Morels and False Morels

Something that I've started doing since moving to Northwestern Montana is going mushroom hunting. While this is a fun venture it can also be a little hazardous if you don't know what to look for. Around here the best edible fungi to eat is the morel. The only problem is that there are also false morels that can be toxic if consumed. Keep in mind however that no morel should ever be eaten raw as they do contain small amounts of toxin which are eliminated in the cooking process. Hopefully this next post will eliminate the chance of getting the wrong 'shroom and you all can have some fun in the woods.

True Morels:

The best known morels are the yellow morel, the white morel, and the black morel. Each grow in different types of habitats though all morels have a close association with land touched by forest fire. The yellow morel and white morels typically are found under deciduous trees rather than coniferous such as; ash, sycamore, tulip trees, elms, cottonwoods, oak, etc. The black morel can be found under either deciduous or coniferous trees. Since I am located in the northwest part of Montana I'll be talking about the Black Morels because of their abundance in this region.

Black Morel (Morchella elata)

This tasty little mushroom is usually found in recently (2-3 years) burned areas in coniferous and aspen stands between April and June. It has a conical to egg-shaped cap that is has a distinctive honeycomb pattern whose ridges are black-brown with pale cream colored hollows. There is no set size to black morels since they truly do depend on the habitat around them for growth. I've seen them ranging anywhere from thumb-sized to fist-sized in any given location. The best part of morel hunting is eating them. The two cooking methods that are typically used with black morels is to either sautee them with butter in a pan or to deep fry them as you would a typical mushroom. Morels can also be canned or freeze dried for later use when they are not in season. When freeze dried, all you have to do is reconstitute them in a little water and then cook as you would fresh morels.

False Morels:

One can tell the difference between a true morel and a false morel by the careful study of the cap. Instead of having a true honeycomb pattern as with true morels, false morels will have a "wrinkled" or "brainy" pattern and the cap will generally be larger and darker than a typical true morel. The caps of false morels also flair out more than a true morel whose cap will touch or almost touch the base of the stem.

So with that I leave you and wish you happy morel hunting in your years to come.

White Pine Blister Rust

I want to make this blog as comprehensive as possible and informative as well, so today I'm going to discuss White Pine Blister Rust which is, as the name implies, a rust fungi that is one of the most destructive diseases to our local forest and timber stands. I am a person who likes the microbial side to biology so I apologize in advance if I get a little carried away but I do hope that you as a reader can appreciate this post and want to learn even more.

White Pine Blister Rust (Cronartium ribicola) is an invasive fungal species that was accidentally introduced into N. America in the early part of the 20th century. The disease can cause serious damage to all the American white pine species such as; Western White Pine, Sugar Pine, Limber Pine, and Whitebark Pine. Originating in Asia the pathogen, has little or no effect on their local pines because of co-evolution between the fungus and Asian pines. Blister Rust in parts of northern Montana has killed off entire stands of Western White Pine and Whitebark Pine, both of which are extremely important to the habitats and food sources for several species including the Clark's Nutcracker and the Grizzly Bear. The Forest Service has been working for several years on genetic improvement projects to make more resistant trees to this particular disease but that information is for a another posting.

The pathogen itself C.ribicola is heterecious, which means that it needs two host species to complete its life cycle; an aecial host and a telial host. Aecial hosts are pine trees while telial hosts are those plants found in the currant or Ribes families. So what happens is the disease gets passed from pine tree to currant bush and back again... over and over. One idea to get rid of the fungi was to eradicate all naturally growing currants in our pine stands but it was an impractical theory in practice.

The earliest identifier of C. ribicola infection is flagging, or patches of needles on the limbs turning a flaming red-orange color. There are other pine diseases that can cause this same "symptom" so it is often overlooked. The disease is usually first confirmed by finding cankers on infected branches. These cankers usually are a swollen and cracked portion of the limb that show a yellow orange substance between the cracks. If the infection is just limited to one or two limbs, those limbs can be pruned and there is hope for the tree itself, but if the canker if found on the main stem of the tree there is little help for it. Within 1-2 years the entire tree will turn bright red as the bole dies. Once infected the tree is also prone to other pest attacks as well. Because this agent passes so quickly between the two host species it takes very little time for an entire stand to be wiped out.

