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Summer 2015

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W A LL S Famed for its hidden fishing villages that cling to soaring cliffs and terraced vineyard that scale almost verticalslopes, Italy’s Cinque Terre has long been a magnet for tourists and hikers. But it is facing an uncertain future after a series of deadly mudslides and rockfalls.

effort, but they need to be maintained,” Claudio Burlando said of the terraces, which are believed to contain as many stones as the Great Wall of China. A postwar total of 140,000 farmers in the region of Liguria, which is squeezed between the Apennines and the Mediterranean Sea, has shrunk to just 14,000 today, a number Burlando said he wanted to boost with training courses for woodsmen, shepherds and, crucially, dry stone wallers.

This week, four Australian tourists tackling the panoramic Trail of Love on the idyllic stretch of the Ligurian coast were seriously injured by cascading boulders, while 1,000 people were evacuated last October when mud surged through two of the area’s five villages.

“With the crisis we are lo si ng industry jobs,so if we can train up 400 young people a year we are creating skills and saving the land,” he said.

The disasters, says the governor of Liguria, are due to a gradual abandoning by farmers of the terraces above the villages and the subsequent collapse of ancient dry stone walls. And in a bid to overcome the problem, he has launched an audacious plan to convince young Italians to return to the land. “These walls were built up over 1,000 years with huge

Unauthorised building, which blocks water courses, has also been blamed for flooding in Liguria, but Burlando said the rockfall that struck the four Australians was directly caused by crumbling stone walls. “The slopes are about the steepest in Liguria and so the terraces are as narrow as two metres,” he said. “If one wall goes down it takes down the next one like a house of cards. From out at sea you can see how many have collapsed.”

After last year’s mudslides, stones from walls were removed from debris in the villages, loaded on to helicopters and flown up the slopes to be replaced. low the region to send his young trainees on to private land toundertake repairs if the owner had abandonedit. “Sometimes the owner is 95 and just can’t take care of the land. Farming here isn’t easy. It can be so steep your tractor risks falling into the sea,” he said. Burlando saw the plan as a chance to get Italians doing what their parents did. “A chain has been broken,” he said. “We emptied out the countryside to fill the factories yet now we buy from Asia and the service industry is not enough.” Meanwhile, Albanian and Turkish immigrants are much in demand for their dry stone walling skills in Liguria. Italians are however beginning to reconsider agriculture, said Burlando. “A man who grows basil told me had just employed two Italians, something he had not done for 20 years.”

In a recent, well-researched, and superbly-crafted article in Newsweek, June 29, 2009, author Sharon Begley makes a case against the entire field of Evolutionary Psychology. Titled, “Why Do We Rape, Kill and Sleep Around?” the piece is an inflammatory damning of fundamental principles which seek to explain human instincts, drives and impulses, and even those that markedly differ between men and women.

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She is actually rather convincing to a point. It would be too bad to see a body of knowledge that appears to clearly explain not only the non-verbal, hidden, illogical, and otherwise unexplainable about human behavior in general. Even the differences between men and women which in our current culture of political correctness create such a communication divide between the genders it’s no wonder it’s hard to find a successfully, happily married person these days.

Convincing to a point, that is, until you indulge in something as simple as a sugary-sweet romantic comedy called The Ugly Truth. Viewed intuitively, it obliterates her arguments against Evolutionary Psychology. While the “animal side” of our nature produces much har m, it is also absolutely necessary to find life’s greatest gift - love. Like many fields of psychology, one might be tempted to wrap a set of principles around each and every human behavior and experience, then come face to face with the specific exceptions it does not explain. Instead, wouldn’t it be sensible to see each model that emerges as a piece of a grand puzzle, an amalgam or synthesis of all for mer theory which has been called “unification theory” - to this point, a patchwork or stew of models which, collected, do their best to explain as much of our inner clockworks as possible.

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What if Evolutionary Psychology speaks quite accurately, and only, to the “animal nature” of human beings, to instinct, and impulses, drives and unconscious pressures and motivations that, no, are not logical in a classical sense, but only insofar as the pressures of environments through history exerted on the human species.

