Last updated: May 21, 2024
Place
Signs of Life, Self-Guided Tour Stop 6
NPS
Quick Facts
Location:
32.25466164473562, -111.19791035414228
Significance:
Tour stop
Designation:
NPS
Stop 6: Life in Death
The trees from which these branches came are dead, but life goes on even in dead material. Lifeless plants and animals are fodder for the FBI—fungi, bacteria, and insects. These are collectively called decomposers, and are responsible for breaking down organic matter into smaller bits and pieces that can be reused and recycled into the environment.
Look closely at the wood and you will see round holes where beetles have bored into the branches. You can also see the tunnels and “galleries” made by termites as they ate their way through the rotting wood. Underneath the dead branches, the cool and moist area provides habitat for a variety of insects, scorpions, and other arthropods (joint-legged animals), as well as bacteria and fungi. Lizards and small snakes may take refuge under logs such as these. Please take our word for it and do not turn these branches over—that destroys the microhabitat for these organisms.
The trees from which these branches came are dead, but life goes on even in dead material. Lifeless plants and animals are fodder for the FBI—fungi, bacteria, and insects. These are collectively called decomposers, and are responsible for breaking down organic matter into smaller bits and pieces that can be reused and recycled into the environment.
Look closely at the wood and you will see round holes where beetles have bored into the branches. You can also see the tunnels and “galleries” made by termites as they ate their way through the rotting wood. Underneath the dead branches, the cool and moist area provides habitat for a variety of insects, scorpions, and other arthropods (joint-legged animals), as well as bacteria and fungi. Lizards and small snakes may take refuge under logs such as these. Please take our word for it and do not turn these branches over—that destroys the microhabitat for these organisms.