River Legacy – Page 2

Cicadas: What is up with that sound?

River Legacy Uncategorized May 24, 2022September 13, 2023

Around this time of the year, the woods of River Legacy start producing a very peculiar sound. It is loud and generally described as a high-pitched buzzing sound. The origin of this sound is one of the most intriguing and well-known inhabitants of River Legacy: the cicada. It is quite likely that you have heard this sound before. It forms an integral part of the summer experience in North America. Let’s delve more into cicadas and the sound they produce.

Cicadas are insects that belong to the order Hemiptera, a very big and diverse order of insects known collectively as the “true bugs and relatives.” This makes cicadas distant relatives to insects such as aphids, stink bugs, shield bugs, leafhoppers, and bed bugs–yes, those bed bugs! There are roughly 3,000 species of cicadas and they inhabit every continent except Antarctica. In North America, there are about 200 species of cicadas. The most common species of cicadas belong to the genera Tibicen, Megatibicen, Hadoa, and Diceroprocta and are known as the dog-day cicadas. These are considered to be annual cicadas.

This means that they have a life cycle that lasts anywhere from 2 to 5 years, in general. On the other hand, species belonging to the genus Magicicada are known as the periodic cicadas, because their life cycle is very different from the others. These cicadas have either a 13-year or 17-year life cycle, so broods can remain underground for years until it is time for them to emerge. The vast majority of these cicadas can be found east of the Mississippi River. Most of the cicadas in Texas are annual cicadas though there are some members of Magicicada found in counties along the Red River, bordering Oklahoma.

The cicada sound is essentially a mating call produced by the males in order to attract a female cicada. The sound can also be used to announce an individual’s territory. The origin of this sound can be traced back to a special organ that few insects have: the tymbal organ. The male cicadas possess 2 of these, which are circle-shaped ridged membranes found on the back and side of the 1st abdominal segment of the cicada. The muscle that attaches to the tymbals contracts and bends the tymbals, which creates a clicking sound. When the muscle relaxes, they go back to their previous form. The tymbals contract so frequently (120 to 480 times a second) that it appears as a long, continuous sound to the human ear. There are air sacs in Cicadas that amplify the sound to produce the iconic cicada buzzing sound!

Cicadas are very special insects with an amazing adaptation that has made them world famous. As you take a walk through the River Legacy this summer, remember how the cicada sounds are being made as they graciously cover the woods.

Sources:

Bauer, Patricia. “Why are cicadas so noisy?”. Encyclopedia Britannica, Invalid Date, https://www.britannica.com/story/why-are-cicadas-so-noisy. Accessed 9 May 2022.
Evans, Arthur. Field Guide to Insects and Spiders of North America. 1st ed., New York, Sterling Publishing Company, 2008.
Abbott, John, and Kendra Abbott. Common Insects of Texas and Surrounding States: A Field Guide. 1st ed., Austin, University of Texas Press, 2020.
Drees, Bastiaan, and John Jackman. A Field Guide to Common Texas Insects. 1st ed., Houston, Gulf Publishing Company, 1998.
Liebhold, A. M., Bohne, M. J., and R. L. Lilja. 2013. Active Periodical Cicada Broods of the United States. USDA Forest Service Northern Research Station, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry.

How come there are no blue or green mammals?

River Legacy Uncategorized February 8, 2022September 13, 2023mammals, nature, outdoors, River Legacy, snakes, wildlife

Have you ever thought about this? Think about it for a minute. If you were to list 10 mammals off the top of your head – perhaps animals like your dog, cat, an elephant, rat, zebra, skunk, raccoon, opossum, bobcat, or even a coyote – you would quickly realize that the colors of these mammals lack blue and green hues. There are a couple of reasons as to why this is, and why other animals like insects, birds, amphibians, and reptiles exhibit these colors quite often.

The reason has to do with chemistry primarily. First off, let’s talk about what produces colors in living things. Pigments are chemical compounds that are responsible for producing color in the biological world. When pigments absorb light, they reflect back certain wavelengths, producing colors our eyes can perceive. Plants, for example, have many different kinds of pigments with all kinds of peculiar names, such as carotenoids, flavonoids, and anthocyanins. Thousands of these chemicals have been identified by scientists and this is the reason why plants can produce a vast array of colors – from the dominant green leaves, to different shades of bark on trees, to the orange color of a carrot, the colorful fruits and flowers there are and the beautiful foliage colors we see during autumn in temperate latitudes.

When it comes to animals however, things are a bit different. The vast majority of animals simply do not have the variety of pigments that plants do. Specifically, they are not able to genetically produce blue and green pigments. Then how come we still see animals that are those colors? There’s blue butterflies, green frogs, and peacocks are well-known for their blue feathers! Most of these animals produce this color through a phenomenon known as structural coloration, which is the optical illusion of a color, essentially. Small structures of the skin scatter and reflect back light in a way so that only the blue wavelengths reach our eyes. But, in reality, there is no blue pigment doing that. When it comes to green, usually there is a yellow pigment involved with a structural blue coloration.

