arnanthescout's Journal

I have long noticed that on the east side of UT Tower, there is a spot on the granite stairs leading up towards the xeriscape area that seems continually to leak water, running across the pavement and down the stairs.

At first I thought it was some leak from pipes underneath the building, but eventually I've come to believe that it is in fact a natural seep.
Seeps are places where water naturally oozes out of the ground. The City of Austin has a handout on seeps, which I'll quote:

https://www.austintexas.gov/sites/default/files/files/Watershed/Austin-Guides/AGT-Urban-Seeps.pdf

Seeps may conjure images of dripping, moss-laden rocks along cliffs in a forest. But seeps can be a common occurrence in urban areas as well. Water moves through natural and urban landscapes below the surface, unseen until it is forced out of the ground by things like bedrock or impervious clay. When this happens, it creates a seep.

This is what I assume is happening here. Water takes the path of least resistance. My interpretation is that the water was flowing underground through some porous material—maybe loose construction gravel or sand, maybe something else—when it hit something impenetrable underneath, causing the water to leap to the surface. It seems that around Austin, the underlying geology (limestone, karstic features, clay and river alluvium/deposits) makes the area a prime place for seeps to occur. The handout previously mentioned lists a few geologic formations in the Austin area which create ripe conditions for seeps.

At the crook of the stairs where the water comes out, Obi-wan conobea (Leucospora multifida) has taken a spot. It's an annual forb that naturally occurs in seasonallly moist gravelly or sandy areas, areas with loose alluvium and a fair bit of moisture. It must be a prime spot for this species, since the plants seems to reliably return even after dying away from heat or frost.
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140991361

However, Obi-wan seems to be a bit of an explorer... as beyond those natural areas, he seems equally happy to thrive in more urban environments. Stairs and any sort of "step" area are a favorite.

• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/102306584 At the stairs of the San Jacinto National Monument
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/127148715 At the crook of the curb along a fire lane, also at UT Austin campus
• https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/140991362 In a narrow pocket of sand and gravel between the pavement and the brick wall.

In other words, anywhere there's a rocky "step" at a right angle—a flat step, and a vertical face, be it the next step, the curb or the wall—and sufficient moisture... General Conobea will be there. He also has been seen up in more ludicrous spots, e.g. up of the rooftop of Patterson Hall.

I would be remiss not to mention the origin of this plant's common name—if the reader is not already acquainted with the tale as viewable in the previous link. The plant was named by a well-known Chicago-area botanist, Floyd Swink, who evidently had a sense of humor:

The derivation of the strange common name comes from a publication of Floyd Swink, who named this plant after a character in the movie Star Wars, although the publisher did not discover this until after his book was already published (John White, personal communication). Another common name for this plant is Narrow-Leaved Paleseed, which was undoubtedly invented by a botanist. A scientific synonym for this species is Conobea multifida.
http://www.illinoiswildflowers.info/wetland/plants/conobea.htm

All that aside, natural seeps are interesting microhabitats to search for plants. Often, unusual finds—plants which thrive in higher moisture soils—will occur in seep areas, an island of moisture surrounded by otherwise dry and exposed uplands. An excellent example are the easternmost populations of Primula meadia, the Eastern Shooting Star, which grow in the Canyonlands east of the Balcones Escarpment. Something to keep in mind.

14 October 2023, around 9 AM
UT Austin Campus, on boardwalk at the SW corner of RLP (Robert L. Patton Building). Cloudy day.

I was working on some class work before Genetics, and couldn't help but notice that every few seconds, a little thing fell from the live oak tree above me. They fell frequently, though at irregularly intervals from each other. It was almost comedic how each one tumbled off from the branches above, landing with a audible thud on the wooden planks before bouncing a few times more, before then rolling away to a stop on the planks or off into the adjacent landscaping.

While these projectiles from the sky likely posed no threat of injury to myself—unless perhaps I took one to the eye—I was rather uncomfortable about continuing my work with the possibility of one of these falling on my head. But what were they? Initially I thought they might be acorns, but I didn't think that acorns would fall so frequently from the tree. I investigated one of the fallen projectiles, and noted that they were mealy oak galls.

I further noted that every single one of these projectile galls were half gnawed open. A quick visual search into the canopy of the live oak revealed the culprit: a fox squirrel.

Peculiarly enough, the squirrel seemed to have an addiction to these little galls. It would clamber its way to a branch with the galls, and then systematical rip each gall off the tree, gnaw on it for a second or two, and then promptly discard the half-gnawed piece to grab another gall, leading to the fiasco below.

Each piece I observed was gnawed such that the gall was chewed with the middle cavity exposed, but with the larvae inside missing. My presumption is that the squirrel was consuming the larvae inside each gall. I have not observed this behavior before but would be interested to hear if anyone else has.

Bad video:
https://youtu.be/R09A47S7yhI