Osprey

In the last two posts I've been talking about some great resources for educating oneself in aspects of wildlife and the outdoors, but I think its time to dive right in and start discussing the critters, plants and pests that make the natural world so interesting. For the next few day's I'll be discussing a few bird species of interest to the region and then see where it goes from there. Hopefully by the weekend I can get into some carnivore studies and genetic improvement projects.

Here in Northwestern Montana we are lucky enough to have a nice variety of predator birds to admire. One of my personal favorites to study about is the osprey (Pandian haliaetus) because it is one of the most specialized hawks around. Not only is this bird of prey spectacular to look at but its amazing to study as well. Their feeding/hunting behaviors alone are well worth any amount of time spent researching them.

General characteristics:

Osprey are a diurnal fish-eating bird of prey and are part of the family Accipitridae. This large hawk can reach up to 2 ft in length, weigh around 4 lbs and can have a 6 ft wingspan. Though the wingspan can be huge for a bird of its general size the wings themselves can have a crooked appearance from being held slightly arched in flight. Osprey are brown on the upperparts and predominantly white on the head and underparts, with black eye patches and wings. A short tail and long, narrow wings with four long, finger-like feathers, and a shorter fifth, give it a very distinctive appearance. One interesting tid bit is that the osprey is the only raptor species that has a reversible outer toe which allows for better gripping of slippery fish with two toes in front and two toes in back. There are four generally recognized subspecies although the differences are small. The sexes appear fairly similar, but the adult male can be distinguished from the female by its slimmer body and narrower wings. The breast band of the male is also weaker than that of the female, or is non-existent, and the underwing coverts of the male are more uniformly pale.

Habitats:

Osprey can tolerate a wide variety of habitats as long as there is a nesting site near an open body of water with enough fish to provide an adequate food supply and is found on all continents except for Antartica. The Osprey breeds by freshwater lakes, and sometimes on coastal brackish waters. Here in Montana osprey nests are typically found in dead trees or on other prominent supports near water such as large rivers and reservoirs.

Food/Hunting:

Fish make up 99 percent of the Osprey's diet. The osprey's hunting habits are very unique. Most often the bird perches on conspicuous poles or trees near the water which allows a wide field of view to find their prey under the surface of the water. Once a potential fish is spotted the osprey takes off and flies directly over the water. Swooping down from above the osprey selects its fish at about 50 ft above the water, after which the bird hovers momentarily then plunges feet first into the water.[After catching the fish considerable effort is needed to get airborne again. As it rises back into flight the fish is turned head-forward to reduce drag. The Osprey is particularly well adapted to this diet, with reversible outer toes, sharp spicules on the underside of the toes, closable nostrils to keep out water during dives, and backwards-facing scales on the talons which act as barbs to help hold its catch.

eNature.com and Other Online Sources

I am definitely a product of a generation that uses technology and the internet to the fullest so its no surprise that I use a lot of different online sources to get information that I need for various projects I have going on both for work and my own independent learning. Whether you are a biologist, a botanist, a forester, or a parks manager there is a litany of great online sources that can be your best friend.





One that I find to be one of the best and which was recommended to me by a professor at the University of Montana is eNature.com. This particular website is like having every single publishable field guide in the world at your fingertips. It has a little bit of everything for everyone. I use eNature.com primarily for recording my observations from day to day and doing preliminary research on species habitat and behaviors before going out in the field. If you are interested in birding this site also presents sound bites of every bird species' call and discusses everything from diet to wing patterns when flying. Again, when I was taking ornithology this site came in handy but I've continued to use it ever sense. Signing up for an account is quick, easy and free. Over the years I've built lists of animals of interest for the habitat and region in which I work. I've also recommended this site to a number of silviculturists and foresters in my office because of the section dedicated to plants and plant disease. If you have kids that are interested in the outdoors I suggest bringing them to eNature.com as soon as they can be trusted with a computer because there are tons of educational activities and games that help them to learn about everything from rock formations to determining what scat came from what animal. All in all, you really can't go wrong with this one just do a little exploring on the site to see all the resources it contains.

