We started the day a little concerned because the Tour de France was coming through the one road here and we weren't sure how we'd get to our research sites. Our leader decided to break up into 2 groups: one with a short, easy hike to the location we went yesterday, and one with a long, steep hike to a new site with a supposed amazing view. Well, you know which hike I picked.
We were able to drive a few miles down the road and park in the adorable town of Llorts.
Houses built in the 17th century which have names and tons of character.
We quickly passed through the steep streets and began a hike of a lifetime. Three hours straight uphill on a forested trail.
Because we are with scientists the opportunities to learn are endless. Let me share a few exciting lessons.
Excuse the poor photo, but this is a species of dianthus.
See how in the middle it's black? Well, normally in the middie of a flower you would find the pollen on top of a structure called an anther. The pollen (aka sperm) is yellowish-white. What's up with the black, you wonder. Get this - a type of fungus (genus Microbotrym) invades the dianthus flower and covers the anthers, which essentially castrates the flower. When an insect lands on the anther to slurp sweetness, instead of getting its legs covered with the dianthus pollen, the insect picks up the fungus spores. Genius.
What other super cool biology did I learn? When you think of pine trees, do you think of the various species? The pines here look a lot alike, why, you ask?
There is the black pine and the scott pine, and sometimes the sperm of the black pine cone mixes with the eggs of Scott pine (or vice versa) and you get a hybrid tree and a new hybrid cone.
In this botanical paradise we can't forget to talk about the local carnivorous plant in the genus Pinguicula (In English we call these butterworts). See the ants that have gotten trapped on the sticky leaves?
The Pinguicula produces a long stem like structure to put its purple flower out into the world.
We also saw a fairly large slug on the trail with really cool texture on the bottom end.
As we hiked higher and higher the views started to emerge.
Lush meadow grasses with various wild flowers, metamorphic rocks littering the landscape, waterfalls off in the distance - a personal perfect location.
What are we doing up here? Many types of data collection, but let me tell you about one.
During the day, as trees uptake water from the ground thought their tubes (xylem) the diameter of the tree trunk changes, slightly. Well, with changes in temperature, and rainfall, are the trees being affected? The team of scientists that collaborate from Barcelona and Andorra have put a device around tree trunks to monitor the changes in diameter. They will be able to link this data with meteorological data.
That white round device (which sort of reminded me of BB-8) uses infrared technology to "talk" to a computer to download hourly data of the tree.
Trees are our lungs. Their transpiration and respiration matters. Right now the data is preliminary to see the patterns, and if there are any changes.
Our lead scientists explained that without Earthwatch volunteers this type of data collection would be impossible. It's too time consuming, and they don't have enough staff to pull it off. We are here to help collect the data that will help us make sense of what's happening on our amazing planet.
You can make a difference and gain great knowledge from the experience. (http://eu.earthwatch.org/expeditions/wildlife-in-the-changing-andorran-pyrenees) Thank you to all of you that donated to my fund to make this trip possible. I am truly grateful.
No comments:
Post a Comment