters with wolves, owing to their larger size, aggressive demeanor, and herding behavior. As a result, elk seem to place greater emphasis on finding food than on avoiding wolves.

The emerging picture is that the effect of wolves on the northern Yellowstone elk herd is defined by wolves eating rather than scaring elk. How much this consumptive effect actually matters for elk population growth is the focus of ongoing research. One clue that it may not matter too much is the elk population has been steadily growing since 2012.

MacNulty cautions that we should recognize the complexity of the Yellowstone ecosystem and resist the urge to jump to conclusions, and instead rely on patient data-gathering to test what may seem obvious.

Nature can be full of surprises.

This is Shauna Leavitt and I’m Wild About Utah.

Credits:
Photos:
Courtesy & Copyright Dan MacNulty
Courtesy & Copyright Tom Becker
Courtesy & Copyright Greg Sheehan
Audio: Courtesy and Copyright Kevin Colver
Text: Shauna Leavitt

Sources & Additional Reading

Hillyard, Traci, MacNulty, Dan, Yellowstone Elk Don’t Budge for Wolves say Scientists, Utah State Today, Utah State University, Tuesday, Mar. 26, 2019, https://www.usu.edu/today/?id=58299

Hillyard, Traci, Cotterill, Gavin, Hidden Costs of Disease to Greater Yellowstone Elk, Utah State Today, Utah State University, Monday, Oct. 29, 2018, https://www.usu.edu/today/?id=58055

Hillyard, Traci, MacNulty, Dan, Kohl, Michel, Yellowstone’s ‘Landscape of Fear’ Not So Scary After All, Utah State Today, Utah State University, Tuesday, Friday, Jun. 22, 2018, https://www.usu.edu/today/?id=57785

Elk, Yellowstone National Park, US National Park Service, US Department of the Interior, https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/nature/elk.htm

French, Brett, Famous Yellowstone elk herd rebounds two decades after wolf reintroduction, tar-Tribune Feb 3, 2018, https://trib.com/outdoors/famous-yellowstone-elk-herd-rebounds-two-decades-after-wolf-reintroduction/article_0f7eefd9-484b-5060-a68d-2ebfbed2b054.html

March 25, 2019March 26, 2019

Silent Spring Revisited

Silent Spring First Edition Cover Copyright Houghton Mifflin, Publisher. Note, rights exist for the designer/illustrators Lois Darling & Louis Darling Courtesy Wikimedia and Abe books. — Silent Spring
First Edition Cover
Copyright Houghton Mifflin, Publisher.
Note, rights exist for the designer/illustrators Lois Darling & Louis Darling
Courtesy Wikimedia and Abe books.

We can be part of the problem, or part of the solution. It is a marvel at how some people have an “ I don’t care” attitude when it comes to the outdoors and the natural world. Whether a person believes that God created the world, it happened via evolution, or never really think about it at all, our lives are directly connected to the natural processes of this planet.

For those who live in the somewhat hectic world of urban employment and the frantic rush of crowded traffic lanes, it may seem that there may never be a moment where they can relax and enjoy the quiet sounds of nature, whether it be the ripples of a stream, the calls of a songbird, or the breeze rustling through trees. We can become so disconnected from nature that its very existence may seem like a foreign land to us as we are absorbed by work, television, transportation, and household bills.

Then again, you might be the type to schedule an occasional escape to a national park or forest. Or perhaps you will be content simply to bid farewell to Winter and welcome the warmth of Spring, the sounds of songbirds claiming territories and seeking mates, or watching gorgeous butterflies drifting among floral bouquets. But what if some of those natural sights and sounds we seek are no longer there?

In 1962, Rachel Carson published her book, Silent Spring. Think about that title: Silent Spring. What would it be like to walk outside and never hear the songs of birds or the humming of pollinating honeybees?
Carson was concerned about the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment, especially those being sprayed to control insects on large scales. She was concerned about the near constant presence of such chemicals in our foods and suggested that these products are cancer-causing. And, in certain cases, many insects were developing resistance to new pesticides. Her recommendations were that people use biological controls whenever possible by using natural predators, such as ladybird beetles to attack aphids, rather than spraying for them.

Humans have developed powers to change our environment in wonderful, or drastic, ways. We need to remember that whether we think about it or not, we are connected to the “natural” systems that support human life.

So let’s consider a few ways that we can help ourselves by helping those natural systems.

First:

Protect your soil. Be careful about chemical additives and fertilizers.

Second:

Be prudent about your use of water. It is essential to all life, and we don’t have an unlimited supply.

Third:

Reevaluate your affinity for lawns. Their value in the West is overrated. Consider planting more native flower gardens that will feed the pollinators which help provide our food sources.

Fourth:

Plant trees. They provide shade, purify the air, provide housing for birds, and raise our property values.

Fifth:

Help wildlife. Plant milkweed for declining Monarch Butterflies, place birdfeeders in your yards, and provide a water source for birds and butterflies.

We can be part of the problems, or part of the solutions.

This is Ron Hellstern, and I am Wild About Utah.

Credits:

Images: Courtesy & Copyright Houghton Mifflin, Lois Darling and Louis Darling, Illustrators
Audio: Courtesy & Copyright Friend Weller, UPR.org
Text: Ron Hellstern, Cache Valley Wildlife Association

Additional Reading

Silent Spring, RachelCarlson.org (a memorial site, see Linda Lear), http://www.rachelcarson.org/SilentSpring.aspx

Silent Spring First Edition Hardback on Amazon, Rachel Carson, Houghton Mifflin, 1962 https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Spring-Rachel-Carson/dp/0395075068

Silent Spring Anniversary Edition, Rachel Carson (Author), Linda Lear (Introduction), Edward O. Wilson (Afterword), Houghton Mifflin, 2002, https://www.amazon.com/Silent-Spring-Rachel-Carson/dp/0618249060

Silent Spring First Edition, Abe Books, https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=22902965763

Wilson, Joseph F, Messinger Carril, Olivia J., The Bees in Your BackYard, Princeton University Press, 2015, https://www.amazon.com/dp/0691160775/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_ep_dp_oRgkCbAF08452
Bees on a Sunflower, from The Bees in Your BackYard, https://youtu.be/z0RGx70zNHA

Q & A with Joseph S. Wilson & Olivia J. Messinger Carril, Princeton University Press, https://press.princeton.edu/interviews/qa-10593

Wilson, Joseph S.; Forister, Matthew L.; and Carril, Olivia Messinger, “Interest Exceeds Understanding in Public Support of Bee Conservation” (2017). Biology Faculty Publications. Paper 1570. https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2520&context=biology_facpub