Maggie Landon
I examined a tree outside of my apartment and found many signs of different species living in it or using it. I looked up in the tree and found some sort of nest in the branches. The nest looked disheveled and very old so I think it was created last spring. The nest was probably used by a bird. I also saw two squirrels running throughout the branches. Some of the leaves had started to change colors and a lot of them had tiny holes in them. It looked like some type of bug had been eating them. Some of the bark had been torn off, but I don't know what species could have done that. The birds, squirrels, and bugs all depended on that tree. They used it for a place to live and for food.

Trees by: Armita Ayrempour & Lisseth Loyo

During the resource partitioning activity Lisseth & I were looking at trees around DePaul's quad but we were unable to find much evidence of wildlife. Over the weekend i went to a trail in Lake forest and found a tree with a substantial amount of evidence with signs of different species all over it. The tree i looked at was a "Black Locust" ( i finally found the name after i recognized a picture of it online haha). There were tiny insects climbing the sides of the trees, they were mostly located in the grooves and ridges of the tree. Some of the leaves had holes in them which led me to believe that the insects were using the leaves as a food source. Towards the top of the tree there were two bird's nests that looked empty but there was one bird 5 feet away from it. There were squirrels running around and climbing the trees and the markings on the tree looked like they belonged to squirrels. Some people had carved their initials into the tree which served as a good example of how markings can show all the different species that are interacting with nature. 

Resource Partitioning

Our group went to a park near my house to observe a tree. Immediately we found a squirrel climbing up the bark and into the branches. Upon further investigation, we noticed some loose bark and a nest of some sort. We were unable to determine what species lived in the nest but it did look to be in poor condition. This could mean it was a birds nest and it has been abandoned for the upcoming winter. When we pulled the bark back (carefully) we noticed some scratch marks just as we had discussed in class. Again we couldn’t be sure what species caused this damage to the tree, but it was most likely an insect. These three pieces of evidence point to the tree being used as a shelter by at least the three species we observed.

Mike Simmons, Jim Nolan, Justin Morris

BABOONS! (and other Lincoln Park nature)

Rhonda Le & Kaitlin Parella

For this assignment we decided to look a tree on Belden Ave. The first thing we noticed was that the leaves had changed color due to the recent cold weather. As we examined the leaves more closely, we found that there were tiny holes in the leaves. This is probably due to small insects feeding off of their nutrients. Up in the branches we saw a gathering of small sticks and dried grasses that were most likely one time a bird’s nest. Because the nest was abandoned, we assumed that maybe the bird’s that once inhabited it had flown south for the winter. Next we heard a giant “screech” sound, we looked up and saw a family of baboons! (just kidding). As we approached the tree we noticed a boy walking his dog, and his dog pulled the owner toward this tree, sniffed around, and lifted up it’s leg and peed right on the trunk! This is an example of dogs or pets using the tree, in this case marking their territory. On the trunk of the tree, we also found some old nails and holes from things being nailed into it. This was from people using this particular tree to hang flyers or advertisements. While we were studying the tree, a friend who we were with (Nick Pinto) walked right up to it and pulled some bark off of it. This is another example of how humans share the tree, in this case negatively. While walking, we also saw some squirrels roaming around the area, and we assume that squirrels share this tree habitat as well. 

Resource Partitioning- Cora Marquez

I walked outside of my apartment this weekend and into the middle of my street. I started walking up and down the sidewalk looking at all the trees lining the road. I found many pieces of evidence that showed other species presence. The tree I observed the most was a old tall tree, I am not sure exactly what kind of tree it was but it was gorgeous. One piece of evidence that I found on the tree were scratches which could have been made by a numerous amount of animals. I also found many bit marks and hole on some of the leaves that were made by insects. The leaves were starting to all so on the ground I was able to notice the marks much closer. There was no wildlife in the tree when I was observing it but I did notice higher in the branches a nest formation. I am not sure if there were still birds that inhabited it but there was at one point. I could account for 2-3 species on this particular tree I found.

