- Poop is Important is mean’t to illustrate a few of the important connections that occur with poop. Most of the filming was done in Alaska
Why do bears poop? The value of bear’s poop in the distribution of various plants has been fairly well studied. For an interesting observation of the distribution of blueberry plants look at Seeds in bear scat by Richard Carstensen. and /sites/default/files/Shakeri_et_al-2018-Ecosphere.pdf Think about the connections with insects. The Dryomiza flies that eat bears poop may be one of the most important pollinators of the Northwestern Twayblade Orchid in Juneau.
Eats its Poop To understand why they do this look at Beavers by the Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau, Alaska and go to page 25. This habit of eating their fecal matter is called “caecotrophy.”
Crows Tending and Feeding Their Young Of interest is after being fed one of the youngsters raises its rear end and the parent takes or eats its poop. What are some of the advantages of this type of behavior? The young don’t defecate in the nest or beside the nest. This may help avoid contamination. It might be less obvious for predators whereas the nest site with a bunch of whitish poop may be visible from some distance away. I have read that the parents may receive some nourishment by eating their youngsters poop.
The Importance of Lyngby’s Sedge For more information about this sedge and other wetland plants look at Mendenhall Wetlands To learn about the value of sedges browse Wetland Sedges of Alaska by Gerald Tande & Robert Lipkin Think about how a goose’s poop helps fertilize and benefit these plants.
Blow Fly Maggots Decomposing a Salmon Carcass Once the blow fly eggs had hatched it took their larvae (maggots) about 5-6 days to decompose this chum salmon carcass. The value of salmon carcasses to the health of our watersheds has been well studied. Think about how these maggots eating the salmon’s flesh and then pooping contributes to these important connections.
A Tussock Moth Kid Poops and Eats Shows the caterpillar pooping and eating an alder leaf. The next photo shows a Bruce Spanworm moth caterpillar feeding on a blueberry leaf. For the connections with these moths look at Bruce Spanworm Moths . Of interest some studies show that the caterpillars eating the blueberry leaves and pooping (technically called their frass) benefits the blueberry plants over time. It appears their poop fertilizes the soil more than the natural decomposition of the plants.
Bird Colony with Poop in Glacier National Park Is meant to show the amount of whitish poop that occurs in bird colonies. This recent article discusses the value of their poop in the overall marine ecosystem Banking on Bird Shit by Lina Zeldovich Of special interest could be the connections with the fish that the pelicans eat. This could be discussed along with how the pelicans dive to capture fish.
Truffles, Voles, Flying Squirrels and Forest Health is about the connections that exist for the health of our forests. Look at the information under this video to understand their relationships Truffles, Flying Squirrels, Voles, Forest Health
