HIST 3305 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Morphine, Sulfur, Red Knot
LECTURE 1:
Natural History is:
- the enjoyment of NATURE
- living, breathing, dynamic plants and animals
- the REAL WORLD – it is the only and longest running reality show
- the enjoyment or OBSERVATION of living plants and animals – FLORA AND FAUNA –
and their interactions. It is an OBSERVATIONAL SCIENCE
- Someone with an interest in Natural History is a NATURALIST (someone who enjoys
nature)
- about plants
-DICTIONARY definition: dealing with the properties of natural objects, plants or animals;
a scientific account of any subject on similar lines
- One phrase that unifies all naturalists: “What the heck is this?”
- Naturalist: One who makes a special study of animals or plants (a less precise term than
zoologist, biologist, etc.)
Five Major Challenges Plants and Animals face:
1. Staying Alive
– Defenses: Animals:
o Appearances – Camouflage = concealment: a method of cryptic (hiding), which
allows an otherwise visible organism or objct to remain unnoticed by blending
with its enviorment. Forms of camouflage: ex. moth and trees, stink bug and leaf
o Types of Camouflage:
– 1) Background Matching: body has the same form of patterns as the
environment around them
Grey Tree Frog: changes its colour depending on its background.
In the winter they are able to survive while half of its body turns to
water and freezes.
Snowshoe Hare: seasonally changes its colours to match their
environment (brown in summer, white in winter)
– Every habitat has general patterns (Grasslands (fields, meadows) have
vertical lines)
– 2) Disruptive Patterns: Patterns that break up the general form of an
animal making it hard to see EXAMPLES:
Eye lines and eye stripes of songbirds (especially important when
sitting on nests)
Canada Goose- chin straps to conceal themselves
Killdeer- Breast bands on – Horned Larks
Loons -Necklace on neck
Eastern Chipmunks - Strips and lines on back and face
Leopard frogs – brown and green spots and stripes that go across
the entire animal to make the patters work well. When frogs legs
are folded in, there are dark bands that continue and join together,
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which is called Coincident Disruptive Patterns (different parts of
the body combing together to make one pattern)
Shapes: having your body in the form of their environment
EXAMPLE:
Masquerade (mimicry); organism resembles inedible and generally inanimate
objects.
Angle-Winged Butterfly: uses its shape to mimic a dead leaf.
(Morning Cloak, & Easter Comma are other examples)
Walking stick, Inchworm becomes a living twig. Example of a
twig mimic
Treehopper: often have little thorns or spine like parts sticking out
of their body, and normally stay very still on plants while they suck
out juices from the plant This is a thorn mimic
Luna moths (silky moths): hide up high in trees in daytime, to
blend in as live leaf mimic
Spittlebug (looks like foam): sucking insects that suck in the
juices of plants, then creates a foam like substance to hide in.
Giant Swallowtail Moth: most caterpillars have a mate finish to
the body, however this on has a shiny finish, which makes it a bird
dropping mimic
In muddy area, butterflies or moths use ‘puddling’ to get nutrients. Some moths are
known to hear the sound waves in the air. Behaviors they display is unusual as they
are all grouped together. Their patterns of disruption combined mimic an image of a
snake.
- Animals living in ponds and lakes often use colour patterns for a different type of
camouflage.
Body Armour:
- Millipede, Snails, Beatles, Turtles: use their hard outer shells to protect them from
predators (painted turtle, paint turtle, Blanding turtle – can partly close its shell)
- Eastern tent caterpillars: some animals can use a soft structure as a defence as well;
these caterpillars form silk webs around leaves, and feed inside of them
- Gypsy Moth Caterpillars & Tussock Moth Caterpillar: use their hair as a defence
against birds trying to eat them. When they are under attack, they roll into balls
- Woolly Aphids Bear: has stiffer spines to protect them
- Porcupine: mammal that uses their quills (modified guard hairs) to protect themselves.
*They do NOT shoot their quills, they must make contact with they quills to stick in
- Scarlet Lily Leaf Beetle: eats lilies
- 3) Bicoloration: having a two-toned body, usually dark above and light below, often seen
on animals that live near the surface of ponds. Allows for background matching from two
directions. EXAMPLES:
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-Water Boatmen, Backswimmers/Whirligigs (note: white upper parts
and dark bottom – they swim upside down!)
-4) Countershading/The self-shadow concealment principle: - White-tailed Deer are also
dark above and light below – light belly makes it look more flat – Countershading – Self-
shadow concealment (Side view, more uniform and toned)
When camouflage and cryptic behaviour fails, some animals have a second defence or “Plan
B”: Startle Patterns: Bright colours and patterns that when exposed startle the predator
giving time for the animal to escape. EXAMPLES:
- Bright hind wings of Band-winged Grasshoppers
- Bright hind wings of Underwing Moths
- Eye-spots on Sphinx Moth hind wings
- Huge- eye spots on Io Moth and Polyphemus Moth hind wings
- Reg-bellied snake –bright orange belly
- Ring-necked snake- brilliant yellow
Distraction Patterns: Patterns that serve to distract or deflect a predator’s attention to a non-
vital body part. AKA: Startle Pattern.
Deflection Patterns: another name for Distraction Patterns that also serve this function.
Some small butterflies have eyespots and fake antennae on hind wings that serve as
Distraction or Deflection Patterns. EXAMPLES:
- Tailed Blue butterflies, also Swallowtail butterflies; five-lined Skink blue tail serves to
Distract and Deflect attack (disconnects because of a special zone of cells that weaken its
connection….scurries off and eventually grows a new tail.)
Permanent eyespots (never hidden) can be used to fool a predator into thinking the animal is
bigger than it really is. EXAMPLE: Eye Elater (beetle), eyed butterfly, Tiger Swallowtail
caterpillar
Startle Sound:
- Grouse: Wings – take of with an explosion of wing sound
- Beaver: Tail –slap the water
Disguise through Behaviour: some animals add bits of environment to body to disguise:
Masquerade artists- EXAMPLES: Leaf Rollers, Caddisfly larvae, Sumac Gall Aphids
PHYSICAL DEFENCE can involve hard physical structure that are part of the animal’s
body: Hard exoskeleton – EXAMPLES: many beetles, millipedes (made of chitin, pull
unprotected parts in)
Shells formed from internal skeleton: EXAMPLES: turtles- Blanding’s Turtle can partially
close its shell – hinge on anterior part of the plastron) Box turtles – completely close armour.
Snapping turtles – cant withdraw in shell, so they protect themselves.
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Document Summary
The real world it is the only and longest running reality show. The enjoyment or observation of living plants and animals flora and fauna and their interactions. Someone with an interest in natural history is a naturalist (someone who enjoys nature) Dictionary definition: dealing with the properties of natural objects, plants or animals; a scientific account of any subject on similar lines. One phrase that unifies all naturalists: what the heck is this? . Naturalist: one who makes a special study of animals or plants (a less precise term than zoologist, biologist, etc. ) Five major challenges plants and animals face: staying alive. Defenses: animals: appearances camouflage = concealment: a method of cryptic (hiding), which allows an otherwise visible organism or objct to remain unnoticed by blending with its enviorment. Forms of camouflage: ex. moth and trees, stink bug and leaf: types of camouflage:
