BIOL1902 Natural History Lecture Notes (exam
study guide) complete 2025 Carleton University
,Lecture 1
What is Natural History?
Natural History - The observation of living plants and animals - Flora and Fauna - and their interactions
•
An observational science
Naturalist - Someone with a general interest in Natural History
Component 1: Staying Alive
Defence
Appearance:
Camouflage
o
Concealment
o
Only works if there is no movement
o
Different habitats offer different opportunities or challenges for concealment
o
Having a pattern similar to what is around you is a form of camouflage
o
Grasslands
•
i.e., fields, meadows
•
Have vertical lines (grass and plants with long stems)
•
Examples:
Sparrow (Savannah and Song)
▪
Live in grassy bushy areas
▪
Often close to the ground
▪
Have a pattern similar to what is in their environment
American Bittern
▪
Cattail marsh
▪
When it gets frightened it points its bill straight in the air and the whole birds shape
becomes a vertical shape
•
Background matching - patterns on body that blend in to patterns around
▪
Patterns only work if animals are still, motionless
o
Forests
•
i.e., leaves overheard, forest floor (light and dark)
,•
Light-dappled Forest Floor - light and dark
spots Examples:
Ruffed Grouse
▪ Female grouse nest on ground
▪ Have patterns for camouflage
•
Blotches on plumage
▪ Grouse --> Ground
Spruce Grouse
▪ Females have a similar pattern to ruffed grouse
▪ Pattern to help camouflage with sticks and branches from spruce trees
▪ Colours are earth tones to match dark and light
▪ Background matching through the use of colour
Gray Tree Frog
▪ Hides on trees during the daytime
▪ Feeds in the canopy of trees at night
▪ Colour pattern that matched tree trunk (bark)
▪ Can change its colour to match the type of tree its on
•
Background matching
•
Mimicry
•
In this case it would be Bark Mimicry since its trying to mimic the pattern
of the bark
•
Eastern Screech-Owl
▪ Colours and patterns that match the tree
▪ Live in holes in the tree and when they are in the hole with eyes closed they look like
part of the tree
•
Background matching
, Snowshoe Hare (Varying Hare)
▪ Brown in summer
▪ They turn white for the winter
▪ Seasonal Background Matching
•
Seasonal Colour Change
o
Colour patterns can enhance
concealment Patterns on
Songbirds
•
Most song birds have an Eyeline and Eyestripe;
▪ Lines that goes through the eye is called the Eyeline
▪ Line that goes above the eye is called the Eyestripe
▪ Breaks up shape of bird, making it less easy to detect as a predator when the bird is not
moving
▪ Helps most when bird is in nest
▪ Helps match in to dark and light areas of habitat
▪ Their function is to visually break up the general shape of the bearer of the pattern to
help the body vanish by becoming segments not one solid shape
•
A form of camouflage called "Disruptive Patterns"
•
They disrupt the shape of the animal
•
Disruptive Patterns - disrupt the shape of the animal to visually break up the general shape of the
bearer of the pattern to help the body vanish by becoming segments not one solid shape
Examples:
Killdeer
•
Type of Plover
study guide) complete 2025 Carleton University
,Lecture 1
What is Natural History?
Natural History - The observation of living plants and animals - Flora and Fauna - and their interactions
•
An observational science
Naturalist - Someone with a general interest in Natural History
Component 1: Staying Alive
Defence
Appearance:
Camouflage
o
Concealment
o
Only works if there is no movement
o
Different habitats offer different opportunities or challenges for concealment
o
Having a pattern similar to what is around you is a form of camouflage
o
Grasslands
•
i.e., fields, meadows
•
Have vertical lines (grass and plants with long stems)
•
Examples:
Sparrow (Savannah and Song)
▪
Live in grassy bushy areas
▪
Often close to the ground
▪
Have a pattern similar to what is in their environment
American Bittern
▪
Cattail marsh
▪
When it gets frightened it points its bill straight in the air and the whole birds shape
becomes a vertical shape
•
Background matching - patterns on body that blend in to patterns around
▪
Patterns only work if animals are still, motionless
o
Forests
•
i.e., leaves overheard, forest floor (light and dark)
,•
Light-dappled Forest Floor - light and dark
spots Examples:
Ruffed Grouse
▪ Female grouse nest on ground
▪ Have patterns for camouflage
•
Blotches on plumage
▪ Grouse --> Ground
Spruce Grouse
▪ Females have a similar pattern to ruffed grouse
▪ Pattern to help camouflage with sticks and branches from spruce trees
▪ Colours are earth tones to match dark and light
▪ Background matching through the use of colour
Gray Tree Frog
▪ Hides on trees during the daytime
▪ Feeds in the canopy of trees at night
▪ Colour pattern that matched tree trunk (bark)
▪ Can change its colour to match the type of tree its on
•
Background matching
•
Mimicry
•
In this case it would be Bark Mimicry since its trying to mimic the pattern
of the bark
•
Eastern Screech-Owl
▪ Colours and patterns that match the tree
▪ Live in holes in the tree and when they are in the hole with eyes closed they look like
part of the tree
•
Background matching
, Snowshoe Hare (Varying Hare)
▪ Brown in summer
▪ They turn white for the winter
▪ Seasonal Background Matching
•
Seasonal Colour Change
o
Colour patterns can enhance
concealment Patterns on
Songbirds
•
Most song birds have an Eyeline and Eyestripe;
▪ Lines that goes through the eye is called the Eyeline
▪ Line that goes above the eye is called the Eyestripe
▪ Breaks up shape of bird, making it less easy to detect as a predator when the bird is not
moving
▪ Helps most when bird is in nest
▪ Helps match in to dark and light areas of habitat
▪ Their function is to visually break up the general shape of the bearer of the pattern to
help the body vanish by becoming segments not one solid shape
•
A form of camouflage called "Disruptive Patterns"
•
They disrupt the shape of the animal
•
Disruptive Patterns - disrupt the shape of the animal to visually break up the general shape of the
bearer of the pattern to help the body vanish by becoming segments not one solid shape
Examples:
Killdeer
•
Type of Plover
