Although it may still be too cold to jump into Squam for a pleasant swim, I am enjoying jumping into a new adventure. The new crew has been welcomed to Squam Lake with beautiful weather and incredible hospitality. As I continue on my conservation journey in a new place, I am constantly faced with changes and challenges, yet it’s often said that challenges are what make life interesting, and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful. Everyone has to adapt and overcome life’s punches, and we find ourselves constantly tested to use human ingenuity to blaze a path to the future. We have been forced to adapt for work, for pleasure, and for life out of necessity. This is a great reminder of how the world around us is constantly adapting to our presence and the ever-changing nature around us.
If we look at stories of the past, we can see how these adaptations have led to incredible abilities. Legends say some animals can sense storms and natural disasters, and although that would be a pretty amazing ability, it is more complicated than a sixth sense. Research has shown that some animals have an innate ability to protect themselves from extreme weather, but their “predictions” do not tell them what or why something is happening. It may warn them that a change is coming that will make it unsafe for them to be in a certain area. For example, birds are credited with knowing when hurricanes, tornadoes, and big storms are building, and this is likely because they can sense air pressure changes. Sharks dive deeper into the water when hurricanes are forming as they sense water pressure changes. Black bears have a sense of smell thought to be seven times greater than a bloodhound. This may give them a range of a few miles to smell humans, possible food sources, and other important elements. This sense of smell may allow them to detect weather changes in their environment. They have a superior sense of smell compared to humans by far, and even humans have been credited with smelling storms.
Weather patterns do have a certain odor that can be smelled, especially if there is a drastic change. Research has found three particular odors that humans can pick up on in detecting a storm, so it seems likely that bears and other animals may have that capability. You may recognize some of these smells if you think back to the last time you were outside as a storm hit. The first smell that can be picked up on is the smell of the ozone (O₃) downdrafts due to the rain; this occurs right before the rain begins, and you can typically see dark clouds moving in during this time. Lightning splits atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen molecules which leads to the formation of nitric oxide. Nitric oxide in turn can form ozone, and that has a noticeable smell when it is brought down to lower altitudes. As rain begins to fall, surface particles are impacted and often displaced due to the falling water. This can lead to a variety of smells depending on the surfaces disturbed, and these are all termed “petrichor.” This smell may be drastically different at a farm displacing soil compared to a city where the rain is impacting pavement and potential chemicals that are on roadways and buildings. After the storm has come and gone, typically we notice a wet and musty smell of the damp earth. Sometimes we even associate this smell with worms. This smell is called geosmin, which is produced by bacteria and cyanobacteria (commonly known as blue-green algae). These smells are important to some animals because it indicates where water has been and where it is moving. In water systems, petrichor is believed to prompt fish spawning. Camels may use these smells to locate needed oases, which shows just how important these senses are to wild animals. If you recognize any of these smells, I bet you have used them as your cue to go inside or find an umbrella, and that small behavior change based on senses is noteworthy. The ability to alter behavior based on observation and education changes the game. Humans have been able to change the way they think and act, and doing things like risk assessment and even self-direction (making your own choices) have altered human history. Imagine if we were still communicating using cave paintings! Language development and communication is often thought to be one of the best examples of human improvement. It shows the capability of humans to learn and grow.
We find ourselves constantly learning and growing in the field of conservation which cannot be put on hold even in this time of unknown. Rather, we must find ways to conserve and protect that we had never considered. Constantly adapting can be a challenge, but it also makes us stronger and smarter. Even though we can find ourselves constantly being challenged by the world around us, sometimes it is even more important to step back and appreciate everything around us. Just remember all of the organisms around us have survived for this long, and appreciating their contributions to our daily lives only helps us value our constantly adapting world.
Beth is one of the Half Time members of the LRCC who just joined on for the summer season! She is originally from Ohio, and just finished up her undergrad at University of Wisconsin Stevens Point. You can learn more about Beth here!