HOME | DD

Description

One of the key concepts natural historians, like myself, try to stress to the world is the fact that everything in nature is connected. It is something we wish more people understood, because that would solve a whole lot of environmental problems. I know that since I am a dryad, everything thinks I am talking about something spiritual when I say everything is connected. What I mean, though, is that every piece of an ecosystem is crucial to making it function, much like how all our ecosystems are important for the natural world! While the habitat makes a home for the many species within it, it is also those species that allow such a place to exist! You may think it isn't important if a single measly species is removed from the whole equation, but that is because you don't see the impact immediately. Its loss can seem minute at first but, in time, the consequences can be severe. That one pesky bug you eliminated may seem like nothing more than a nuisance, but it probably was a food source for another species or kept another one's population in check! Now those species are thrown off, which will affect all the ones relying on those, and so on and so on! It is all connected and all important! I really wish more folk understood that. Yes, you may hate dragons, but killing them all would cause huge repercussions (and also just morally wrong). Same for trolls, manticores, and even the little species that simply annoy you! I try my best to teach this to everyone I encounter, but not everyone gets it (or wants to get it). Whenever I give a lesson on this concept, there is one species I always use as an example! Every creature is connected to each other in an ecosystem, and there isn't a more obvious example than the Glass Ticks!

Glass Ticks are indeed arachnids, and they belong to the group of ticks known as "hard ticks." They are certainly larger than your average tick, but don't let that scare you! At a size like that, they aren't really going to be parasites for human size things! That wouldn't really work! Glass Ticks can be found in warm to temperate climates, often seeking out places that get a decent amount of sun and water. They spend most of they time wandering about, seeking out ponds and other water sources, or looking for a mate. At this larger size, they don't really sit about waiting to hitch a ride on a food source, as they have ditched their parasitic nature. Instead, they live like nomads, walking about the land with their precious cargo. Those who live in their regions are almost guaranteed to have seen one, as their size and looks are hard to miss. One glimpse of their magnificent exoskeleton will make you realize why they are called "Glass Ticks." Their armor is almost transparent and has a wonderful shine, kind of like glass! You would think you could see through their whole body! They are like walking sculptures, you would hardly believe they are a living animal! This see-through armor also reveals what makes this species so unique!

I have said that they are no longer parasites, with no hunger for blood and such. They don't latch onto other larger creatures for a free meal, in fact, they now practically do the opposite! Look to the swollen abdomen to see the marvelous nature of the Glass Ticks! Instead of bloating up on blood, this tough sac is instead filled to bursting with water, and that's not all! By slurping up water from ponds and lakes, they take in a variety of tiny creatures and plant bits. In other instances, these consumed pieces would simply be digested, but the transparent nature and special gut contents of the Glass Tick allow them to survive. Actually, not just survive, but thrive! Glass Ticks suck up water and also nutrient rich muck from their environment, and then store it all in this special abdomen. This gives a substrate for the plants to latch onto, while also gaining the rays of the sun that shine through its hide. The tick also uses its respiration system to pump air into the water, ensuring that it doesn't grow stagnant. With this, the seeds and bits of plants that they consume can grow and flourish in this abdomen, which makes a home and food source for small critters that are also sucked up! What results from this is a living internal ecosystem, one that can walk around! The plants and animals thrive in this transparent body, growing and reproducing without a problem. As for the tick, it feeds off of a part of the waste that is created by its companions, and it is also believed it forms a bond with certain algae to give it the ability to turn light into food! It is a perfect balance for the tick and its personal habitat! During its travels, the Glass Tick will stop by other water sources to suck up some new resources, like extra water, fresh muck or other plant seeds. It replenishes its stock and continues on, making sure its ecosystem thrives and it gets fed! While it feeds, it also tends to expel waste at the same time, getting rid of used up resources or unwanted pieces. During this, the inner residents will lay some of their eggs or seeds in this waste, so that it may be released into the outside world. Another portion of their eggs and seeds will remain inside the Glass Tick, restocking their numbers as they grow and die. It is an utterly incredible system, one that I still cannot believe exists!

