OUTDOOR CORNER: NATURE HANGS OUT IN ITS OWN LITTLE CLIQUES

You might be surprised what a high school experience can reveal about the world of nature. Think about high school social structure. Whether positive or negative a structure exists and it is similar for almost everyone everywhere. Students tend to group together socially into cliques. The clique can help you understand much about our natural heritage.

In a clique people who have similar interests, talents, ambitions, or even personality traits tend to hang around one another. They recreate together, try to get classes together, and even study together. As a whole the members of a clique have similar needs whether it be emotional, behavioral or mental.

Students that participate in organized sports might tend to hang together whether it is basketball, football, or track. Their conversations and attitudes will be similar in many ways. Agriculture students on the other hand would not find the conversations as interesting or think the goals of that group are relevant. Thus they might not hang around one another very often.

Many different cliques may exist. Each has their own unique combination of needs and requirements that defines the group.

We all know people who could fit in more than one clique. They could talk with academic students yet still feel comfortable around a more popular crowd. Their needs were easily met yielding their versatility. Other students, however, may only fit into one particular clique. Their needs are so specific they will not feel comfortable or be able to cope with another clique. Thus taking them from that clique would be very stressful.

Nature has its own version of the clique. It is called a natural community. Certain plants and animals hang together because of what they have in common. Some creatures have similar needs and thus live together. A cypress tree, alligator snapping turtle and bowfin all live in standing, slightly acidic water of flatlands. This provides similar things to different organisms.

A rocky Ozark hilltop will contrast the swamp by providing a dry, well drained, warm area with thin soil. Although cypress may not prefer it, rattlesnakes, post oaks and butterflyweed find it a suitable place to live. Missouri is full of communities like this with specific characteristics in common.

Just like cliques, some organisms will not associate with natural communities (cliques) other than their own. If they do not have their particular community they will not survive. Yet other plants and animals can live in almost any natural community (clique).Take for example a striped scorpion. They love desert-like conditions. A rocky south facing slope is the only place they feel comfortable and have their needs met. They would never exist long in a stream area or a shaded forest.

In contrast a white-tail deer can be found in a forest, a grown up field, a swamp, stream zone, or a grassy field. Deer can associate with a variety of natural communities (cliques) to meet their requirements for life.

When making land management decisions the Department of Conservation will take into consideration what natural community a site has. Rocky hillsides, for example, that scorpions thrive on do not grow good timber. The factors influencing a natural community need to be kept in mind. Knowing these can aid management of certain plants and animals.

Management of some animals is easy because they do not have a preferred clique (natural community) while other animals are difficult to manage because their preferred clique is very specific and may even be uncommon. These species are less tolerant of tampering with their clique. Most of the state's endangered species are listed due to restriction to a rare natural community. They cannot operate outside of a narrow range of requirements.

Some animals have easily met requirements and others have more difficult requirements, thus their rarity. Natural communities need our help to maintain a healthy existence in our ever changing world where we manage the land.

The factors that influence a natural community are a combination of pH (how acidic is the soil), soil type (rich, sandy, clayish, etc.), available moisture, warmth, frequency of wildfire and amount of sunlight. These numerous conditions make for a myriad of natural communities (cliques) within our state.

To learn more about natural communities Paul Nelson published a book "The Terrestrial Natural Communities of Missouri" and can be ordered from a local book store.

High school social cliques have similar characteristics to a natural community and thus have something to teach us about nature. Perhaps it is when we see how our needs are similar to those in nature that we will begin to see the wisdom of giving nature what it requires. We do have a lot in common.

A.J. Hendershott is an education consultant with the Missouri Department of Conservation.