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And even found a biological purpose for men and women to grow different habits, preferences, traits, motivators, desires and passions than the other. Enter The Ugly Truth - a film full of expectable twists, and a for mulaic, but pleasing plot. Yet, so honest, and genuine in dialogue, issues, and gender realism. Chadwick, the ne’er-do-well host of a late night cable access show on men’s psychology and gender played by Gerard Butler, meets the refined, sexually impoverished producer played by Katherine Heigl. He is all masculine animal, full of passion and truth-telling about the real and illogical instincts that run men’s and women’s behavior. He is a master of “the animal” in us in fact, while Heigl’s character is the mature, sophisticated, and uber-logical-to-afault feminine woman who is at a loss for why she cannot attract the man of her dreams. In the end, she teaches Butler the value and potential of love and commitment, and he teaches her the humanizing power of the passions, the unconscious drives, and the primitive beauty of the animal inside us all. Perhaps you have heard of “Russian Nesting Dolls,” called Matryuschka Dolls. They are the wooden, lacquered figurines which, when opened, reveal another doll, inside the doll, inside the doll. One early precept of Evolutionary Psychology is the notion of Paul McLean’s Triune Brain Theory - that in the course of evolution, the brains of species evolved from a more primitive, survivalist, “Reptilian Brain,” to sprout on top of it, the emotional circuitry of social animals called mammals, with “Mammalian Brains.” Then later, with the rise of the human species, the “most advanced animals,” who have a well-developed neocortex capable of rational thought, abstract reasoning, and a sense of sentience, rights, responsibility, boundaries, ethics or morality. “The Moral Animal.”

If these were to be seen as a kind of triple software package of the mind rather than just placed in anatomical position in the cranium, one could envision them like the Russian Dolls, the sum total of our behavior as more than the sum of its parts, with a rational mind capable of diplomacy on the surface, emotion underneath, and at the core, still there after eons, the “animal.” Begley is looking at Evolutionary Psychology and the behaviors it explains as if it espouses that “animals” are all humans are capable of being. Her rightful concern that deviants in society could cite it as an excuse for criminal or unethical behavior is well-founded. But we are more than just animals. We must not forget the mature, moral, diplomatic, courteous “doll”

I would warn you that I do not attribute to nature either beauty or deformity, order or confusion. Only in relation to our imagination can things be called beautiful or ugly, well-ordered or confused. -Baruch Spinoza quotes of the “Higher Brained” neocortex, covering the doll of the “Mammalian Brained” emotional circuitry, covering the doll that is the Reptilian Brain - the drives, reproductive and survival instincts, passions of the unconscious. In the common sense of a simple romantic comedy, we see and recognize something true and universal about men and women and how they behave, feel and act passionately about. We discover that we are far more than animals. We are capable of love, maturity, commitment, teamwork, and have a natural sense of story, plot and meaning in our romances.

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The islands of

cinque terre The area is made up of five tiny villages (Cinque Terre literally means “Five Lands”) clinging to the cliffs along a gorgeous stretch of the Ligurian coast. The terrain is so steep that for centuries footpaths were the only way to get from place to place. It just so happens that these paths provide beautiful views of the rocky coast tumbling into the sea, as well as access to secluded beaches and grottoes. Backpackers “discovered” the Cinque Terre in the 1970s, and its popularity has been growing ever since. Despite summer crowds, much of the original appeal is intact. Each town has maintained its own distinct charm, and views from the trails in between are as breathtaking as ever. Hiking is the most popular way to experience the Cinque Terre, and Trail No. 2, the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail), is the most traveled path. To cover the entire trail is a full day: it’s approximately 13 km (8 miles) in length, takes you to all five villages, and requires about five hours, not including stops, to complete. The best approach is to start at the easternmost town of Riomaggiore and warm up your legs on the easiest segment of the trail. As you work your way west, the hike gets progressively more demanding. For a less strenuous experience, you can choose to skip a leg or two and take the ferry (which provides its own beautiful views) or the inland train running between the towns instead. Trail No. 2 is just one of a network of trails crisscrossing the hills. If you’re a dedicated hiker, spend a few nights and try some of the other routes. Trail No. 1, the Sentiero Rosso (Red Trail), climbs from Portovenere (east of Riomaggiore)

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p h o t o b y D o l l y He a r t

“Charming” and “breathtaking” are adjectives that get a workout when you’re traveling in Italy, but it’s rare that both apply to a single location. The Cinque Terre is such a place, and this combination of characteristics goes a long way toward explaining its tremendous appeal. The area is made up of five tiny “Each type of zebra has the same villages (Cinque Terre literally means “Five Lands”) clinging b a s i c pattern ; h ow e v e r , e a c h to the cliffs along a gorgeous stretch of the Ligurian coast. zebra’s stripes are unique, much The terrain is so steep that for centuries footpaths were the only as our fingerprints are, so individ- way to get from place to place. It just so happens that these paths provide beautiful views of the ual zebras can be identified easily.” as well as access to secluded rocky coast tumbling into the sea, - Betty Lewis ers “discovered” the Cinque beaches and grottoes. Backpack- Terre in the 1970s, and its popularity has been growing ever since. Despite summer crowds, much of the original appeal is intact. Each town has maintained its own distinct charm, and views from the trails in between are as breathtaking as ever. Hiking is the most popular way to experience the Cinque Terre, and Trail No. 2, the Sentiero Azzurro (Blue Trail), is the most traveled path. To cover the entire trail is a full day: it’s approximately 13 km (8 miles) in length, takes you to all five villages, and requires about five hours, not including stops, to

