Browsing: Environment

We all learned about the food chain in grade school and have even seen the drama unfold in a nature documentary. But witnessing a critter eating another critter up close is another level of experience – it makes it real.  

Late winter in the deep south doesn’t last long, but it does try our patience. We long for the coming spring when it is safe to plant our gardens and replace the brown colors of winter with colors of spring. But it always seems to take forever until the spring greening happens, in what seems like an instant. One day the world is dreary, the next it is covered in every shade of green and other colors of the rainbow. 

Some plants add a certain kind of pizazz or elegance to our world. Such is the case for Green Dragons, Arisaema dracontium. Although not commonly seen, unless you frequent moist woodlands in early spring, this forest floor plant has a wide distribution across the eastern U.S. and Canada. As for the name, well, the person that described it apparently saw a long, flickering lizard’s tongue under a multi-lobed dragon’s mane.

Mississippi State University officially broke ground today [March 10] on the Northern Gulf Aquatic Food Research Center, a first-of-its kind facility in Mississippi dedicated to aquatic food safety, quality assessment, processing and product development.

The nighttime sky offers Mississippians a great show this week in the form of a total lunar eclipse.

Sometimes the tiniest of organisms in our world evoke memories we hold dear. Such was the case when I recently shared a few photos of one of the smallest of our regional flowering plants, a Tiny Bluet, Houstonia pusilla. As many of you know, I share tidbits about nature daily, through my Cajun Daily Dose of Nature post on Instagram and Facebook. The post about the Tiny Bluet reminded me that many of my friends also share my passion for nature, big and small. 

Making waves in marine research is what motivates Dr. Jerry Wiggert of The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) to pursue his passions. Wiggert was appointed to the Ocean Studies Board (OSB), a unit of the Division on Earth and Life Studies of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. OSB explores the science, policies and infrastructure needed to understand, manage and conserve coastal and marine environments and resources.

It has been three months or so since the last of our Ruby-throated Hummingbirds flew south for the winter. A few do seem to stay with us along the northern Gulf Coast, but most of our winter hummers are western species. Ruby-throated hummers are intrepid birds that fly a long way each year between their breeding grounds across the eastern U.S. and Canada and their winter homes in Central America. 

Mississippi State University administration, faculty and students are planting 225 trees at the Partnership Middle School today [Feb. 21] in celebration of Arbor Day.

The middle of February in coastal Mississippi is early spring. OK, late winter, but that’s if you are looking backward, not forward. We deep southerners are not fond of cold. So yes, spring it is! It is also when our earliest blooming trees and shrubs begin to break their dormancy and flower – including the most dramatic of them – Swamp Red Maple, Acer rubrum.

Late winter and spring along the coastal areas of the northern Gulf can be pleasant – until the no-see-ums start to bite. Aptly named, these tiny little demons can become so numerous, they can make a sane person scream, holler, and use bad words. Of course, only the females bite – just saying.

Since operations at the refinery began in 1963, Chevron has continued to invest in its Pascagoula facility, and in Mississippi. Over the years, the refinery has evolved; it’s added facilities and upgrades to manufacture the products that supply energy to a growing world.  The refinery manufactures nearly 7 million gallons of gasoline every day and in recent years, has reduced its carbon intensity and continues to work toward lower carbon solutions. 

There are three common species of large pines that live within the so-called pine belt of the southeastern U.S. This swath of land stretches from the coast of North Carolina, Georgia and Florida, westward to eastern Texas. Of these, Longleaf historically dominated this landscape. It evolved to not only tolerate fire but depend on it. In many ways, it is also one of the most elegant.

From the comfort of our warm homes, it is easy to worry about how our feathered friends can handle cold…

OK, I may be opening a proverbial can of worms or Pandora’s Box, but I am going to do it anyway. Should be fun. Here goes. What burning questions do you have about something in or about nature that I may be able to write about? In other words, what are your Qu’est Que C’ests.

Finding the motionless, rigid body of an insect covered with odd spiky protrusions is certain to get anyone’s attention. My friend Shawn Harris had a typical reaction when he asked me about his recent observation – “What the Frankenstein is this!?! My response – “Why, that is just your typical Zombie Wasp. Cool!”