For instance, when a rough green snake (Opheodrys aestivus), a common River Legacy snake, dies, it turns blue because the yellow pigment is no longer being produced but the structural color is still there. Another way animals are able to produce vibrant colors is by obtaining pigments from their environment, typically their diet. This is how flamingos develop their typical pink to red hue, by eating foods like algae, shrimp, and crabs that have these pigments in them. A similar phenomenon occurs with the northern cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), another River Legacy common sight.

Now, let’s go back to mammals. Mammals have not been able to evolve or have lost the ability to implement pigments obtained through their diet to the same extent as other animals have. It happens but not to the same degree. This is why eating something like beets can turn the toilet a certain color when we go to the bathroom but it does not turn our skin purple. When it comes to naturally-produced pigments, mammals really only produce one kind – melanin. Melanin is an important pigment that provides protection against the sun’s damaging UV rays but it also is responsible for the majority of colors in mammalian skin. It comes in two kinds – eumelanin (responsible for black and brown colors) and pheomelanin (responsible for yellow or reddish to brown colors). Very few mammals, like mandrills (a type of African monkey), are able to produce small amounts of blue color through structural coloration.

But, how come no other mammals can? Scientists are not really sure but it may have had to do with the evolutionary history of mammals. Early mammals survived during the Mesozoic era, the golden age of the dinosaurs, by basically not being around them too much in order to avoid becoming food or by not trying to compete with them for the same resources. It is believed that most dinosaurs were active during the day so it is most likely that mammals had to turn to a largely nocturnal lifestyle. This meant that mammals did not have the need to develop adaptations that were not necessary in the night, such as the ability to see a wide range of vibrant colors. If there was no selective pressure (i.e. need) for either evolving structural coloration, pigment formation, or the ability to obtain pigments through diet, then the genes that allowed for those traits disappeared from the mammalian gene pool. The majority of animals today, with the exception of most mammals, have stellar color vision. On the other hand, as a result of their evolutionary history, mammals tend to be color-blind when it comes to blue and green colors. The big exception to this are primates – the group to which humans and mandrills belong. Therefore, it is hypothesized that as a result of all of this, the vast majority of mammals lack green or blue colors on their skin or fur.

What an incredible and fascinating subject to be sure. Next time you take a hike in the River Legacy trails and you come across a mammal – whether it be a squirrel, bobcat, or rabbit – you will know why those creatures are not flashing blue and green at you!

Dinosaurs Did Not All Go Extinct. They’re Still Around and They’re Everywhere!

River Legacy Uncategorized November 29, 2021September 13, 2023

Have we been duped about dinosaur extinction? Well, it turns out that we pretty much have been. Since the very first time that paleontologists have found dinosaur fossils, people have known about the existence of these prehistoric, mesmerizing, and typically large creatures. Dinosaurs dominated the biosphere of our planet during what is called the Mesozoic Era, which spanned from roughly 250 million years ago to 66 million years ago. Dinosaurs especially thrived during the Jurassic (201 million years ago to about 145 million years ago) and Cretaceous (145 million years ago to about 65 million years ago) periods of this era until they all went extinct at the end of the Cretaceous, about 65 millions years ago, very likely due to an asteroid impact. With this tragedy, the impressive reign of the once mighty dinosaurs came to a close. Or, so we thought…

***The fossil of Archaeopteryx, a feathered dinosaur from the Jurassic where the wings can be clearly seen***.

***Northern cardinal, a modern-day River Legacy dinosaur***.

However, it turns out that not all dinosaurs went extinct! Around 150 millions years ago, during the Jurassic period, a group of small, feathered theropod dinosaurs (dinosaurs that are characterized by hollow bones and three toes and includes famous dinosaurs such as members of the genera Tyrannosaurus, Carnotaurus, Spinosaurus, and Velociraptor) evolved into a group of animals we are very much familiar with, the birds. That is exactly right. Your backyard northern cardinal, the woodpecker you saw on your last hike through River Legacy, and your pet parakeet are all very distant cousins of the T-Rex and raptors from those ancient times! The similarities between these enigmatic animals of the past and our feathered friends abound. For instance, the presence of feathers, a key feature of birds, in dinosaurs such as members of the genus Archaeopteryx has been long documented. Research has also shown similarities between dinosaur and bird skeletons, particularly in the neck, pelvic, and pectoral areas. Behavioral similarities between birds and dinosaurs have been documented as well, ranging from brooding and caring for offspring, to similar sleeping posture, to the ingestion of gizzard stones which are stones that aid in digestion in birds and other animals. In 2008, another proof of the link between dinosaurs and birds emerged: the discovery pointing to the presence of air sacs, another key characteristic of birds, in the genus Aerosteon, a theropod dinosaur from Argentina.

