Snowy Palms: An Omen of Death

Recently, parts of Southern California experienced some surprisingly cold weather, as falling snow graced the tops of the palm trees around Christmas time.  A White Christmas is nothing terribly surprising for folks like myself, born and raised in Colorado, but for California natives it was definitely more of a surprise.  People had pulled over on the side of the highway for an opportunity to play in the snow, throwing snowballs and taking selfies all over the place.

Wind turbines in the foreground, and snow capped mountains in the background in the middle of the desert just outside of Palm Desert in California.

A family stopped along Interstate-15 in Temecula, California to play in the snow, a scene that could easily have been lifted out of Colorado, if not for the trees adorned with green leaves, and especially the palm tree in the background.

A snow selfie on the side of the Interstate-15 in Temecula, California.

Although the winter freeze was very exciting for many of the residents, for the native residents of Southern California's deserts, the freeze would be much less welcome.  Over millions of years, the animals that call these seemingly barren slopes home have evolved to cope with extreme environmental stress typical of those experienced in the desert.  Aridity and extreme heat of course play major roles in any desert ecosystem, and many of the adaptations of desert animals are in response to these climatic factors.

The bobcat (Lynx rufus), one of the residents of the Southern California deserts.  This particular individual was at The Living Desert in Palm Desert.

A captive desert bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis nelsoni) at The Living Desert.  This subspecies is native to the southern United States and Mexico.

A western diamondback rattlesnake (Crotalus atrox), also native to the southern United States and northern Mexico.

A wild greater roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) that I chased through a Target parking lot.  

A wild California ground squirrel (Spermophilus beecheyi) that we saw foraging around at The Living Desert.

A hummingbird, possibly an Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna).  Hummingbirds in Colorado will fly south for the winter, in order to avoid harsh weather like that seen in Southern California last week,

Of course, environmental conditions that fall well outside the norm are arguably equally important for animals native to a specific biome or region.  Even if a population of animals thrives in the harsh, arid landscape of Southern California, if all it takes is a single night of snow to wipe out the population, unusual weather (such as that seen in the area last week) can be extremely troublesome.  Extreme weather can also help control populations, and can be what keeps other animals from colonizing an area.  For example, if a population of desert rodent attempts to colonize the mountains around Palm Desert, but is unable to cope with the occasional snow storm, then that type of rodent would be much less likely to survive and thrive there.

Part of the mountains west of La Quinta and Rancho Mirage, prior to the snowstorm.

The same mountains, following the snowstorm.

Works Cited:

Hummingbirds found in California, USA. (n.d.). Retrieved January 4, 2015, from http://beautyofbirds.com/hummingbirdscalifornia.html

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Chiidax the Northern Fur Seal and the Evolution of the Otariids

Late last year, the New England Aquarium in Boston, Massachusetts received Chiidax, an orphaned northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus).  However, it was last July that Alaska SeaLife Center first took in Chiidax, after he was left outside the Alaska Department of Fish and Game offices.  A note which was included on the outside of the box that the pup came in said that the pup's mother had died while she was giving birth.  Notice how in the first two pictures of Chiidax below, the pup is covered in an all black coat, a mark of his young age.

After the pups are weaned at around four months old, they molt into their next coat, the cream and brown color of the young juvenile northern fur seal.  Look for those in these next four pictures, taken sometime last fall.  The post on ZooBorns (read that HERE) doesn't say exactly when the pictures were taken, but given that the post was published late last November, these last photos were presumably taken around then.  

When the first post on Chiidax was written on November 23rd of 2013, he weighed 18 pounds, but when he's full grown, he will definitely be a bit bigger: the males, or bulls, of the species can weigh nearly 600 pounds, which is several times more than the females weigh!  The males have to be so large because they create harems of thirty to forty females, and defend them from other males.  The seals are native to the Pacific Coast of the United States, as well as the coast of the Bering Sea in Canada, Alaska, and Russia.  