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Bees & the human race We decided this time to explain the importance of the Bees in our everyday life. Very few people know what is going on with the world’s bee population and the effect they have on our food supply.

have declined hugely. For example, in North America several bumblebee species, which used to be common, have more or less disappeared from the entire continent. In the UK, three species have gone extinct.”

Here too we need to restrict our desire of wanting everything to look perfect. We will have to welcome a few weeds and chards, pulling them out of the garden by hand; knowing that this is the way to act from now on to protect our ecosystem.

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.”

Why? This is why.

Albert Einstein

So let’s talk about it.

Common pesticides could be wiping out bee colonies by causing pollen-gathering insects to lose their way home, research suggests. Two studies provide strong evidence that pesticides sprayed on farmers’ fields, and used on private gardening threaten bumblebees and honeybees. One team of British scientists showed bumblebee colony growth slowed after exposure to a chemical. Another group of French researchers tracked foraging honeybees and found that pesticide tripled their chances of dying away from the hive. The chemical was thought to disrupt the bees’ homing systems. Insecticides calledneonicotinoids may fuel Colony Collapse Disorder. The phenomenon, marked by the disappearance of honeybee colonies, is a problem in northern hemisphere countries. Bumblebees are at risk. Professor Dave Goulson, from the University of Stirling, who led the British study, said: “Some bumblebee species

Friends of the Earth called the findings “very significant”. Bees feed on pollen and nectar produced by plants. Female bees collect pollen to feed their larvae, storing it in pollen baskets in their legs or on branched hairs on their body. As they go from flower to flower they inevitably lose some of the pollen they have collected. Some of this pollen may land on the female parts of other flowers of the same species, resulting incross-pollination.

Just as much as bees have a role in ensuring the survival of humanity, we also have roles in ensuring their survival. This way, we can ensure that the symbiotic relationship we have with bees will endure for many more generations.

All elements of an ecosystem are important to the functioning of that ecosystem. It may be positive or

negative, from a human standpoint, but we cannot look at nature from a human standpoint only. Why? Well, ecosystems are complex, possibly too complex for us to be able to understand all the connections and actions and interactions that takes place within them. If we do not know what will happen if something changes, it makes no sense to rush in and make those changes.

Now, with bees and honey bees, in particular we know that over one-third of our food supply relies upon them for pollination services and we know that pollination is essential forthe reproduction of the plants the bees service.

Is it true that human life depends on bee pollination? Or, more precisely, to what extent does the quality of human life depend on bee pollination?

The honey bee is a major pollinator of many of our food crops, almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries, cranberries, cucumbers, sunflowers, watermelon and many other crops all rely on honey bees for pollination.

These are legitimate questions, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to promulgate answers based on good biology and economics. Organization (FAO) from 1961 to 2006 reached some divergent conclusions and shed light on the interacting complexity of the question “How important is animal-vectored pollination?”

So if honey bees disappear and we do not find replacements that can do the work they do; then foods that we take for granted will decrease in supply and increase in price. The pollination service provided by insect pollinators, bees mainly, was €153 billion (euros) in 2005 for the main crops that feed the world. This figure amounted to 9.5% of the total value of the world agricultural food production. The main reason that the honeybees are important for our world is as simple as this; if the honey bee does not pollinate the crops, the crops do not grow and produce the food that gets harvested and brought to the store where we buy it and bring it home to feed ourselves and our families.

In other words, there is a direct connection between the bees pollinating the crops and our ability to provide food for our families. One of the things about honeybees is the fact that they are important. Important at the human scale – not just important to beekeepers, or me but important to the quality of life enjoyed by beneficiaries of developed economies the world over. This importance does not hang on honey production, but pollination – nothing less than our food supply.

The authors of the FAO analysis concluded that the proportion of global food production attributable to animal pollination ranges from 5% in industrialized nations to 8% in the developing world.