This lifestyle is an amazing one, and it does provide some extra benefits! Due to their simple waterlogged body, there isn't many predators who would feed on them. Just not a lot of meat there! The large amount of water in their body can also be heated up by the sun's rays and used to keep the tick warm during chillier times! This storage also means they don't worry too much about water when it comes to droughts, as they have a whole supply! That aspect is when the tick would face threats, but not on a huge scale. Mainly parasitic species that would try to get some of that water during these dry times. Speaking of droughts, these ticks are believed to be responsible for the continuation of some small species and communities during these periods. When all other ponds and water holes dry up, the tick remains full with its inhabitants. It has gone on for so long, that is pretty much certain that there are some species of plant and tiny critters that exist solely within the Glass Ticks! A single one of these ticks could be carrying dozens of generations of species within its back! It almost makes the death of any one of these ticks tragic! The end of an entire ecosystem, an entire world! I dare not even think about it for too long, as it makes my gut hurt!

Glass Ticks are a prime example of how all the pieces make the thing work. The tick provides the property and water needed for the plants to grow, then the plants provide for the creatures. In turn, the life within gives nutrients to the tick, so it may survive and keep the ecosystem afloat. Their populations are at the right sizes where resources are used equally and at the proper pace. The tick has time to replenish when needed, and the inhabitants inside have the right amount of everything to continue and thrive. If one of these pieces is thrown out of whack, then it can cause issues if it isn't resolved soon. If the plant population grows too large, then it chokes out all other life, which hurts the ticks food supply. Overgrowth or overpopulation can murk up the waters of the tick, which cuts down on sunlight and sustenance for all involved. If it goes wrong for too long, the tick may grow weak or sick and eventually die, which destroys the whole habitat and everyone within. You see what I am talking about? Everything must remain in balance, lest it start a chain reaction that spells doom for more than just one species!

The Glass Ticks are also a good example for invasive species in an environment! In one region, the Glass Ticks are being plagued by an invasive species of snail. Now these snails are no monsters by any means, they aren't devouring Glass Ticks or smashing their tank-like abdomens. No, what is happening is their larvae are being slurped up and introduced into its personal ecosystem. These young can survive and grow, eventually out competing certain species within. This doesn't hurt the tick immediately, as the snail's waste still provides food. But slowly, the snails start to take over and their populations get a little high. Even if the system stabilizes, there is another issue. When the snails die, their shells are left behind. These don't easily decompose, but they can also get too large to be flushed out its waste port. The shells can build up and plug its system, causing nasty stuff to build up and giving the whole ecosystem an infection. In time, this can kill the tick and, once again, destroy the habitat. And that is just one little snail! One snail in the wrong place, where the residents don't know how to deal with it! Just imagine if it was something bigger! Like say, a giant armored pig that some moron decided to - Following section removed by editor -

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------------------

Not gonna lie, I really love this one. Always wanted to do something with ticks that felt different, and then I saw those pond-in-a-jar ecosystems and it finally came together. Like a walking fish tank, though minus the fish.

A continuation of my species concepts that are essentially "giant invertebrate where it shouldn't be." Stay tuned for "Wasps? In my mountains? It's more likely then you think!"

Description

One of the key concepts natural historians, like myself, try to stress to the world is the fact that everything in nature is connected. It is something we wish more people understood, because that would solve a whole lot of environmental problems. I know that since I am a dryad, everything thinks I am talking about something spiritual when I say everything is connected. What I mean, though, is that every piece of an ecosystem is crucial to making it function, much like how all our ecosystems are important for the natural world! While the habitat makes a home for the many species within it, it is also those species that allow such a place to exist! You may think it isn't important if a single measly species is removed from the whole equation, but that is because you don't see the impact immediately. Its loss can seem minute at first but, in time, the consequences can be severe. That one pesky bug you eliminated may seem like nothing more than a nuisance, but it probably was a food source for another species or kept another one's population in check! Now those species are thrown off, which will affect all the ones relying on those, and so on and so on! It is all connected and all important! I really wish more folk understood that. Yes, you may hate dragons, but killing them all would cause huge repercussions (and also just morally wrong). Same for trolls, manticores, and even the little species that simply annoy you! I try my best to teach this to everyone I encounter, but not everyone gets it (or wants to get it). Whenever I give a lesson on this concept, there is one species I always use as an example! Every creature is connected to each other in an ecosystem, and there isn't a more obvious example than the Glass Ticks!