The last report on Chiidax was in late December, on the 29th.  Below are several pictures that were shared then.  You can see how smooth he looks, and how perfectly adapted for a life beneath the waves this creature is!  

The northern fur seal is the sole extant member of the genus Callorhinus, but there is also a fossil species of Callorhinus.  C. gilmorei is known from the Pliocene Epoch of southern California and Mexico, as you can see in this paper HERE.  Other sources cite another paper, linked HERE, as stating that this genus is also known from Japan, but I was unwilling to pay the fee to read the paper, so that fact remains unconfirmed.  If you have a subscription to this online journal, let me know what you find!

According to the first paper, the eared seals, or the members of the family Otariidae, can be traced back at least to the Mid to Late Miocene Epoch, approximately 11-12 MYA in California, in the form of Pithanotaria starri.  Another taxon, Thalassoleon mexicanus, is known from Mexico during the Late Miocene, approximately 5-8 MYA.  The authors of the paper suggest that between 5 MYA and today, between our time and the time of Thalassoleon, was when fur seal diversification took off, resulting in the eight extant species of Arctocephalus and the extant Callorhinus ursinus, which includes little Chiidax!  The genus Arctocephalus, along with the genus Callorhinus, comprise the extant members of the eared fur seals.  The writers of the paper also suspect that it is during this 5 million year period that the sea lions developed as well.

Things have probably changed a lot in this area of paleontology since this paper was published in 1986, but unfortunately I can't seem to access most of these papers.  Callorhinus gilmorei still seems to be a valid taxon, however, as do Thalassoleon and Pithanotaria.  Hopefully, new fossils will yield more interesting results regarding these creatures very soon!  

Unless otherwise noted, the photo credit for all of these pictures in the post go to ZooBorns, either this post HERE or HERE.  

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Works Cited:

A Nightly Game of Celestial Proportions: The Winter Solstice and the Chumash

My research paper for my Ancient Astronomies class was all about the Astronomy of the Chumash Indians of southern California.  I had originally planned on sharing each section of the paper in order here on the blog, but since today is the winter solstice, I thought I would skip ahead a few posts and share a bit about the Chumash in regards to the solstice a little early.  Don't worry, we will come back and revisit it later once we talk more about the Chumash, but for now, here is the excerpt from my paper, slightly edited to make it easier to understand with our current level of knowledge.

One thing that was very important for the Chumash was a nightly game played by several of the celestial beings that were very important to them. The game was called peon, and when played by the two celestial teams, it was a high-stakes game indeed, as the game was thought to affect the “future of the entire biotic world.” One team consisted of Sun and Slo’w (Golden Eagle, Venus as the Evening Star), while the other team consisted of Sky Coyote and Morning Star (Venus when it rises before the Sun), and Moon was the scorekeeper. The teams played each night, and on the night of the Winter Solstice, the scores were tallied to see who won the most. If Sky Coyote and Morning Star won, then the following year the earth would be bathed in rain by the Two Thunders (associated with Venus as the Morning Star), and there would be an abundance of food. However, if Sun and Slo’w won, then the “spoils would be human lives.”

The Winter Solstice was not a fun day for the Chumash. This was the time of year that they believed “Sun was especially angry at them.” Although it does not explicitly say in the text, it seems as if humans would have reason to fear regardless of whether Sun won or lost the peon game. If Sun won, then human lives were forfeit; if Sun lost, then he would probably be fairly unhappy, and might take out his anger upon humans. 

The Winter Solstice was also thought to be a time when the supernatural powers inherent within humans was needed “to aid in the cosmic rebirth of the universe.” The shaman-priests of the Chumash would do their best to make sure that “order and balance” was restored to the universe, and life “for all things” was maintained. Requests and pleas from both commoners and the elite, as well as public and private rituals, were employed to “'pull’ the sun back again on a northward course."