**Southern cassowary, a modern-day Australian dinosaur, that is more reminiscent of a Velociraptor.**

Even as the mighty dinosaurs took their last breath in the aftermath of the late Cretaceous impact event, a small but persistent group of theropod dinosaurs managed to escape catastrophe, survived the extinction event, and eventually flourished and evolved into an amazing diversity of roughly 10,000 bird species found today, from the wild turkey to the turkey vulture, from the hummingbird to the ostrich, from the blue jay to the mallard duck.

Do you and your family want to experience more of the world of dinosaurs, birds’ long-extinct distant cousins? River Legacy Nature Center is excited to present Dinosaur Safari, a traveling exhibit that is open NOW and will run through February 12th, 2022. Come immerse yourself back in the Mesozoic as you learn more about our prehistoric past and experience life-sized dinosaur models, while children get hands-on experience in investigating the clues these animals left behind. Click here to learn more about this limited time exhibit.

Dinosaur Safari is created by Omaha Children’s Museum.

3 Things that You Can Start Doing Right Now to Reduce your Environmental Impact

River Legacy Uncategorized April 21, 2021September 13, 2023

We all know how tricky and expensive it can be to alter your daily routine and make changes to reduce your environmental impact. While making those big changes are great, we all need an easy place to start! Here’s what you can do right now to help our planet:

Western Hampshire of Earth
Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org

1. Delete those old emails! That email sitting in your spam folder for an expired 20% off coupon to a store you shopped at once surprisingly has a negative impact on the environment. While emails may seem like an eco-friendly alternative to traditional mail since there is no physical waste of paper, the process of sending and storing emails on servers uses electricity, and oftentimes that electricity is created with fossil fuels that release carbon emissions into the atmosphere. It is estimated that just one email can create 0.3 to 50 grams of carbon dioxide. To put that in perspective a paper clip is about 1 gram, so while 0.3 of that may seem like a small number those emails add up!

2.Cut the strings on your disposable masks when you throw them away. A lot of us have heard about cutting up the plastic soda can holders and this same practice can be used on the ear loops of the single-use face masks. When these strings are left uncut and they find their way into the environment, animals can get stuck and tied up in the strings. This can really hurt that animal as it may limit their movement if they need to search for food or make a quick escape from a predator.

3. Stop idling your car in drive through lanes. The next time you’re in the drive-through lane picking up your coffee consider turning your car off in between moving forward. Some newer cars already do this on their own! If you speculate that you will be idling your car in a drive through lane for longer than 10 seconds, you are saving yourself gas and reducing carbon emissions by turning your car off and then restarting before pulling forward. An alternative to this would simply be parking and going in to place your order so that your car can be completely shut off while you make your purchases.

The idea behind this blog post is to inform the reader on ways that they can make small changes in their life to make an impact. If you have more suggestions please comment on one of our posts we’d love to hear your ideas!

Samantha King
Naturalist

What’s Blooming at River Legacy?

River Legacy Uncategorized March 18, 2021September 13, 2023

After a week stuck indoors from the snowstorm that hit us mid February, we are all excited to see some first glimpses of spring. While some plants may have suffered from the cold, we are seeing a lot of plants that benefited from the precipitation. Come to River Legacy and see if you can find these 5 plants that are blooming NOW!

1. Redbud. This plant is a member of the legume family which means it grows bean pods. The flowers that are blooming now will bloom for a total of 2-3 weeks and are a bright magenta color that becomes a light pink over time. When the red bud’s leaves emerge they are heart shaped, look reddish and slowly change to a dark green and are about 2- 6 inches long. If you plant this tree in your yard you can attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and honey bees!

2. Wood Violet. This small flower can be seen directly off of the trail and comes in many different shades of purple, blue, and even white. Wood violets have heart shaped leaves that are a good source of vitamins A and C. However, don’t eat the wood violets you see in the park because eating the wrong plant can cause some serious illnesses!

3. Bedstraw. This plant is very abundant and is in the same family as coffee! Bedstraw, commonly called catchweed, has tiny hooks that act like Velcro. If you get close enough to this plant while walking by it may hitch a ride on your pant leg or your dog’s hair.

4. Mexican Plum. This tree has snowy white flowers that appear in clusters before the leaves develop. While the flowers resemble snow, the blooming of this tree in March has traditionally meant that for Texans winter is over! Phew, that’s good news! *wipes sweat off brow* Like the name of this tree suggests, there are plums that ripen in late summer that are great for attracting birds and fruit eating mammals.

5. Golden groundsel. This plant is one of the earliest bloomers of the year. If you come to River Legacy Living Science Center you will notice plenty of these yellow flowers in our parking lot now! When this plant goes to seed it forms a white fluff that helps disperse the seeds, like dandelions. Because of this, it is said that the botanist who named this flower was reminded of their grandpa and so the golden groundsel is often referred to as “Old Man.”

Some of these gorgeous blooms can only be seen for a few weeks so make sure to get out and stop by River Legacy to experience these spring blooms!