365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, June 23, 2017
Rare Abundance
Day 253: The count of "noses" has now passed the century mark at Site A, as many as 14 specimens of Myriosclerotinia caricis-ampullaceae occuring in a single tight grouping. Out of concern for the species, our trips into the area will be restricted to no more than once a week. These excursions will be limited to as few members of the team as is reasonable to allow study of the progression of growth and to monitor the survival rate. Already we have noted that many of the smaller specimens have disappeared, leaving no clues to their fate behind them. Were they eaten by something? If so, what? Or did they disperse their spores and deteriorate rapidly as part of the reproductive process? Some cups are growing, and although none yet matches the size of the larger examples from our observations in 2016, several seem well on their way. Site B is as yet unobtainable, but I am anxious to see if it also produces an abundance of this rarity.
Labels:
MORA,
Myriosclerotinia caricis-ampullaceae,
Site A
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