Trees In The Quad- Jamie Kolcz, Rima Alsammarae

For this assignment we looked at the trees in the quad. While we were walking through the quad we noticed that there are many different physical characteristics of different species living in the trees. On some of the trees there were birds nests in the branches. On the trunk of the trees there were some scratches that looked like little bugs were inside the bark and trying to eat their way through the bark. On the trunk there was also some bark missing. That might be from the bugs eating their way through and the bark had fallen right off of the tree. Some of the leaves had little holes in them looking like little bugs or caterpillars were trying to eat them. When we looked up into the branches at one point we saw some birds. We can account for at least 2 or 3 species that were living in or on this tree.

Trees :)

For this assignment, we examined a tree outside the street of seminary avenue in Lincoln Park. The first thing we noticed was a squirrel frolicking and playing in the tree. There was most likely a squirrel in the tree as trees are apart of their habitat. We also noticed traces of a nest near the top of the tree. We assumed the nest would be a birds nest. There were holes in the tree that could have been from insects eating away at the tree. We had a hard time finding indicators of species. This could be from a numerous amount of things, for example the fact that the seasons are changing and there are not as many insects and wild life out as in the summer.

xoxo

cc and ss

Courtney Carlstrom and Sarah Stokke

Resource Partitioning by Grant J. Chun

For the resource partitioning assignment, I went to observe a tree right in front of the Belden Apartment in DePaul's Lincoln Park campus. On this tree, I found 3 different evidences of resource partitioning. First evidence is the birds nest that I saw above the tree. It was a small nest made out of little tree branches. I was fortunate to see a bird actually flying toward the nest and landing on it. Judging by how big the bird was, I speculated that the bird was a mother bird who came back after a long day to take care of her baby birds. The bird was part of resource partitioning because it used the tree as a source of shelter. Second evidence I saw was multiple scratch marks around the bottom trunk area of the tree. The size of the marks were small so I assume that small animals like a squirrel went up and down the tree multiple times. Trees have different resources that sometimes have food for squirrels. Because of this, my reasoning tells me that the squirrel went up the tree for food most likely. The third and final evidence of resource partitioning that I saw from the tree was clipped and broken tree branches on top part of the trees. This shows that it did not occur due to natural means. It was more of a work by people who went up via machinery to chop down unnecessary branches. In conclusion, the 3 evidences I saw were the birds nest, scratched claw marks on the tree, and broken/clipped branches on several parts of the upper branch. For the species, the 3 major species that I believe to have influenced the resource partitioning process are the bird, squirrel/small rodent-like animal, and damage done by humans with the aid of the machine.

Resource Partitioning: Lindsay Bishop and Andrew Chae

The tree we chose to investigate is on Kenmore and Dickens. They are very large trees and we chose them because we thought they might be used by many different animals. Altogether we found four pieces of evidence on the tree of resource partitioning.
The first piece of evidence we saw was a few dark holes or creveses in the trunk that looked like some insecst had been eating away at the tree in those spots.The next piece of evidence we found we both found very interesting. The particular tree we were examining split in to very early creating two large branches. In the middle or the fork of these two huge branches was a what appeared to be another plant growing out of it. However we both thought that this could be a part of the same tree and just a new growth. Weather or not it is the same organism or not we assumed that it was using the bigger tree of some nutrients.
The third piece of evidence we found were some sort of scratch or discoloration on the bark of the tree. It looked as if something was peeling the bark of the tree. We thought the might have been caused by squirrels scurrying up the tree while they collected nuts. We had noticed a lot of squirrel out recently and this seemed like a good explanation.
The last piece of evidence we found was a nail in the tree. We saw this a humans using resource partitioning. Altogether i think we could account for four or five different species using the tree as a resource, insects, birds, squirrels and humans.

