When is a Moth like a Hummingbird? -Science Friday

Try this link if video doesn't play: http://www.sciencefriday.com/video/11/04/2011/when-is-a-moth-like-a-hummingbird.html

What Makes Wings Work?-Science Friday

DNR Deer Station visit

The day before firearms deer season opened we visited a DNR check point. Hunters bring their deer here to have them checked for diseases, especially chronic wasting disease or CWD.

Michigan has been fortunate not to have any cases of deer in Michigan with this terrible disease. The cases that have been found have been from animals brought in from other states. It is caused by something that isn't a bacteria or a virus! It is called a prion. It is a non-living infectious protein. I know...it sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie. It is actually a protein that folds wrong. The body recognizes that it doesn't belong and begins attacking it. The problem with that is that it is also destroying the cells that the prion is in. Eventually, it destroys enough cells in an animal that it can't function. The animal may begin to drool, have an awkward stance, walk the same path, look mange or undernourished. There is no cure and the animal needs to be put down. The best fight against this is prevention which brings us back to why we went to learn about the DNR check point.

The DNR inspector showed us how to tell how old a deer is by looking at its teeth.

You can't always tell by their antlers. Some young deer can grow good strong antlers if they feed on farmers corn and other crops. Deer in the upper peninsular aren't as lucky. They really have to work for their food like eating the bark off of trees and as a result, their antler growth is not as significant.

The DNR inspector is very interested in the health of fawns or very young deer, 1 1/2 - 2 years old. Below are pictures of teeth from 1 1/2 year old and 2 year old deer. At about 18 months, they begin to get their molars. That is how he can tell how old the deer is by just looking to see if they have them yet.

Hunters get this very cool patch when they bring in a deer to have it checked. They have become collector items and are worth A LOT of money to some hunters. If you help out the DNR by bringing in your deer, you get one of these for FREE! You are also helping to protect our state from this most unwelcome disease and keeping hunting in our state a favorite activity that many families have enjoyed for generations.

Trip to the Michigan Wildlife Disease Lab October 31, 2011

We all had to sign in before we could go on our DNR tour. We got to look into a BL3 lab (BioLab Level 3). When you go in that lab you have to change your clothes and shower on your way out! We were not going in there.... We did go into another lab where they check animals to see what the cause of their death was. People bring animals to the lab to be tested if they suspect they might have died from a disease.                                              

We had to put on these darling blue slippers.  Nothing in, nothing out.  We took them off and threw them away after the autopsy.

My blue slippers.

Dr. Tom with hawk.

We then walked into the room where Dr. Tom was ready with a beautiful red-tailed hawk that someone had found along a wooded hunting area.

If you have just eaten, you might not want to go any further. However, if you have ever helped mom clean a whole chicken from the grocery store with all the insides in a bag and it didn't bother you, you will probably be fine with the rest of the pictures.



Dr. Tom checking for any broken bones in the wing.

 

This is where they keep the animals brought into the lab until they can be examined.

This is the part where you might want to close your eyes.

Dr. Tom examining the tail.

 The bird is thought to be a juvenile red-tailed hawk.  It died of trauma.  It did not appear to have been eating very well because there was not much food in its system.  The bird might have flown into something because there was evidence of internal bleeding.  Dr. Tom was having further tests done to check for West Nile virus.  Other scientists will check the blood for signs of this virus.
This is an eagle that died of lead poisoning by eating a deer that had been shot with lead bullets.  You need to look very carefully to see the small pieces of lead this eagle ingested.  It did not take much to kill him.

This is a swan that also died of lead poisoning. The lead is the white dots on the lower right circular organ.

This lab tech examines bear teeth!  That is a bear's skull she is holding!  By studying bear's teeth, she can determine how old the bear was when it died and what years it had cubs......al by examining the teeth!  She also will examine other animal teeth as well.

Can you find the octopus?

My visit to the Wetlands Trail bog

Lots of Leatherleaf shrubs!

 We had a beautiful day for our trip to the bog on October 17.  We arrived at the Wetlands Trail in Newaygo county and followed the walkway into the bog.  We watched how the plant life transitioned into the bog.  We learned why plants were growing where they were.  We stopped at the "eye of the bog" and were amazed by how deep it was.  (I wondered if the 15'-16' branch was actually at the bottom or was the bog deeper still?)  We took core samples, light readings, pH levels, tested the nitrogen, ammonium nitrogen and water temperatures.

 In one area, we found cinnamon ferns, birch trees, a few white oaks (they didn't look so good), sphagnum moss, leatherleaf shrubs and mushrooms.
As we moved in, we found more cinnamon ferns, more sphagnum moss, cotton sedge and a bog tree!  Open canopy here and lots of nice warm sunshine!
In another area, we found more bog trees, a white pine, sphagnum moss, leatherleaf shrubs, Michigan Holly and grass (not moss).  We were transitioning out of the bog!

Red Shaghnum

  A bog is very acidic which is why the sphagnum moss likes it there so much, along with all the water of course!  To learn more about bogs go here:  MSU site on a bog

Close up of Leatherleaf shrub

Cinnamon Ferns

Button Bush

Bog Tree

Did you know that in some bogs there are plants that actually eat insects?   Cool......
Hey, a plant needs to do what a plant needs to do to survive!  (All those delicious nutrients...yumm!)

 Our group's mascot!