My paper was several pages longer than the maximum requirement, and I had already made the print really small, so I didn't get a chance to go into a little more detail regarding the last line above, where the Chumash would "pull the sun back again on a northward course."  My astronomy professor, John Stocke, described how the Chumash would point ceremonial poles that were perfectly straight right at the sun, so that the shadow left on the ground was a perfect circle, as small as it could be.  Then, the individuals holding the poles would "pull" as hard as they could, trying to pull the sun back up in the sky.  

Happy Winter Solstice everybody, and let us hope that the Sun does not win!

Works Cited

A Family of Red-Shouldered Hawks by Wes Deyton, Guest Blogger

A month or so ago, I came across a documentary on YouTube about a family of Red-Shouldered Hawks made by a man named Wes Deyton.  I also saw a number of really cool pictures that he took of the birds, and thought it might be interesting to see if he'd be willing to do a guest post!  Kindly, he was happy to oblige!  First, a bit about Mr. Deyton:

My name is Wes Deyton and I recently graduated from Western Carolina University with a Bachelors Degree in Communications and Broadcasting.  I live in Fuquay Varina North Carolina, which is near Raleigh.  I enjoy taking pictures and making videos of wildlife as well as scenic nature.

Anyways, let's all give Mr. Deyton a warm welcome!  I hope you enjoy these pictures and the video, all of which were taken by Mr. Deyton, as much as I did!

The Red Shouldered Hawks in the video (below) were filmed in the woods behind my house. I have been following them for about the whole Summer.  I did not get any footage of the hawks in the nest when they were really young, because I was still at WCU. I have not been able to find them lately because I think the young Hawks have gone on to find their own territory.

The Red Shouldered Hawk is a medium sized hawk, it primarily lives in woodland areas and it can be found all over the eastern woodlands as well as California and Northern Mexico. These birds generally live in woodland and swamp areas and build their nests high up in trees, close to sources of water such as lakes, streams and swamps.  The nesting period of these birds is about 45-60 days.  

The female hawk spends most of her time getting food to bring back to the nest for her young.  The diet of these birds consist mostly of small mammals, reptiles (including snakes), and amphibians.  There is no sharing in a hawks nest when it comes to food: when the mother brings food to the nest, the chicks have to fight for food.  Sometimes, the female hawk will feed the smaller hawk to make sure it gets enough nourishment to grow and develop healthily.  

Hawks get bored in the nest and dream about life on the outside. They dream about flying high like their parents. This is very evident by seeing them jump back and forth and flap their wings in the nest before they are fully developed to fly. The young hawks climb from branch to branch to develop their balance and then fly short distances until they build up their confidence to fly away from the nest.

The hawk is at the top of the food chain and strikes fear in smaller birds when they are around.

Aren't those pictures brilliant!  Thank you very much Mr. Deyton for sharing these pictures and the video with us, we hope to hear more from you again in the future!  Thanks again!  -Zack Neher

North Carolina Piedmont on Dwellable

The Salton Sea

The Salton Sea in southern California has a very interesting history.  Today, it is California's largest lake, is 200 feet below sea level, and is more than 25% saltier than the Pacific Ocean.  But it wasn't always like this: it used to be as dry as the surrounding desert!

Around 2,000 year ago, the Salton Sink and the Imperial Valley (the vast basing that today holds the Salton Sea) was home to Lake Cahuilla, a much larger body of water than the present Salton Sea.  Over time, it was naturally drained, and the area then turned into a hot, dry desert.  This process has happened numerous times over the years, as the Salton Sea is, according to a brochure that I got from there, a "landlocked extension" of the Gulf of California to the south.  The last time the Salton Sink was dry was around the early 1900s.  But it wouldn't stay that way for long.

The year was 1901.  In order for water to reach the Salton Sink and Mexico, the Colorado River was diverted from Yuma, Arizona, through Mexico, and into the sink for agriculture.  Four years later, in 1905, a diversion structure failed, and caused the entire might of the Colorado River to flood into the Imperial Valley.  For two years, from 1905 to 1907, the massive outflow of the Colorado River slowly built up in that natural basin, resulting in what we today call the Salton Sea!  (It would suck to be the dudes who made THAT boo-boo).  Since the basin (and thus the sea) are both landlocked, as well as below sealevel, that means that the sole means of exit for the water in the basin is through evaporation.  And since minerals and salts don't evaporate....you can probably see where this is going.

The Salton Sea, as I have mentioned before, is 25% saltier than the Pacific Ocean with the level of salinity in excess of 40,000 parts per million.  Many of the native fish that were washed or swam into the newly created body of water were unable to cope with the continued increase of salinity, and have died out.  Some marine fish, such as Gulf croaker, orange-mouth corvina, and sargo have been introduced and established, as well as tilapia.  However, they too will most likely end up going extinct in the basin, unable to cope with the ever-increasing levels of salinity.

When we visited there, not only did it stink, but there were dead fish skeletons everywhere.  And when I say everywhere, I really mean everywhere.  Interspersed amongst the rotting fish carcasses were the remains of an enormous number of gulls and other sea birds that will visit the Salton Sea.

Now the picture I am painting you is a grim one: "Why would I ever want to visit this place?" you're probably wondering.  Well, according to the brochures, the Salton Sea is one of the world's "most important winter stops for birds traveling the Pacific flyway."  Some of the many birds that can be found on the shores of the Salton Sea include a personal favorite of mine, the black skimmer, white pelicans, yellow-footed gulls, Caspian terns, Canada geese, pintail ducks, marbled godwits, snow geese, osprey, American avocets, Yuma clapper rail, black-bellied plover, black-bellied, whistling duck, wood storks, roadrunners, great blue heron, and brown pelicans, along with many, many other birds!  We of course didn't see all of these birds when we were there, but we certainly saw a large number of birds!  I would definitely recommend checking this place out if ever you are in the area, the natural history of the place, combined with the bird watching, makes it well worth the trip!

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Animals of Yosemite National Park

As I talked about IN A PREVIOUS POST, the trip that my family and I took to Yosemite was simply fantastic.  Yosemite was just magical!  However, in the last post, you might have noticed that, with the exception of the odd, Snoopy-looking rock, I neglected to talk about any animals that we saw in Yosemite.  And, if you know anything about my family and this blog, then you know that we saw some animals!  So here are some of those animals that we saw! First off, a mule deer that I believe we saw on our hike up to Sentinel Dome.

Next, we have a scarlet kingsnake that my father and I saw when we walked over to the base of El Capitan.

 

We also saw this lizard at the base of El Capitan.  It looks to me like it might be a skink, but I really have no idea.  If you know what it is, make sure to shoot me an email!

We also saw a large Yosemite toad!  It was just kind of chilling in the middle of a pond, but then something startled it, and it lept into the water!

 

 

 

 

 

We also, of course, saw some bears, which were really super exciting!  Here are some pictures of some of the bears that we saw!

 

 

 

 

The Majesty of Yosemite

I think one of the most majestic places that I have ever visited was easily Yosemite.  It was simply fantastic!  Here are a lot of really good pictures of places within the valley.  Keep in mind that the photos simply don't do justice to the place!  First off, we have a picture of the valley!

Next, we have a few pictures of El Capitan, taken from the base!  In some of the pictures, you can actually see some crazy climbers slowly but surely making their way up the side of the mountain!  Apparently, it takes them THREE WHOLE DAYS to make the ascent!  And they have to sleep  in their harness and do their business in the harness and everything!  Even if I wasn't afraid of heights, those both would be deal breakers for me!

At the time of year that we went, the rivers were absolutely swollen with water.  Actually, I believe we were there on the day with the highest amount of water running through the rivers! 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of Sentinel Dome, where my parents got married!

This, I believe, was the view of Half Dome from Sentinel Dome.

Here is a picture of an odd-looking rock formation.  I still think it looks exactly like Snoopy, the World War I flying ace. 

Now for some pictures of the amazing and gorgeous waterfalls!

 Here is a picture of El Capitan off to the left, and then a waterfall on the right.  Gorgeous!

Mammoth Lakes on Dwellable