Another site that covers some similar bases as eNature.com, called WILDpro, is actually under authorship of the USGS. This is a free membership site that puts out information on hot topic issues such as Westnile virus, chronic wasting disease, and wildlife first aide and care.



For those of you with more academic interests, say publishing papers or at least going through the peer review process, the best tool you are going to ever have in your back pocket is some sort of scholarly article search engine. Now most of the better engines require a small fee for their services but they are well worth it. I'm a fan of Proquest and DOAJ (Directory of Open Access Journals) but its just because the are the ones that I have been using for a long time and both cover a variety of journals. Another commonly used engine is JSTOR, but again the membership can get pricey. Most education and work organizations have contracts with specific academic search engines but if you find that your school or place of work does not and you don't want to pay an annual membership fee both Google and Yahoo have developed "scholar" settings on their search for just this situation. You may not always get full text articles but often enough if you have the citation you can go to that specific journal's webpage and look at back issues to find the full original text. This process takes a bit more leg work but its just as effective.

Field Guides

Anyone that spends any decent amount of time in the outdoors has run across moments where they saw something and wish they knew more about it right then and there. Or saw an animal or plant that they wish they could identify. An easy solution for that problem is to carry a few field guilds along in your pack. I've gotten some great use out of these compact little references and find that they are worth their weight in gold, especially when I'm going into a situation or location that I'm not as familiar with.

Several non-profit and conservation oriented organizations publish a variety of field guides that narrow their focus either by region, topic, or both. Field guides can give you tons of information through illustrations and examples such as identifying edible or poisonous plants, types of geologic formations, species identification, and so much more. Though I've gone through my fair share of these handy books the two that I keep in my pack at all times are "The Sibley Guide to Birds of Western North America" by David Allen Sibley and the "Field Guide to the Rocky Mountain States" put out by the National Audubon Society. My junior year of college I took a very in depth ornithology class and found the Sibley's guide to be the most comprehensive and most fitting to the way I learn and identify birds but each guide has its pros and cons. As for my "Field Guide to the Rocky Mountain States", it was a Christmas present from my brother (another outdoor oriented Bennett) who knew a lot about the work I do and came with high praise. It covers pretty much everything found in the wildlands of Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Over the years its gotten banged up and folded pages but still is so very useful in the field. Thank God for waterproof pages.

While these two books are indelible to me I do recommend that if you are seeking out a field guide (or several) for yourself that you find ones that are appropriate for what you do in the outdoors and the locale that you typically spend that time. Though they may share some common flora and fauna, a field guide for Northwest Montana isn't going to do you much good if you live in Southern Louisiana, or vis a versa. So when you are at your local book store or outdoor supply place be sure that you take your time and find what best suits you.

Come back to read tomorrow when I'll be discussing interactive online sources such as eNature.com, that help both novice and experienced wildlander alike learn and keep track of their observations in the field. Happy Reading!

A Wildlife Biologist's Welcome

Hello,
My name is Tracy Bennett and I am a wildlife biologist in Northwestern Montana. I have spent the past three years working not only as an independent contractor for various studies in this neck of the woods but have also worked on and off with various public land agencies since I was in junior high such as BLM, Wyoming Game and Fish, and most recently the USFS. Though its only been a few years since I've started my professional career as a biologist, I have loved wildlife and the backcountry for as long as I can remember. My intent with this particular blog is to share my experiences with others with similar interests and use this as a tool for teaching and learning. I encourage fellow biologists, wildland conversationalist, wildlife managers, and those with a general love of the outdoors to comment and ask questions as this site grows.
Hopefully we can build a good following here and share insights of the trade and promote growth. I have worked on various projects ranging from habitat improvement projects for old growth species, to genetic improvement projects with whitebark and western white pine on our national forests, to a number of fecundity and monitoring projects of large carnivores. I have a broad interest base and over the next few months would like to begin this blog with some of the research I've done and I'll hopefully get some feedback from you all as well.
Again welcome and happy reading.