About 75% of the world’s crops benefit to some degree from animal pollination; only 10% of that 75% depend fully on animal pollination. A second explanation is that pollinator-dependent crops tend to have lower average production levels than non-pollinated crops. But there is another mega-trend at work, and that is that global demand for animal-pollinated crops is increasing faster than the demand for non-pollinated staples. The fraction of total production made up of animal-pollinated crops grew from 3.6% in 1961 to 6.1% in 2006, and even these statistics mask a huge jump in the years since 1990. In other words, more people around Planet Earth want ice cream, blueberry tarts, watermelon, almond chocolate bars, coffee, and yes McDonald’s hamburgers – and the trend shows no sign of slowing. So, to what extent does the quality of human life depend on bee pollination?

I would say a lot. We are losing the bees that live naturally in the wild. We depend on these insects for our food, but in an ecosystem where pollution and urbanization are altering nature dramatically, bees are in major trouble.

There are three main reasons for this.

Bees are losing their food sources. Rural and forested land is consistently being developed for housing and shopping malls, reducing the flower sources bees feed on. In addition, bees can’t find nectar and pollen as easily as they used to because of weed sprays and “better” pasture care. The weeds, from which they gather much wildflower honey, simply aren’t there.

Bees are adversely affected by conventional agriculture practices. This kind of farming utilizes pesticides, which kill harmful pests, but also beneficial insects like the bees.

The varroa mite. This mite is an external parasite of minute proportions that plagues bees. It was first discovered in Indonesia in 1904 and was transported to the Americas by humans. It attaches itself to bees and sucks their blood, significantly reducing their life span. (Commercial beekeepers developed a remedy for the mite, a miticide that keeps their hives alive and able to work. The miticide is, however, yet another poison bees come into contact with.) Paul de Zylva has said that: “The bee is a cherished icon of the British countryside and our gardens and is the farmer’s friend that helps pollinate our food crops, so we cannot afford further decline. “We now need the Government to look seriously at the emerging evidence from here and other countries and consider whether neonicotinoid pesticides should continue to be used freely in the UK and the World.” As a result of the loss of wild bees, farmers in the United States have resorted to renting bee hives from commercial beekeepers for pollination. Indeed, this business has become so important that the beekeeper is often paid more money to haul his or her bees from flowering crop to flowering crop than they are for honey: up to $350 per hive per season. Multiply that by hundreds, even thousands of hives that are needed and that’s much more than a beekeeper can make selling honey. Take the California almond industry, for example. In 2007, the California

Almond Board stated that almonds are California’s number one horticultural export, occupying 550,000 acres of land. In 2006, this important revenue-generating crop required over one million beehives to support its yield, and the Board projects needing over two million hives by the year 2012!

We should all be concerned after all; bees are essential not only for their honey and beeswax but, more importantly, for their roles in food production for humanity’s benefit. Many of our food crops for both man and animals depend on bees for pollination. It is estimated that if the bee population was somehow reduced by at least 30 percent, more than half of the world’s food supply will be adversely affected. With droughts, earthquakes and other natural and manmade disasters befalling us nowadays, losing the bees is yet another challenge to our survival as the dominant species on Earth. We may even go the way of the dinosaur and the dodo, no thanks to the elimination of our little striped helpers. So we now know that there is a bee “situation”; the lesson is to protect our bees. Originating from Africa or Europe we need their “pollination” and we need to stay away from using

chemicals and pesticides. We promise and hope that you do too! Please no more pesticides and chemicals! Exercise in the garden and gardening is great and keeps us healthy and we must also keep our ecosystem healthy. Now we know that Bees are essential to the production of “one third of human food” directly through their role in fertilizing crops. They are also essential to the feed production of “animals that make up another one third of our diet”. This most vital process to human survival is threatened by the careless modification of foods carried out by scientists thinking in only one box at a time. The genetically modified plants clearly are highly toxic to bees and moths as well as caterpillars. Something needs to be done urgently, if bees are to survive this toxic intervention in nature. Humans Suffer From The Toxic Environment Too. The chemicals are entering our bodies in increasing quantities. The way that humans excrete toxic substances – sweating through the skin – is also much reduced compared to past times. Many people find that regular Infra Red saunas are helping to improve their general health.

We will no doubt be hearing more depressing news about our own health, our environment and collapse of vulnerable species in future. We need to educate ourselves a whole lot more if we are to survive into the future. One person at the time we will win this battle.

“If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe then man would only have four years of life left. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more man.” Albert Einstein Article Source: greendustriesblog.com Photography By: Naomi J. Bush

TR AVE L

EXPLORE THE HERITAGE OF MINNESOTAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S STATE PARKS Wildlife sanctuaries dedicated to wolves, bears and eagles offer fun and education for animal lovers of all ages.

