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.

Autumn Evidence of Resource Partioning By: Amy Barracca and Lucy Molina

The tree that we observed was found in Lucy's backyard. Lucy's pear tree is in Northlake which is near O'hare Airport. The tree has evidence of being a home to insects. One can notice this from the insect trail on the bark, and also a hole in the middle of the truck. Woodpeckers have chewed at the bark as a means to eat insects inside the trunk. A layer of moss has attached to the trunks of the tree. In addition, there are fruit buds beginning to form on some of the branches. Daily, the tree is home to squirrels. The location of the tree is ideal for animals because there isn't much traffic in the backyard and, isn't surrounded by sidewalks. Autumn hasn't taken a toll on the tree yet. It still has it's green leaves. On our tree we found 5 pieces of evidence of resource partioning: insects, moss, a woodpecker, leaves, and squirrels.

Resource Partitioning

My group journeyed to a nearby sidewalk between Munroe Hall and the McGowan science buildings. There, we found a tree with thorny little twigs among a group of bushes. We only noticed a few signs of resource partitioning on this tree. We observed that the bark on the tree was partially stripped off in some places. This could have been done by a climbing squirrel or an insect eating away at the bark. In addition, we noticed that many of the leaves were torn and tattered, which could have been done by a caterpillar or other herbivorous insects. There were probably many different species exploiting this tree, but our evidence can only account for 2-4 species. My group noticed very little signs of life on this tree. We suspected this was due to a variety of factors, including the location, height, and care of the tree, as well as the current weather. Firstly, the tree was planted directly in between the intersection of two sidewalks--this isn't a very ideal place for animals to make a home. In addition, the small height of the tree could have also prevented wildlife from utilizing it's resources--squirrels and birds may find more security in a tall tree, where they are out of reach from prey. This tree is located in the middle of the DePaul campus, and thus must be maintained by the gardening employees hired by the university. Signs of life are not easily visible on this tree because these gardeners are interfering with the system of resource partitioning. For example, they may be clearing off any ivy or growing lichen, or discouraging birds to nest in the branches. Lastly, the weather has recently dramatically changed from warms and sunny to cold and rainy. Perhaps insects, animals and plants were living on this tree prior to the temperature change, but as of now, they have migrated to a warmer climate or found a more suitable place to live. These were just a few things that my group brainstormed on our brief nature walk.

By: Emily Leidenfrost, Anna Papuga and Tom Elliott