Diario de christian731

On April 11, 2019 at Sullivan's Island, SC from the time of 12:30pm to 1:30pm (1 hour), I made observations through the iNaturalist app and posted them to my account. Prior to my visit, I had already been to Sullivan's Island to conduct observations. While there weren't any extreme changes to the environment, there are some noticeable differences that contributed to new discoveries found during my second visit. From the first time I was on Sullivan's Island (January 17, 2019), it was technically winter and the temperature was 70 degrees. In contrast to my time there on January 17, on April 11, the temperature was 79 degrees with an even higher heat index that made the overall climate feel like 85 degrees. The goal of the time spent on the island, in contrast to the first, was to collect a live Texas horned lizard, in hopes of gaining some knowledge on its life in Charleston since the species introduction to the area. With prior knowledge to where Texas horned lizards would generally be during the time of the exploration, that being out in the dunes sunbathing, I most of the time there in hopes of spotting one.
While searching for a Texas horned lizard (Phrynosoma cornutum), I also observed many different plant life. The first plant that I observed was Japanese honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica). The Japanese honeysuckle is a twining vine able to climb up to 33 feet high or more and is found all across the United States. The plant has a strong, sweet aroma that is especially prominent during the night. Honeysuckle flowers and nectar can safely be consumed but the berries contain substances that induce nausea and vomiting. Due to the fact that Japanese honeysuckle is a common plant cultivated in the United States, my observation was verified as research grade. Among the vines of the Japanese honeysuckle was poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans). Poison ivy is a poisonous flowering plant found all across the United States that is known for causing an itchy, irritating, and sometimes painful rash when people come in contact with it. The rash is caused by urushiol, a clear liquid compound in the plant's sap. The plant is commonly identified by the fact that it has three leaves at the top. Once again, because poison ivy is such a common plant my observation was verified as research grade. Higher up in the dunes, relatively close to where I identified the poison ivy and Japanese honeysuckle, I saw a beach evening-primrose (Oenothera drummondii). Beach evening-primrose is a species of the evening primrose family and is native to open dunes and sandy soils across the East Coast. This species one of the few plants that can survive the harsh conditions of the coastal strand - the shifting, blowing strip of beach and sand dunes above the high tide line. This primrose is an unmistakable identification and because of that, my observation was verified. I also identified a purple flower that I believed to be a Virginia spiderwort (Tradescantia virginiana) but unfortunately I was informed that there isn't enough information to determine the species. Due to this fact, my observation has yet to be verified as research grade. Once again due to lack of information, what I believed to be southern bulrush (Typha domingensis), can only be identified by the genus of Typha. Near all of these plants was a red mulberry tree (Morus rubra). The red mulberry tree is a species of mulberry native to eastern and central North America. The tree is most known for their mulberry fruit, that is a rich source of vitamins C, A, E and K and minerals such as potassium, iron and magnesium. While there were a lot of plants that I was able to identify, there goal for the day wasn't forgotten.
Majority of my time spent on Sullivan's Island was to observe a Texas horned lizard. Unfortunately, I was unable to collect one. While the climate was warm enough for the reptile, it was brought to my attention that the lizard has a routine of eating lass sums of food and resting for a few days before returning out to excrement and eat once again. This fact was likely the case for that day and was confirmed with the discovery of Texan horned lizard dung.
Overall, from the time of my first visit to Sullivan's Island to the second there weren't any drastic changes to the environment but there were some notable new discoveries. The second visit showed the impact that a little bit of time and a slight increase in temperature can do to the overall area. It just goes to show that there is always something new and exciting to be seen when immersing yourself into nature.

College of Charleston
Charleston, SC

Shells from Folly Beach
Folly Island, SC

On April 18, 2019 at the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) on James Island, SC, from the time of 12:30pm to 3:00pm (2 1/2 hours). I made observations through the iNaturalist app and posted them to my account. Having already been out to the Grice Marine Laboratory, which is also located on James Island near the DNR, I had a general knowledge of some of the species that lived in the Charleston harbor. While I had a general understanding of inhabiting species, I wasn't able to fully immerse myself into the environment, that of which I was able to do with the DNR boat ride. On that Thursday, it was sunny with a temperature of 79 degrees. While it may seem like it was unbearably hot, it was actual cool due to the breeze blowing throughout the harbor. Being on the boat, the goal was to cast out a weighted net, much larger than the one used at Grice, and observe and identify what would be brought up. The net was controlled by "doors," two wooden planks that would open and close net. Before pulling up the net and viewing what was caught, it was made clear that any shrimp or squid caught was to be kept and collected for specimens located at the research facility back on James Island. From that point on, I did what was requested in regards to any shrimp or squid caught and began identifying the marine life found in the Charleston harbor.
The net was thrown out multiple times but each collection was differentiated by the area that it was done. That being said, the trip was divided into two sections, the "muddy" area and the "coral" area. These two sections refer to the areas of the harbor where there is typically more sediment or mud, and typically more hard rock-like structures, or coral. The first net casting was in the "muddy" area and brought up a lot of different marine life such as brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus), Atlantic blue crab (Callinectes sapidus), spot croaker (Leiostomus xanthurus), windowpane flounder (Scophtalmus aquosus), and searobins (Triglidae). From these many sea creatures that I identified only my observation of the spot croaker and windowpane flounder was deemed research grade. Out of all of the animals found during this catch, the brown shrimp was the most interesting. While shrimp doesn't seem like an exciting animal, it's quite the contrary. The brown shrimp is a species of marine penaeid shrimps found around the east coast of the USA and Mexico. They are an important commercial species in the USA. From the image of the brown shrimp, you can notice its substantially large size, this is due to the fact that Charleston didn't experience a cold winter. Due to this fact, the shrimp were able to continue to feed and grow, that of which resulted in larger shrimp.
While the net casting in the "muddy" area was productive, the catch in the "coral" area was even more interesting. From this area there were a lot of diverse species caught such as striped burrfish (Chilomycterus schoepfii), ocellated flounder (Ancylopsetta ommata), common octopus (Octopus vulgaris), northern puffer (Sphoeroides maculatus), tounguefish (Cynoglossidae), Atlantic horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus), Atlantic sea pork (Aplidium stellatum), mantis shrimp (Subclass hoplocarida), and a common sea star (Asterias rubens). In addition to this, while not necessarily caught from the net, I observed a laughing gull (Leucophaeus atricilla) and a brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis). From my identifications, those of the striped burrfish, ocellated flounder, northern puffer, Atlantic horseshoe crab, laughing gull, Atlantic sea pork, and brown pelican were all deemed research grade observations. Out of all my observations from the area, the northern puffer was the most interesting. The northern puffer is a species in the family of pufferfishes, found along the Atlantic coast. Unlike many other pufferfish species, the flesh of the northern puffer is not poisonous, making them edible and a delicacy in the Chesapeake Bay region.
Overall, the DNR boat experience was like no other. I was able to gain a better understanding of the marine life that lives in the waters of the Charleston harbor. The are proves to be a home for a lot of plant and animal diversity. From the net castings, not only was I able to identify species of animals but I was also able to observe how the difference of areas in the harbor affects the species found and collected.