Community blooms during Humboldt Orchid Society show

by Harrison Smith

On Saturday, April 22, the Redwood Art Association in Eureka was packed. The gallery usually displays the work of local artists, but on Saturday, almost every free surface was dripping with shining leaves and fragrant petals. The hum of conversation was electric and the sense of shared delight in the flowers was palpable. The Humboldt Orchid Society’s spring flower show and sale was a scientific and sensory delight.

Orchids can be found on every continent. An extremely diverse family of organisms like orchids living over farspread habitats is usually an old one, evolutionarily speaking.

Flowering plants, also called angiosperms, first appeared around 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period. Pangea was still in the process of breaking up. The first species of orchids appeared 112 million years ago, early in the history of angiosperms. This early evolution allowed them to fill up a huge variety of ecological niches.

“Most orchid seed is dustlike, so it spreads by the wind. The seed of vanilla is very heavy, and cannot be dispersed by the wind,” said Mike. “There are species in Eastern Africa that are the same as in Florida, because the seed was car- ried by the winds coming from Africa.”

The dustlike seeds of orchids younger than vanilla have allowed them to spread into diverse, far-flung habitats. Various species of orchids have adapted to bloom at the crests of sand dunes, grow free-floating in icy streams, or thrive in piles of humus on the forest floor.

“The really unique thing about orchids at that level is that orchids don’t produce a traditional seed,” said Blaine Maynor, owner of Orchids for the People. “A seed by definition is an embryo and a food source. Orchids don’t include that food source. It’s basically what we call a naked zygote, and it’s basically just 13 cells and a veneer on it.”

When seeds are dispersed from a plant, they require a source of energy to begin the expensive process of germination. By not including the food source, orchids are able to produce more seeds by an order of magnitude.

“In some of these bigger flowers over here,” said Maynor, gesturing to the beautiful array of orchids on the table before him, “a seed pod may have 2 million seeds.“

Orchids are able to adopt this highly successful strategy due to their unusual (though not unique) symbiosis with mycorrhizal fungi.

“When they’re germinated they need to have a fungus presence, because what they do is they basically intermesh with each other. The orchid gives the fungus sugar, and the fungus gives the orchid micronutrients,” said Maynor. “A lot of times the fungus actually has an apparatus that will go into the tissue and weave its way through the cells.”

Humboldt county is home to 33 native orchid species, more than any other county in California. Mycorrhizal fungi thrive in the coastal rainforest en-

Coral Sea

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Decades beyond her drug-days, now associated with Trinidad’s Telonicher Marine Lab, the Coral Sea’s massive a-frame arm, with a capacity for 5,000lbs, guides in the students’ systematically laid out fishnet released ten minutes prior. Today, Oceanography 260 students are out on the last of their cruises for the spring semester, focused on marine biology.

Adjacent to modern flat screen navigation monitors, student Maddy Ho is filling out a worksheet tallying the living organism totals (hand counted by the students) that were caught in the first trawl of the day. Top of the list shows: 138 Dungeness crab, 147 shrimp, 27 ctenophores, or comb jellies.

“We do four cruises per semester,” Ho explains. “Biological, geological, chemical and physical.”

Powering three miles out into the open ocean, the Coral Sea was finally home again, riding growing waves. Those not quite at-home made good on Captain Jim Long’s advice given at 8:00 a.m. before leaving the marina.

“If you’re going to get sick - it goes over the side. Try to do it on the downwind side,” Long said.

As a couple of students stood queasy on the starboard side of the sturdy yacht, Trinity Abercrombie explained the critical role the Coral Sea plays in education.

“I don’t think that I would be into this major as much as I am if it weren’t so hands-on. The Coral Sea is definitely a hands-on experience and you get to be in the field working as soon as you join the major.” Abercrobie said before adding, “ It gives you a perspective on your future - like what you’re actually going to be doing in the field later on.”

In between exercises carried out by students of oceanography 260, a small team of students conducted the first series of measurements as part of their year-long senior project. One member of this team, Simon Kurciski, served six years in the Navy, completing many long submarine missions. His longest stint below the surface, Kurciski said, was 51 days. Now though, Kurciski’s time at sea serves a much different purpose.

“We are comparing the effect of different photosynthesizers in the water on the chemistry of the water surrounding them,” said Kurciski. “Specifically we are looking at the effects that eelgrass in Humboldt Bay and kelp up in Trinidad have on perimeters like acidity, dissolved oxygen, total carbons, CO2.”

Kurciski and his team methodically gather water samples from two meters below the surface, then transfer the water into empty beer bottles. The amber tint of the bottles coupled with mercuric chloride added by Marcos Moreno gives the researchers a time capsule of sorts. The tint blocks light from further affecting the biological material.

“The reason we are adding these chemicals is to essentially stop the biological processes,” Moreno explains.

While the sampling is conducted exclusively off of the California coastline, Kurciski emphasizes that the results will reflect the real world implications of human-caused climate change. One test result that specifically interests Kurciski is the samples’ pH.

“Since the industrial revolution the ocean has increased in acidity by around 30%. That’s huge. We’re already living in an ecosystem that has been dramatically altered by humans in every way,” says Kurciski. “We’re trying to catch up and understand the effect of the changes that we’ve already brought.” vironment, where organic matter accumulates quickly in the wet understory. Readers are advised not to attempt digging up a wild orchid for their garden, however beautiful the plant is. Without its supporting fungus, the orchid will quickly lose its ability to uptake nutrients and die.

The morning fog has finally given way to a mostly clear afternoon sky and those students prone to seasickness have all emptied their bellies. After gathering the last of his team’s water samples for the day, Kurciski details the scientific realities of climate change.

“The sad thing about climate change -and broadly, human-caused changes- is that a lot of the change is already locked in… deep ocean water circulates very slowly,” said Kurciski. “The oldest deep ocean water can be up to 1000 years old - in the Pacific.

Readers are advised, however, to bring any ailing orchid they may have to the monthly meetings of the Humboldt Orchid Society, which are open to the public. Meetings are held every third Wednesday of the month at the Redwood Art Association.

That extra carbon that we’ve put in there - that isn’t going anywhere.”

The future of the Coral Sea will again be determined in-part by an arm of the US government - though this time it’s not the DEA. Instead, hawk-eyed regulators in California will play a large role in the Coral Sea’s future.

“The CA air quality resources board is mandating that we replace all of our engines - we have five engines,” Long explains from the ornate bridge of the ship. He’s been working on the Coral Sea for fifteen years, serving as captain for three. “We’re looking at a half million to a million just for new engines by 2025. And then we still have an old boat. So we are trying to decide what to do to go forward. There’s going to be some big changes coming.”

Importantly, Long assured, “The Coral Sea is not going anywhere.”