With Decay Comes Beauty In our modern-day human culture, decomposition and decay have often come to be viewed quite negatively, with the former mainly associated with things that are rotten, have a bad smell and are generally symptomatic of death, while the latter is similarly viewed as very undesirable, whether it be in terms of urban decay, or, on a much more personal level, tooth decay. However, they are vital processes in nature, playing an essential role in the breakdown of organic matter, recycling it and making it available again for new organisms to utilise. Decomposition and decay are the yin to the yang of growth, and together they form two halves of the whole that is the closedloop cycle of natural ecosystems. Everything dies, and without the processes of decomposition and decay the world would quickly become not only overflowing with the remains of dead plants and animals, but also would experience a decline in new growth, due to a shortage of nutrients, that would be locked up and unavailable in the dead forms.

converted into simpler organic forms that are the food source for many of the species at the base of ecosystems. The species that carry out the process of decomposition, and feed on the ‘waste’ products produced by it, are known as detritivores, which means literally ‘feeders on dead or decaying organic matter’. Many of these decomposer species function in tandem or parallel with one another, with each being responsible for a specific stage or aspect of the decomposition process, and collectively they are known as the detritivore community.

Nature’s unsung heroes of recycling A wide range of organisms takes part in the decomposition process, with most of them being relatively inconspicuous, unglamorous and, from a conventional human perspective, even undesirable. The detritivore community includes beetles and their larvae, flies and maggots (the larvae of flies), woodlice, fungi, slime moulds, bacteria, slugs and snails, millipedes, springtails and earthworms. Most of them work out of sight, with their handiwork not immediately apparent, but they are the forest’s unsung heroes of recycling. Almost all of them are small in size, and their function happens gradually in most cases, over time periods measured in months or years, but cumulatively they convert all dead plant and animal material into forms that are useable for growth either by themselves or other organisms.

Decomposition feeds new growth

What is decomposition? Decomposition is the first stage in the recycling of nutrients that have been used by an organism (plant or animal) to build its body, and are surrendered back to the ecosystem upon its death. It is the process whereby the dead tissues break down and are

Decomposition in plants The primary decomposers of most dead plant material are fungi. Dead leaves fall from trees and herbaceous plants collapse to the ground after they have produced seeds, forming a layer of litter on the soil surface. The litter layer can be quite substantial in volume, with the litter fall in a Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) forest estimated to be between 1-1.5 tonnes per hectare per year, while that in temperate deciduous forests is over 3 tonnes per hectare per year. The litter is quickly invaded by the hyphae of fungi - the white thread-like filaments that are the main body of a fungus (the mushrooms that appear on the forest floor, mostly in late summer and autumn, are merely the fruiting bodies of the fungus). The hyphae draw nourishment from the litter, enabling the fungi to grow and spread, while breaking down the structure of the dead plant material. Bacteria also play a part in this process, as do various invertebrates, including slugs and snails, springtails and, as the decay becomes more advanced, earthworms. This decomposition process is usually odourless, and is aerobic, meaning that it takes place in the presence of air (oxygen in particular). On the forest floor it is spread out both spatially and in time. When people make compost heaps in their garden, they are utilising the same process, which is concentrated and accelerated by piling the dead material together in a compost heap, where the heat that is generated speeds up the process of decay.

Fungi that feed on dead plant material are called saprotrophic fungi and common examples include the horsehair parachute fungus (Marasmius androsaceus), which can be seen growing out of dead grass stems, leaves or pine needles, and the sulphur tuft fungus (Hypholoma fasciculare), which fruits on logs that are at an advanced state of decomposition. In a forest, the rate of decomposition depends on what the dead plant material is. Leaves of deciduous trees and the stems and foliage of non-woody plants generally break down quickly, and are usually gone within a year of falling to the forest floor. Some plant material, such as the fibrous dead fronds ofbracken (Pteridium aquilinum), takes longer, but will still be fully decomposed within three years. The needles of conifers, such as Scots pine, are much tougher and it can take up to seven years for them to be completely broken down and recycled. The rate of decay is also determined by how wet the material is - in general the wetter it is the faster it breaks down, while in dry periods or dry climates, the organic matter becomes dessicated and many detritivores, such as fungi and slugs and snails, are inactive so the decomposition process becomes prolonged.

