carolinaibarra's Journal

Since it was going to rain in an hour, I decided to go back to the Pine Tree Reservoir right on campus. I walked around 1pm--it was a cloudy afternoon with a temperature of around 50 F. The wind made it colder as I roamed through the little reservoir. Last time I walked through the Pine Reservoir I remember seeing more diversity in fungi. However, this time there was barely any visible--this could be due to the colder weather and maybe fungi have trouble thriving during colder temperatures. Nonetheless, there were still some kinds of fungi present which reminded me of natural selection and how harsh conditions can lead to a reduction of species because they could not adapt. Meanwhile, some species of fungi were able to survive. I saw in various trees, the same fungi work its way up their trunks. Also, I found Lichens spread throughout rocks that were scattered around the little park.

It was sundown when I did my nature walk around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. The lack of sun made it very cold--it was around 40 F. Also, due to the fall weather, most of the plants were red, brown or yellow--many were scattered on the soil. Surprisingly, I found different large variety of plants with different shapes. Some sprouted from the Res and the rest were on dry land. It is interesting to see how plants manage to survive the harsh weather--especially tonight's cold winds.

By the time I was done with my walk, it was dark out. Therefore, it was difficult to see the different plants. However, I noticed that plants with smaller leaves tended to be more green and have most of their leaves intact, meanwhile, larger leaves would either be brown or on the floor--with some exceptions. This could be due to the plants' tendency to adapt: less surface area means it is easier to handle harsh weather with little rainfall and little sun.