What's Alive on Campus

The Bulbul

2009-02-14T20:35:00.021+02:00

This evening I managed to photograph a bulbul for the second time on campus. Apparently, they are difficult to capture, so I am particularly pleased.
The bulbul conjures fantasy images and mystic feelings because it occurs in many eastern tales. In Arabic, we often use the name bulbul for members of the bulbul family as well as (mistakenly) for nightingales. Be that as it may, I like bulbuls and love their call.
Pycnonotus barbatus is one of the many birds that found a home in the new gardens of AUC. It is about 18cm long, its head is very dark, the wings and tail are dark gray, the throat and back are also dark but slightly mottled, while the underside is light. The common bulbul is a resident bird in Egypt that breeds throughout Africa. It is luckily considered of Least Concern (IUCN 3.1) on the IUCN Red List of species. Mind you, "common" is a relative term. It is common as far as bulbuls go, but there was only one bulbul among quite a flock of sparrows today.
If you want to observe one, spend some time near the portal before sunset (currently around 5h30 pm). Wait, watch, and look closely. You might see it sitting high in the building to the left as you walk towards the portal. It will eventually come down to the ficus trees on your left, where it feeds on the ripe orange figs. If you are lucky, you might see it perched on an outer branch. Most probably though, you will need to look closely into the crown of the trees and be very patient. Listen intently for a voice that is different from the rest of the chirping, its call is clearly distinguishable amidst the racket of the sparrows.

References
Birdguides: http://www.birdguides.com/species/species.asp?sp=120023
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Bulbul

Melia azedarach - Persian Lilac

2009-01-22T10:09:00.017+02:00

Persian Lilac (Chinaberry, Bead Tree, "zanzalacht" in Arabic)
Melia azedarach

When approaching campus from gate 5 you will see rather bare looking trees with white painted trunks lining the fence on either side. I must confess that even I do not find them very aesthetically attractive right now.

Yet I am attracted to these trees and follow them closely. The clusters of dry fruits hanging in the top of the bare branches are typical for this time of the year. These yellowish drupes, which currently resemble very dry and crumpled lemons, have been on the trees for a few months, and will remain there until the next bloom. The new leaves and the showy clusters of small lilac flowers will emerge around March.

The Persian Lilac or Chinaberry is mainly grown for its ornamental value. The tree has further important properties. It is fast growing and, like the other members of the mahogany family, produces timber of high quality. The fruits, seeds, and bark have been used in folk medicine against a variety of ailments but are poisonous if eaten in high quantity. Several active substances have been isolated from these toxins. Some have been shown to have antibacterial properties, are effective against tapeworms, and have been used successfully against pest insects in agriculture.

Remember the "aliens" I met on campus last month as they were reading the caravan? I got it all wrong. They were locals: DDC gardeners planting trees. Something else was alien though. The gardeners were planting the Persian Lilac, an invasive alien species native to South Asia and Australia. The tree is planted in many countries of the world where it has spread and invaded natural habitats. It is for example invasive in the Everglades in Florida and other regions of the Americas. It has been naturalized in our region, but is luckily not considered invasive in Egypt. The seeds are dispersed widely by birds and bats that feed on the fruit. Look close if you want to catch the budding leaves and flowers, and keep your eyes open for the birds and bats, which you might see and hear in the early morning hours or in the evening.

References about Melia azeradach

Danin, A (2000). The inclusion of adventive plants in the second edition of Flora Palaestina. Willdenowia 30:305-314.
El-Hadidi, N and Boulos, L (1988). The Street Trees of Egypt: 58-59. AUC Press, Cairo.
Langeland, KA and Burks, KC (eds.) (2005). Melia azedarach. In: Identification and Biology of Non-Native Plants in Florida's Natural Areas: 96-97. University of Florida, IFAS Distribution, Gainesville, (FLEPPC Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council). http://www.fleppc.org/ID_book/melia%20azederach.pdf

References about invasive alien species.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (2008) Invasive Alien Species. http://www.cbd.int/invasive/ (version of 25. Nov 2008).
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) (2009). Egypt. In: Invasive Tree Species Database.http://www.fao.org/forestry/27179/en/egy/ (version 16 October, 2008).

Pomegranate Christmas Wishes

2008-12-25T15:32:00.001+02:00

People often wish for a "white Christmas" and decorate things accordingly, but the "true colors" of Christmas, at least in Germany, are often green and red. What then, could be better suited than a pomegranate plant? The ornamental (dwarf) pomegranate produces small fruits that are not interesting to eat, but the flowers are of a showy and intense red. Because the plants are small enough for a small yard or even a balcony they have started to become popular over the last years.