Resource Partitioning Jaclyn St. Clair & Melissa Kamali

Our tree was located on Belden in front of the DePaul Student Center. On this tree we found three pieces of evidence. We noticed that the bark on the tree was chipped and peeling off in certain spots. From the evidence of the missing bark we could possibly conclude that a bird or squirrel was climbing or clawing at the trees bark. It also could be inferred that the bark is missing because of insect infestation in the tree. Insects could be making a habitat in the tree therefore causing the tree to lose bark. We also noticed that the leaves on the tree were discolored with holes in certain spots. These discoloration and holes could be caused from insect bites which in turn cause the leaves to die and change colors. There were certain branches on the tree that had broken limbs or very bent limbs. This evidence could be attributed to wildlife such as birds or squirrels trying to climb on the branches and breaking the limbs. There were probably four to five species inhabiting the tree. The evidence we saw on the tree from certain species looked damaging to the tree. We were not able to see certain species inhabiting the tree that were not causing harm, however many species that do not cause harm use this tree for their habitat.

Resource Partitioning- Katie Fraser and Meaghan Dries

The tree my partner and I observed was one that is right outside my apartment in Wrigleyville. The tree is located directly in front of my apartment which is behind the field near Clark street. Although it is in an area that is sparsely populated, as far as trees go, there was still evidence of resource partitioning.
One of the most obvious aspects of resource partitioning was a bird next that was in one of the higher branches. It was rather small and looked as though the birds weren’t using it anymore, but that it had once housed a family. The nest was made from feathers, twigs, and bark from the tree.
This explains a bit of the loss of bark on the tree. However, it also looked as though the bark had been touched my insects. There were a few trails down the backside of the tree, and bumps on the back of some of the leaves as though insects had laid eggs there. Only the leaves on the lower most branch, as those were the ones we could see the best, had these bumps. They have been growths, but some looked as though the edges had been nibbled on.
There was a squirrel nearby in the street, not directly in front of the tree, but could have been in street because we were invading its home. I have also seen squirrels around the tree before as it is right outside my front window.
At the base of the tree there was some moss. This could have developed at the base because the base of the tree is often damp. I know this because the tree is surrounded by dirt, which our upstairs neighbor uses to let her dog relieve herself. There was only a little trace of moss though, so it could have been something else but my partner and I believed it looked like moss and felt soft and spongy like moss.
The last species, if it counts, is the dog. My neighbor lets the dog use the tree as her bathroom area. Although the tree is not the dogs direct environment, the dog uses the tree and alters the environment with its excrement.
Those are a few of the species we saw partaking in resource partitioning at the tree in Wrigelyville.

Resource Partitioning by Aaron Agustin, Mehul Chaudhari, Colin Thomas

For our resource partitioning activity we weren’t able to find much outside of McGowan hall. We decided to go out on our own and each find a tree with resource partitioning. Between the three of us, we found the best tree to be at Oz Park. It had evidence of at least four obvious signs of different species using the tree, and some other signs that suggest the presence of other species. The first sign were several crows. The crows were using the tree as a perch at the moment, but interestingly enough, the birds were taking bits of leaves away from the tree. Though not their permanent shelter, the crows found the tree to be a way to create shelter. The second sign were scratch marks running up the side of the tree, some of which left raw bark exposed. At first, these marks were thought to have been left by insects, but after a few moments, it became evident that these were marks left by squirrels. We can account for this because after a few moments of standing next to the tree, a squirrel crawled down the tree. It seemed to expect some kind of food judging by its proximity to us. The tree actually had several squirrels in the tree. The third sign of partitioning was moss growing along the tree, and the last sign was a spider web which was going along the trunk of the tree. This spider web actually suggests two forms of partitioning. The obvious one would be the spider, but since it wrapped its web along the tree trunk, it also suggests that the spider was hunting the insects which ran along the tree. Another suggestion of insects present in the tree was a series of holes located along the tree trunk. This could have been created by insects or birds trying to get at the insects inside the bark. The insects that could have been eating at the tree may have been termites. The tree itself was rather old so it could have been supporting termites for awhile. The birds that may have created the holes could have been a wood pecker or even the crows.