Decomposition of woody material - the rot sets in In contrast to the softer tissues of herbaceous plants, the fibres of trees and other woody plants are much tougher and take a longer time to break down. Fungi are still mostly the first agents of decay, and there are many species that grow in dead wood. The common names of species such as the wet rot fungus (Coniophora puteana) and the jelly rot fungus (Phlebia tremellosa) indicate their role in helping wood to decompose. The growth of the fungal hyphae within the wood helps other detritivores, such as bacteria and beetle larvae, to gain access. The fungi feed on the cellulose and lignin, converting those into their softer tissues, which in turn begin to decompose when the fungal fruiting bodies die. Many species of slime mould also grow inside dead logs and play a role in decomposition. Like fungi, they are generally only visible when they are ready to reproduce and their fruiting bodies, or sporocarps, appear.

Some decomposers are highly-specialised. For example, the earpick fungus (Auriscalpium vulgare) grows out of decaying Scots pine cones that are partially or wholly buried in the soil, while another fungus (Cyclaneusma minus) grows on the fallen needles of Scots pine. As the wood becomes more penetrated and open, through, for example, the galleries produced by beetle larvae, it becomes wetter and this facilitates the next phase of decomposition. Invertebrates such as woodlice and millipedes feed on the decaying wood, and predators and parasites, such as robber flies and ichneumon wasps, will also arrive, to feed on beetles and other invertebrates. For trees such as birch(Betula spp.), the wood becomes very wet and rotten, and falls apart quite easily after a few years. Earthworms and springtails are often seen at this stage, when the decomposing wood will soon become assimilated into the soil, and they can reach high densities - the biomass of earthworms in broadleaved forests in Europe has been estimated at up to one tonne per hectare. The wood of Scots pine, however, has a high resin content, which makes it much more resistant to decay, and it can take several decades for a pine log to decompose fully.

It’s a fungus eat fungus world Most fungi, being soft-bodied and having a high water content, decompose quickly, often disintegrating and disappearing within a few days or weeks of fruiting. The tougher, more woody fungi, such as thetinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) and other bracket fungi, can persist for several years. However, in many cases they have specialist decomposers at work on them. The tinder fungus, for example, is the host for the larvae of the black tinder fungus beetle (Bolitophagus reticulatus) and the forked fungus beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus), which feed on the fungal fruiting body, helping to break down its woody structure. Another bracket fungus that, like the tinder fungus, grows on dead birch trees, is the birch polypore (Piptoporus betulinus), and it in turn is colonised by the ochre cushion fungus (Hypocrea pulvinata), which feeds on and breaks down the polypore’s brackets. The bolete mould fungus (Hypomyces chrysospermus) is another species that grows on fungi, in this case members of the bolete group, which have pores on the underside of their caps instead

of gills and includes edible species such as the cep (Boletus edulis). The silky piggyback fungus (Asterophora parasitica) and its close relative the powdery piggyback fungus (Asterophora lycoperdoides) fruit on the caps of various brittlegill fungi (Russula spp.), accelerating the process of breakdown and decay in them. Slime moulds, although not actually fungi themselves, are somewhat fungus-like when they are in the fruiting stage of their life cycle, and the sporocarps of one species (Trichia decipiens) are highly susceptible to fungal mould growing on them, accelerating their decomposition process.

Decomposition in the animal kingdom In sharp contrast to decomposition in plants, fungi play a very limited role in the breakdown of dead animal matter, where the vast majority of the decomposers are other animals and bacteria. Animal decomposers include scavengers and carrion feeders, which consume parts of an animal carcass, using it as an energy source and converting it into the tissues of their own bodies and the dung they excrete. These range from foxes and badgers to birds such as the hooded

crow (Corvus corone cornix), and also include invertebrates such as carrion flies, blow-flies and various beetles. The dung they produce in turn forms the food source for other organisms, particularly dung beetles and burying beetles, while some fungi, including the dung roundhead (Stropharia semiglobata) grow out of dung, helping to break it down. For animal carcasses that are not immediately consumed by large scavengers, ecologists identify five stages in the decomposition process. The first of these is when the corpse is still fresh, and is typified by the arrival of carrion flies and blow-flies, which lay their eggs around the openings, such as the nose, mouth and ears, that allow easy access to the inside of the carcass. In the second stage, the action of bacteria inside the corpse causes putrefaction and swelling of the carcass due to the production of gases. This is anaerobic decomposition, or decay in the absence of air, and it is characterised by its bad smell, in contrast to the odourless nature of aerobic decomposition.