To my delight the DDC planted many pomegranates on New Campus. Some grow between gates 4 and 5, and a little orchard was planted behind the library and the administration building, surrounded by petrified wood. The plants are about 1m to 1.5m high, and will continue to bear red flowers and fruits for another few weeks.
The pomegranate is common in our part of the world, and many people I know love the fruit, whether to eat directly, use in the form of grenadine or to drink as "sharbat." The ornamental and the edible plant are varieties of the same species Punica granatum.

Punica granatum is a hardy plant that can survive difficult conditions, which is reflected by the many trees that can be found inside and outside Bedouin gardens in Sinai. The photos of the trees below were taken in Wadi Arbaeen in St. Kathrin, at about 1700m elevation. This is a dry environment, the soil is sandy, and at that elevation, it can get very cold in winter. In fact, we had all the color- and weather-ingredients for a picture-book western Christmas when we went climbing in St. Kathrin 2 years ago. It was below zero degrees Celsius, there was snow, and the pomegranates were in perfect "green and red."

By the way, the sweetness, slight acidity, and intensive taste of the fruit are ideal for jellies. Use the juice of the pomegranates (without the seeds). Make sure to use about 25 to 30% more pectin (or gelatin) and/or sugar than for a jam made out of fruit. I wonder… perhaps this would also taste good together with venison instead of cranberry jam? It is worth a try.

The problem, apparently, is not purple cows but yellow ducks.

2008-12-17T20:00:00.001+02:00

The other day, when I was explaining the aim of this blog to a friend of mine, I told him the very illustrating example of how city kids think that cows were purple because of the advertisement for a particular brand of chocolate. The study wonderfully demonstrated how we city folks are alienated from the natural world!

" … In 1995, 40,000 (fourty thousand) children were to color a cow during a competition in Bavaria. Every third child chose the color purple. The Milka Purple Cow is a symbol of quality…" (from the official Milka website, translated from German).

Not true.
No evidence.
None whatsoever.
It turns out it's a myth.

The Journal "Psychologie Heute" published the results of a study by the name "Studie Lila Kuh", which was undertaken in 1997 to investigate this alarming phenomenon (whether, and how serious, the "purple cow syndrome" was). According to this scientific study, only about 1 out of every 100 children that were questioned replied that the color of cows was purple. City kids did not think so more often than country kids, nor did younger ones reply "purple" more often than older ones. Publicly and privately funded projects continue to take place using the theme "purple cow" to address a problem that doesn't exist.

Well, the problem of alienation from nature probably does exist. But the cow, in its purpleness, is not the problem.

Nor is it purple dogs, for that matter. It is YELLOW DUCKS!!

My yellow rubber ducky is supposed to be a problem? But everybody KNOWS that ducks are yellow!

References (I apologize, they are all in German)

Brämer, Rainer (1998) Wie Jugendliche heute die Natur - oder was sie dafür halten - erleben. Psychologie heute, Issue 8/1998: 64-77)
Full report is available at: "Jugendreport Natur 2003" (http://www.sdw-nrw.de/aktiv/ente.htm)
Follow-up study is available at "Studie Lila Kuh 1997" (http://www.sdw-nrw.de/aktiv/lila.htm)
See also Wikipedia: http://de.wikibooks.org/wiki/Enzyklopädie_der_populären_Irrtümer/_Biologie#K.C3.BChe_.282.29:_Gro.C3.9Fstadtkinder_denken.2C_K.C3.BChe_seien_lila
Example of a current project that uses the theme "purple cow" http://www.oekoherz.de/aktivi/2024.htm

Martians read the Caravan

2008-12-01T08:31:00.001+02:00

Sunday morning I arrived to class a bit late. I couldn't help it.

It was delightful to cross the courtyard under the Department of Biology. Trees had been planted. Finally!! Continuing to the next courtyard with a great smile pasted on my face, I noticed that different trees had been planted here (more on the trees of both courtyards later).
Then my eye caught something else. Right there, emerging from the roots of the trees: four green figures. Obviously sentient creatures, capable of communicating with each other and of reading a newspaper. "Welcome friendly beings! Are you visiting us from planet Mars?" (Just in case you were not aware - all aliens from Mars are green).
We managed to converse in the same tongue, I was given permissions to photograph them, to post their pictures online and to send them to the Caravan (the pictures, not the creatures). It turned out that they were green primates, members of the species Homo sapiens, clad in their green DDC working attire. They were reading the Caravan.

