Learning+Journey+-+Lower+Peirce+Reservoir

Learning Journey to Lower Peirce Reservoir [UNCOMPLETED]

Reflections

Silent Observations Birds sing to protect territory and attract mates, and also as a form of communication
 * Birds

[Only male Crickets can chirp] The chirping sound is created by running the top of one wing along the teeth of the large vein at the bottom of the other wing. As he does this, the cricket also holds the wings up and open, so that the wing membranes can act as acoustical sails.
 * Crickets

There are four types of cricket song: The calling song attracts females and repels other males, and is fairly loud. The courting song is used when a female cricket is near, and is a very quiet song. An aggressive song is triggered by chemoreceptors on the antennae that detect the near presence of another male cricket and a copulatory song is produced for a brief period after successful deposition of sperm on the female's eggs.

Male cicadas have loud noisemakers called "timbals" on the sides of the abdominal base. The timbals are regions of the exoskeleton that are modified to form a complex membrane with thin, membranous portions and thickened "ribs". Contracting the internal timbal muscles produces a clicking sound as the timbals buckle inwards. As these muscles relax, the timbals return to their original position producing another click. The interior of the male abdomen is substantially hollow to amplify the resonance of the sound. A cicada rapidly vibrates these membranes, and enlarged chambers derived from the tracheae make its body serve as a resonance chamber, greatly amplifying the sound. They modulate their noise by wiggling their abdomens toward and away from the tree that they are on. Additionally, each species has its own distinctive song//.
 * Cicadas

Water percolation results in tiny 'streams' in forest which provide wildlife with water supply //
 * Water trickling