Weather: no clouds in the sky, hot but not humid, no breeze, 86° F
Why we went? At this park, we explored the trail to see what different types of species we could encounter, and then we noticed different adaptations the species had to live in a swamp like environment.
Observations: Some different species we ran into were: Morehens, duck weed, giant letter ferns, fallen over maple trees, tree stumps with various plants on it, soft-shell turtle, an Anhigna bird drying on a tree, many gators. Also, we saw the difference in heights of trees in the canopy.
Adaptations: Ways that these species survive in this environment is through adaptations that they have grown accustom to over time. For example: the giant leather ferns had spores on them to allow them to obtain oxygen in the swamp that is occasionally filled with water. The fallen over maple trees were not dead, but had fallen due to the rise and fall of the amount of swamp water. A way it adapted to this condition was through the roots reaching down the water, and new branches coming from the part of the tree already touching the ground. The tree stumps with various plants allowed other species to create a safe environment on them as if it provided an island like structure in the swamp. Soft-shelled turtles have the adaptation of webbed feet that allow them to swim in the water, this is also a trait that the gators have in order to help them swim. And finally we have the Anhigna bird that has less oils on its skin that helps with the fact that they are able to swim in water opposed to other types of birds that just dive in it.
Nice description - one correction though. The spores on the leather ferns are their form of reproduction (like seeds on angiosperms) rather than an adaptation to gain oxygen.
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