The next stage commences when the skin of the corpse is ruptured, which allows the gases to escape and the carcass to deflate again. In this decay stage, the larvae or maggots of flies proliferate in large numbers and consume much of the soft tissues. Predators such as wasps, ants and beetles also arrive, to feed on the fly larvae. In the following stage, only cartilage, skin and bones remain, and different groups of flies and beetles, plus their respective parasites, take over the decomposition process. Finally, only bones and hair remain, and they can persist for several years or more, although even they are consumed - for example, mice and voles will gnaw on old bones, to obtain the calcium they contain. The progression through these stages depends to some extent on the time of year when death occurs, but typically it will take several months from beginning to end. One example of a fungus that plays a role in the decomposition of animal matter is the scarlet caterpillar club fungus (Cordyceps militaris). This species grows out of the living pupa or larva of a moth or butterfly, converting the body of its insect host as it dies into the hyphal structure of its fruiting body, which is club-shaped and orange in colour, with a pimply surface.

Decomposition feeds new growth While decomposition and decay may appear to be unpleasant processes from our human perspective, they are vital in terms of the functioning of ecosystems. Just like compost in a garden, they provide essential nutrients for the growth of new organisms, and are a key aspect of the cyclical processes that maintain all life on Earth. A renewed appreciation of their importance will help humans to protect and sustain ecosystems, and may even provide inspiration for the establishment of an alternative to the unsustainable unlimited growth model that drives human culture today.

Article Source: treesforlife.org.uk Photography By: Naomi J. Bush

“It’s a permanent reminder of a temporary feeling,” sings Jimmy Buffett of parents’ dismay over their daughter’s tattoo. Yet those indelible body markings are more than a trend embraced by merchant marines, bikers, and goths in basic black. Tattoos arise from a rich cultural history dating back 5,000 years. The earliest record of tattoos, to date, was found in 1991 on the frozen remains of the Copper Age “Iceman” scientists have named Ötzi. His lower

back, ankles, knees, and a foot were marked with a series of small lines, made by rubbing powdered charcoal into vertical cuts. X-rays revealed bone degeneration at the site of each tattoo, leading researchers to believe that Ötzi’s people, ancestors of contemporary central and northern Europeans, may have used tattoos as medical treatment to reduce pain.

As civilizations developed, tattoos took on other meanings. Egyptian funerary figures of female dancers from around 2000 B.C. display the same abstract dot-and-dash tattoos on their bodies as those found on female mummies from that time period. Later images represent Bes, god of fertility and revelry. Ancient Romans found no reason to celebrate tattoos, believing in the purity of the human form. Except as brands for criminals and the condemned, tattoos were banned. But over time, the Roman attitudes toward tattoos changed. Fighting an army of Britons who wore their tattoos as badges of honor, some Romans came to admire their enemies’ ferocity as well as the symbols that represented it. Soon Roman soldiers were wearing their own body marks; Roman doctors even perfected the art of application and removal. During the Crusades of the 11th and 12th centuries, warriors identified themselves with the mark of the

Jerusalem cross so that they could be given a proper Christian burial if they died in battle. After the Crusades, tattooing largely disappeared in the West for a time, but continued to flourish in other places. By the early 18th century, European sailors encountered the inhabitants of the South and Central Pacific islands. There, tattoos were an important part of the culture. When a Tahitian girl reached the age of sexual maturity, her buttocks were tattooed black, a tradition that continues among some today. When in mourning, Hawaiians tattooed their tongues with three dots. In Borneo, natives tattooed an eye on the palm of their hands as a spiritual guide that would lead them to the next life. In 1769, Capt. James Cook landed in Tahiti, where the word “tattoo” originated from tatau, which means to tap the mark into the body. One method island practitioners used for working their designs into the skin was with a razor-edged shell attached to the end of a stick. In New Zealand, Maori leaders signed treaties by drawing precise replicas of their moko, or

personal facial tattoo. Such designs are still used to identify the wearer as a member of a certain family and to symbolize a person’s achievements in life. In the 1820s, Europeans began the macabre practice of trading guns for tattooed heads of Maori warriors. To keep up with demand, Maori traders took slaves and commoners captured in battle, tattooed them, killed them, and sold their heads. The practice ended in 1831 when the British government made the importation of human heads illegal. Tattooing has been practiced in Japan—for beautification, magic, and to mark criminals—since around the 5th century B.C. Repressive laws gave rise to the exquisite Japanese designs known today. Restricted from wearing the ornate kimonos that adorned royalty and the elite, outraged merchants and the lower classes rebelled by wearing tattooed body suits. Covering their torsos with illustrations that began at the neck and extended to the elbow and above the knee, wearers hid the intricate designs beneath their clothing. Viewing the practice as subversive, the government outlawed tattoos in 1870 as it entered a new era of international relationships. As a result, tattooists went underground, where the art flourished as an expression of the

