The new Community Forest purchased by the KRLT includes the confluence of the Kinni and the Rocky Branch tributary, which is just upstream of where this picture was taken. This picture shows a small riffle, a feature of the river where the water is turbulent and shallow, broken up by rocks or stones. This is the prime feeding zone for trout. The turbidity also adds dissolved oxygen to the water, which is essential for the survival of the trout’s primary prey species. Without dissolved oxygen, the river would be full of mostly leeches, snails, and true flies – not the best for either trout or people!

 

Much of winter ecology can be hidden unless you’re curious enough to poke around a little bit. For example, this round structure is called a gall, and it’s the winter home of the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis). If you slice the gall in half, you’ll see the larva inside. These provide a tasty treat for chickadees and woodpeckers during the cold winter months. The larvae themselves survive the winter by producing anti-freeze in their cells, and they emerge in the spring no worse for wear. They can only live on goldenrods, so if you see one, you know what the plant is too!

 

Winter is a time when some of the lesser-known organisms are revealed. On the side of this tree, you can see some splotchy discolorations, which are lichens. Lichens are two organisms living together in a mutualistic relationship – a green alga and a fungus. The mini-mushrooms (the fungi) provide a home for the algae, and the algae in turn provide food for the fungi. Attempts to grow lichens in the lab are unsuccessful (the fungi and algae prefer to live on their own) unless nutrients are very scarce. Only then do they team up. This lets them live on surfaces, like bare rock, where no other organisms can live. The new Community Forest purchased by the KRLT includes the confluence of the Kinni and the Rocky Branch river, which is just upstream of where this picture was taken. This picture shows a small riffle, a feature of the river where the water is turbulent and shallow, broken up by rocks or stones. This is the prime feeding zone for trout. The turbidity also adds dissolved oxygen to the water, which is essential for the survival of the trout’s primary prey species. Without dissolved oxygen, the river would be full of mostly leeches, snails, and true flies – not the best for either trout or people!

Monthly phenology reports about the Kinnickinnic River and watershed are brought to life by Stephanie Erlandson, a long time environmental educator, and plant ecologist.