Have you ever made a serendipitous connection between the words you use and the actual meaning or origin of a phrase or term? In my case, I was struck by a sudden burst of enlightenment while sitting in a blind on Easter Sunday. Located on the border between Minnesota and North Dakota, Bluestem Prairie SNA is one of the best places in North America to view a prairie chicken lek. For those who are unaware, a lek is a unique mechanism that facilitates mate choice during a brief reproductive window. Typically, females congregate on a small patch of land where males will dance, display, drum, sing and fight as a way to demonstrate their potential fitness. With characteristics that remind me of graph paper, the lek is carved up into tiny territorial units. The would be suitor competes to maintain the integrity of his plot while attempting to lure a female onto his land. Male bravado is evident by the puffing of chest and feathers followed by many mock charges and idle threats.

In Full Display *(Tympanuchus cupido) - Moorhead, MN*
*Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR*

Showing off for the Ladies *(Tympanuchus cupido) - Moorhead, MN*
*Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR*

While a few mammals participate in leks, this reproductive strategy is relatively common in birds. Studied heavily by ecologists, grouse and their relatives are a textbook species that rely on the lek mating structure. During my two-day visit to the blind at Bluestem Prairie, I was enchanted by the mock charges and almost-battles between competing prairie chicken males. Everywhere I looked, I saw birds daring one-another to cross a border, step into the ring, and take a punch. About one of ten challenges resulted in a physical altercation, but most of these agonistic behaviors were nothing more than mere bluff. Somewhere during my shoot I began to employ the euphemism “chickening out," as the competitors would stare each other down only to run away and fight another day. Like an epiphany, it dawned on me that this phrase… “to be a chicken” was likely derived by someone staring at birds like these, and looking for an explanation to this strange and captivating behavior.

Chicken Fight II *(Tympanuchus cupido) - Moorhead, MN*
*Nikon D500 + Nikon 200-400mm f/4 VR*

Did you know... the Greater Prairie Chicken is also known as the Pinnated Grouse?

Special thanks goes out to The Nature Conservancy for allowing me to use their observation blinds.

The structure of a thriving community is often dependent on one or two species within the food web. Often referred to as “keystones,” the niche they occupy have broad implications for the other species in the environment. The role of a so-called keystone is often overlooked until it is too late. For example, the regional extirpation of wolves, otters and elephants from their respective ranges led to striking reductions in biodiversity. The loss of just one critical species has unpredictable consequences that include broad ecosystem changes due to a collapsed food web and unintended trophic interactions. In each case, once the keystone is returned to its depleted environment, biodiversity and ecosystem complexity is restored (See Reintroduction of the Wolf).

Because of its destructive tendencies, the beaver (Castor canadensis), is an under appreciated keystone. Known best for felling trees, damming rivers and building lodges, this large semi-aquatic rodent plays a critical role in promoting biodiversity throughout deciduous wetland habitats.

By pruning forests of aspen and ash, beavers create open patches that promote the germinationof herbaceous plants throughout the understory. Rays of sunlight, once blocked by the impenetrable canopy, are now free to initiate the growth of dormant and light hungry species. This seemingly benevolent affair is far from altruistic, beavers drop trees to access tender leaves and repurpose the fallen wood as building materials.

Branches and chiseled tree trunks are carefully piled wherever the sound of flowing water can be heard. By keying into these audible cues, beavers can identify breaches in their fortress and optimize the size of their habitat. The blocked water will flood lowland areas and allow beavers to swim to new forage rather than risk predation by walking clumsily on land.

The dam-building activity not only floods forests, but creates habitat for wood ducks, geese, diving fowl, kingfishers and pileated woodpeckers. The broad habitat modification disrupts climax communities and resets the succession of the forest. As a result, the actions of this one rodent species have a profound impact on the biodiversity structure of forest ecosystems.

Epiphany of a Euphemism

The Reluctant Keystone

Powered by Squarespace