Tag Archives: nature

March 24, 2012 · 6:33 pm

Bastard Cabbage Fouls Texas Bluebonnets

Commander Ben beseiged by Bastard Cabbage

What a nice surprise to see Dr. Damon Waitt on TV last night! Dr. Waitt is the Senior Director and Botanist at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

He was talking about Bastard Cabbage (Rapistrum rugosum), also known as Mediterranean Mustard. It’s a terrible invasive species that is overrunning Texas wildflowers, especially our beloved Texas Bluebonnets.

I first learned about Bastard Cabbage from him last fall in my video interview with him at the 2011 Texas Invasive Plant and Pest Conference. He said that this plant was the invasive species that really worried him.

Seeing Dr. Waitt interviewed by Mr. Jim Swift on KXAN reminded me of that plant, and I had to go out today to learn more about it.

Invasive Species Create Terrible Monocultures

Bastard Cabbage crowds out the wonderful Texas bluebonnets and creates a terrible monoculture. It towers over the bluebonnets, and the rosette at the base of the plant and long tap root steal resources that could have gone to the native Texas wildflowers.

They have a long stem and small yellow flowers. When I saw it when I was younger, I thought it was a native Texas wildflower.

Fight Back Against this Invasive Plant

In the KXAN article, Dr. Waitt said that with enough seed, Indian Blanket wildflowers might be able to compete with this invasive plant, but that’s a hard fight to win.

Bastard Cabbage overruns Texas Bluebonnets along highway 360 in Austin, Texas

Dr. Waitt said it’s best to hand pull Bastard Cabbage. I did my part pulling some up on highway 360 in Austin, and I took some down with my moves from the Invasive Hunter Academy. I also took a plant sample for my herbarium.

He said that on a 10 point worry scale, he’s at a 9.5. If Dr. Waitt’s worried about our Texas Bluebonnets, we should all be worried too!

Thanks, Dr. Waitt, and the Texas Invasives website for teaching me about this terrible invasive!

Your friend,
Commander Ben

Update: Video: See Native Plant Avengers – Ecosystem’s Mightiest Heroes – battle Bastard Cabbage

Update: Bastard Cabbage Takes Over Texas Wildflowers

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Filed under 2011 Texas Invasive Plant Conference, Bastard Cabbage, Damon Waitt, Herbarium, Invasive Hunter Academy, Jim Swift, KXAN, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, Texas Bluebonnets, Texas Invasives

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March 16, 2012 · 7:32 pm

Invasive Jewel Cichlid Shatters Native Ecosystems

Although an attractive fish for aquariums, when West African Jewel Cichlids invade the ecosystems in Northern Mexico, they can cause havoc. Ms. Laura Dugan describes her research on this invasive fish, and how she is trying to determine the impacts of the species’ competition with natives and factors for their distribution and spread.

Ms. Dugan, a doctoral student at the University of Texas at Austin, also talked about her lab experiments into the temperature profile of the fish, including their:

  • Thermal range (determined as 14-40 degrees Celsius)
  • Temperature preference (reviewing the results now)
  • Optimal temperature for growth (will be researching soon)

She is also researching the competition between this invasive fish and native fish that live in northern Mexico too. She will weigh the fish before and after the experiments to see if they grew.

Thanks for talking with me Ms. Dugan and for helping me make my first video about invasive fish. I also found your blog talking about your past research.

Science Under the Stars

I had a chance to talk with Ms. Dugan about her research when I attended this month’s Science Under the Stars talk at the UT Austin Brackenridge Field Laboratory.

I learned about Science Under the Stars in May 2011 when I entered my very first science video as part of their video contest. I won first place (yea!), and they gave me a fantastic navy blue shirt (thanks!) with their logo and a fire ant (invasive!) carrying off the state of Texas.

Before this month’s talk, they had a neat activity to help you learn about Charles Darwin’s Finches. They showed plates with different foods, such as rice, beans, and chocolate covered walnuts, and they also had different tweezers and tongs. They showed how the finches developed very specialized beaks (the utensils) to pick up the different sized food.

Conflict Avoidance: How NOT Competing Can Be The Ticket to Success

For the March 2012 Science Under the Stars talk, Ms. Genevieve Smith, a graduate student with UT Austin-Integrative Biology, gave a great presentation.

She gave a lot of examples and talked about many scientists, including one who observed a lot of different species of birds that lived in a tree. He found that the different species lived in different parts of the tree and avoided conflict with each other.

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Filed under College of Natural Sciences, Darwin’s Finches, Jewel Cichlid, Laura Dugan, Ms. Genevieve Smith, Science Under the Stars, University of Texas

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March 12, 2012 · 8:23 pm

The Fascinating, Hidden World of Plants at Explore UT

There’s more to plants than you know! At this year’s Explore UT, Dr. Jennifer Moon gave a great presentation about how plants can detect light, respond to touch, establish defenses, and communicate with their kin. Here are some highlights from her talk.

How do plants know when to germinate and grow?

Importance of Red (R) Light and Far Red (FR) Light for Plants

Dr. Moon talked about the importance of red light and far red light for plants. If plants detect more red light, they like to grow or germinate. If there’s more far red light, like in shade, it’ll deter germination or cause the plant to grow tall or sideways to look for sunlight.

Will plants grow more if you touch them?

No. If you touch them a lot, they’ll stay short because they’re afraid that if they grow too tall, they’ll be pulled out of the ground, like from a passing animal or wind.

Do plants like to be talked to?

Yes, but it’s not because of what you say. They like the carbon dioxide (CO2) that you’re giving them.

Can a plant know which bug is eating it?

Dr. Moon described how a plant knows if you’ve cut it or if something is munching on it.

Plants can detect insect saliva

The secret is the plant’s ability to detect insect saliva.

Plants know the difference between mechanical and insect damage

They’re smart enough to know if you’re cutting it with scissors. If they detect that it’s a bug eating it, they’ll set up defenses.

Plants release protease inhibitors for defense

Some plants release a protein that causes insects that are eating the plant to starve and die. They can continue to eat the plant, but they can’t digest it. They’ll die and won’t be able to lay more eggs to create a new generation of pests to attack the plant.

Other plants can release a hormone that attracts wasps that will attack the insects or lay eggs on them.

Other plant defenses

I also learned that spices and flavors are part of a plant’s defense system. They may deter insects and some animals, but they make our food very flavorful. My favorite herb is basil, and my favorite spice is cinnamon.

Venus Fly Trap

Dr. Moon showed us some great plant videos by Roger P. Hangarter from Plants-In-Motion.

Watch this video that shows why it takes more than just a brief touch to cause a Venus Fly Trap to shut. It takes energy for a plant to close it’s leaves, so it’s best to do so when you think you have prey.

Venus Fly Traps need the nitrogen from insects, since these plants typically grow in bogs that have little nitrogen available.

Dr. Moon and Explore UT

Dr. Moon is a lecturer with the School of Biological Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences at University of Texas at Austin, and she has a cool website for the botanically curious at greenseedling.com.

Each year, the University of Texas at Austin holds a campus wide event with fun activities and education for kids and prospective students of all ages. This year’s explore Explore UT event was held on March 3, 2012.

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