• Reminder: 1st field trip is

one week from Fri – if I

don’t have your

paperwork, I need it!

• Today:

- The Language of

Naturalists

- California Natural History

- California Geology and

Climate

The Language of Naturalists • To avoid confusion, we use the scientific

name of an organism when possible

Blue Crab (Chesapeake Bay)

Callinectes sapidus

Blue Crab (King)

Paralithodes platypus

Striped Mullet

Mugil cephalus

Black Mullet

Mugil cephalus

Grey Mullet

Mugil cephalus

Flathead Mullet

Mugil cephalus

Linnaeus’s System of Taxonomic

Classification

• Domain

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

• Family

• Genus

• species

California – Land of Extremes! • Oldest (verifiable) living tree

Bristlecone Pine in the White Mountains of CA – 5,062 years old!

• Largest living tree (by volume)

“General Sherman” – a Giant Sequoia in Sequoia National Park

• Tallest living tree

“Hyperion” – a Coast Redwood in Northern CA (379.3ft)

• Oldest lake in North America

Clear Lake in N. CA – Est. at 480,000 years old

• Hottest, driest, AND lowest point in North America

Death Valley, Mojave Desert:

Badwater Basin = 282 ft below sea level

Furnace Creek = 134°F

Average rainfall = <2”

• Highest peak in the contiguous U.S.

Mt. Whitney in the Sierra Nevada Mountains = 14,505 ft.

• State with most endemic species

(endemic = restricted to one area)

Ex: San Bernardino Flying Squirrel

• State with greatest # of endangered species

Ex: California Condor

• State with the most people!

>38 million people (1 in 8 Americans lives in CA!)

California Geology & Climate

Topography is formed by plate tectonics. CA

has all 3 types of boundaries currently active!

Topography helps to shape climate patterns

(which help to determine the geographic

ranges of species)

Mediterranean Climate: Warm dry summers

and cool wet winters – rare!

These are the only areas in the world with a

Mediterranean climate

Microclimates: shaped by differences in wind

and rain due to slope, aspect, and elevation