wearer’s inner longings and impulses. The yakuza, the Japanese gangster class, embraced the body suits—even more so because they were illegal. Their elaborate designs usually represented an unresolved conflict and also included symbols of character traits the wearer wanted to emulate. A carp represented strength and perseverance. A lion stood for courage. Such tattoos required long periods of pain from the artist’s bundles of needles, endured by wearers as a show of allegiance to their beliefs. Today, Japanese tattoo wearers are devoted to the most colorful, complete, and exotic expression of the art. New York inventor Samuel O’Reilly patented the first electric tattoo machine in 1891, making traditional tools a thing of the past in the West. By the end of the 1920s, American circuses employed more than 300 people with full-body tattoos who could earn an unprecedented $200 per week. For the next 50 years, tattoos gained a reputation as a mark of American fringe cultures, sailors, and World War II veterans. But today, tattoo connoisseurs take the spotlight at international fairs and conventions with Japanese body suits, Celtic symbols, black tribal motifs, and portraits of favorite celebrities.

“Tattooing is enjoying a big renaissance around the world,” says Chuck Eldridge of the Tattoo Archive in Berkeley, California. “Native American women in the Northwest are wearing chin tattoos again, reviving a cultural practice from centuries before the white man arrived. And, in answer to health concerns, artists in the South Pacific are slowly changing to modern equipment.” “The melting pot that is the United States has no rites of passage as a single American culture,” says Ken Brown, a tattoo artist in Fredericksburg, Virginia, who finds inspiration in National Geographic photographs (see “My Seven”). “On some levels, getting a tattoo is like a milestone that marks a certain moment in a person’s life.” Ken still remembers one customer, an 80-year-old former marine who had always wanted a tattoo but had been too afraid to get one. “He came to me for his first tattoo,” Ken says, “and he told me, ‘I figure I got five or six good years left in me, and I’m not going out without one.’ “

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5 Reasons Why People With Tattoos Are Awesome “I love your tattoo! What does it mean?” is probably a question I get several times a week about many of my wonderful markings. I began my tattoo journey at the tender age of 15. Of course, when my parents found out about my pride and joy, I was, indeed, grounded for a dreadful period of time.Regardless, I loved the feeling of getting my first tattoo as much as I loved sitting in the chair for my 14th. What made me get so many, you ask? Well, some are a result of spur-of-the-moment decisions; some I had planned for years. Some were random, and many were inked on my skin for the reason of transition. A new piece usually means something has changed or is changing in my life. Choosing to express myself with tattoos leaves me hearing statements like, “You’re so beautiful; why ruin yourself with tattoos?” But, in my opinion, my tattoos make me the beauty I am, and there are plenty of reasons why people ink are awesome:

They March To The Beat Of Their Own Drum When I was younger, I knew I was different. Discovering my love for getting ink was almost like a relief for me. Being unusual is nothing to feel bad about, and sometimes, I get looked at by strangers, teachers and even family members strangely because of my tattoos — but that’s perfectly fine by me. I got my tattoos for me, not anyone else. Life is not about pleasing others, and ink is a form of self-expression to me, just like singing or playing the piano is to someone else. Self-Liberation People who decide to get tattoos know the first thing about feeling self-liberated. A new piece means a new journey and a new addition to something that will be apart of you forever. People with tattoos decide to forget the stigma of what people think when they see a visible tattoo and do it anyway. When I get new ink added on me, I feel like I have a new piece to my crazy life

story, and I did it for myself. Having a keen sense of self is something our generation lacks, and people with tattoos get them to make themselves happy. Commitment Is Not An Issue When you get a tattoo, you are agreeing that for the rest of your life, you will have it inked on your body. I take commitment seriously, and my tattoos go to show that I’m not scared of committing to anything. When I get it fixed in my head that I want something, I go after it and don’t stop going until I get it. Having tattoos is a commitment you make to yourself in knowing you will never be able to part from them. They Usually Have Badass Stories Each one of my tattoos has a significant story behind it, and I gladly tell the stories when asked. My life is far from ordinary, and my

tattoos definitely prove that. Life is about living without doubts and doing exactly what you want. My story is different from others, but I live knowing at least I have one to tell. People with tattoos have a sense of self and obviously aren’t scared to share that through their art. A story is meant to be told; why not tell it how you want? They Don’t Care What People Think Sure, unless you work in a profession that does not care about presentation, you do want to have presentable tattoos. But other than that, who cares? It’s my body, and I will do with it what I please. “Why would you put a bumper sticker on a Benz?” Well, it’s my Benz and I will do what I want with it. Other people will forever have opinions about anything you do, but they are not you, and you don’t have to care what they think. Your life is your life, and as long as you’re being safe, do with it what you want. www.elitedaily.com