Fox Campaign

2008-11-21T09:59:00.001+02:00

They did it. Maha Khalil and the Bio Club went ahead and started the fox campaign. Now, many beautiful posters are distributed throughout campus that show foxes as they appear in the wild. I hope this triggers discussions, and helps to lessen fears.
The photos above were taken by Lois Main. The foxes on the left photo are bat-eared foxes photographed in Masai Mara National Park in Kenya. The two photos on the right were taken in Connecticut and show a gray fox. It is Dr. Andrew Main, the father of our Department of Biology, who is holding the fox on the right. Hard to imagine when seeing these photos that foxes should be suitable for horror stories. If left in peace they are not particularly afraid of humans, and if they are not left in peace by us - well, they just run away. Please, folks! Don't lose all your respect of wild creatures and chase after the next fox to hold him!
We made sure that the visitor last month did not feel welcome. I wish we could make the stray dogs understand that too! Over the last months since we moved out to New Campus the number of dogs in the area has increased, they roam around in packs of 5-8, and I have seen individual ones here on campus. Oddly enough, I haven't heard any concerns about those :-(
I hope the Bio Club will soon share their fox research with us; Maha I am waiting for your blog!

Citrus Gardens and purple cows

2008-11-11T18:22:00.002+02:00

I like wandering into the orchard for a few minutes when I need a break. Nothing seemed to be happening on the mangoes. The citrus trees however, had a few individual flowers (see left) and small fruits. What a surprise when I discovered clusters of flower buds on several branches this evening! Can hardly wait to see them bloom.
I wonder how many people noticed these flowers and saw the fruits hanging in the trees? How many of us city-kids would recognize the plants from which our food comes, or know whether it grows on a big tree or in a shrub lying on the ground? Who would ever have thought that one could technically be in Cairo or in the desert and could observe trees grow! Ok, ok, I won't burden you with more of my New Age marvels today but talk whatsaliveoncampus.
I must confess that I too needed to search in the trees until I found the fruit, to know which citrus fruit they are. The suspense must be killing you, I am sure. But regardless of the bio-instructor (that would be me) not being able to resist the temptation of NOT saying what something is - it is just plain beautiful.

The story of purple cows must wait until some other day.

Good to be here

2008-11-01T11:58:00.001+02:00

Whenever I walk on campus, I discover new views. The New Campus is so beautiful that I can't seem to concentrate on photographing details of animals & plants. So, for the time being I will continue to look, enjoy, photograph and present here, even if it doesn't quite fit the title of the blog.
It is soothing to be at New Campus, to see beautiful things all around. I hear the familiar voices of frustration over many issues. Sadly enough, many are, or were, justified. Is that why I feel a bit defensive about reporting the things I find so amazing?
I need to find better angles though, from which I can look (& photograph) without seeing a fence, or a white-painted trunk of a tree in the photo - and to learn more about photography - and more about what I am seeing - and - so much to learn...

A Fox on Campus

2008-10-25T10:58:00.001+02:00

We had a fox on campus (1). A real, live, red fox visited us. A beautiful creature many of us think, how exciting, and what a privilege to be this close! Somehow a lot of people seem to believe that foxes are dangerous. Hey Bio-Club, Environmental Club! City people happen to often be fearful of "wild creatures", too many fairy tales and monster stories surround them You should start an awareness campaign!

AUC New Cairo Campus

2008-10-10T20:43:00.001+02:00

We received an amazing, incredible, beautiful present. A brand-new campus. We, that is all of us at AUC - The American University in Cairo, Egypt.

But... do we even know what we have on campus?? I am not talking about "facilities" or "programs" or "resources", not about people or things. Do we know what is alive on campus?

The Desert Development Center of AUC (DDC) made a tremendous effort to create gardens and orchards throughout the campus. How many of us stop to notice and appreciate what there is? How many of us know what these plants are? In between the planted ones we find naturally growing plants, whose seeds blew in by the wind or were carried in by animals.
What do we know about those animals? Insects that will pollinate our plants, little desert mice, soaring kestrels and even a fox (the Caravan reported) live with and around us. What a difference to downtown Cairo!
We would like to share with you what we see, and what we learn about the life around us. I don't know yet in which order or priority. Wild animals, plants in bloom and in fruit, cultivated and wild, in the air or on the ground ... ... life is everywhere.