Glass Ticks are indeed arachnids, and they belong to the group of ticks known as "hard ticks." They are certainly larger than your average tick, but don't let that scare you! At a size like that, they aren't really going to be parasites for human size things! That wouldn't really work! Glass Ticks can be found in warm to temperate climates, often seeking out places that get a decent amount of sun and water. They spend most of they time wandering about, seeking out ponds and other water sources, or looking for a mate. At this larger size, they don't really sit about waiting to hitch a ride on a food source, as they have ditched their parasitic nature. Instead, they live like nomads, walking about the land with their precious cargo. Those who live in their regions are almost guaranteed to have seen one, as their size and looks are hard to miss. One glimpse of their magnificent exoskeleton will make you realize why they are called "Glass Ticks." Their armor is almost transparent and has a wonderful shine, kind of like glass! You would think you could see through their whole body! They are like walking sculptures, you would hardly believe they are a living animal! This see-through armor also reveals what makes this species so unique!

I have said that they are no longer parasites, with no hunger for blood and such. They don't latch onto other larger creatures for a free meal, in fact, they now practically do the opposite! Look to the swollen abdomen to see the marvelous nature of the Glass Ticks! Instead of bloating up on blood, this tough sac is instead filled to bursting with water, and that's not all! By slurping up water from ponds and lakes, they take in a variety of tiny creatures and plant bits. In other instances, these consumed pieces would simply be digested, but the transparent nature and special gut contents of the Glass Tick allow them to survive. Actually, not just survive, but thrive! Glass Ticks suck up water and also nutrient rich muck from their environment, and then store it all in this special abdomen. This gives a substrate for the plants to latch onto, while also gaining the rays of the sun that shine through its hide. The tick also uses its respiration system to pump air into the water, ensuring that it doesn't grow stagnant. With this, the seeds and bits of plants that they consume can grow and flourish in this abdomen, which makes a home and food source for small critters that are also sucked up! What results from this is a living internal ecosystem, one that can walk around! The plants and animals thrive in this transparent body, growing and reproducing without a problem. As for the tick, it feeds off of a part of the waste that is created by its companions, and it is also believed it forms a bond with certain algae to give it the ability to turn light into food! It is a perfect balance for the tick and its personal habitat! During its travels, the Glass Tick will stop by other water sources to suck up some new resources, like extra water, fresh muck or other plant seeds. It replenishes its stock and continues on, making sure its ecosystem thrives and it gets fed! While it feeds, it also tends to expel waste at the same time, getting rid of used up resources or unwanted pieces. During this, the inner residents will lay some of their eggs or seeds in this waste, so that it may be released into the outside world. Another portion of their eggs and seeds will remain inside the Glass Tick, restocking their numbers as they grow and die. It is an utterly incredible system, one that I still cannot believe exists!

This lifestyle is an amazing one, and it does provide some extra benefits! Due to their simple waterlogged body, there isn't many predators who would feed on them. Just not a lot of meat there! The large amount of water in their body can also be heated up by the sun's rays and used to keep the tick warm during chillier times! This storage also means they don't worry too much about water when it comes to droughts, as they have a whole supply! That aspect is when the tick would face threats, but not on a huge scale. Mainly parasitic species that would try to get some of that water during these dry times. Speaking of droughts, these ticks are believed to be responsible for the continuation of some small species and communities during these periods. When all other ponds and water holes dry up, the tick remains full with its inhabitants. It has gone on for so long, that is pretty much certain that there are some species of plant and tiny critters that exist solely within the Glass Ticks! A single one of these ticks could be carrying dozens of generations of species within its back! It almost makes the death of any one of these ticks tragic! The end of an entire ecosystem, an entire world! I dare not even think about it for too long, as it makes my gut hurt!

Glass Ticks are a prime example of how all the pieces make the thing work. The tick provides the property and water needed for the plants to grow, then the plants provide for the creatures. In turn, the life within gives nutrients to the tick, so it may survive and keep the ecosystem afloat. Their populations are at the right sizes where resources are used equally and at the proper pace. The tick has time to replenish when needed, and the inhabitants inside have the right amount of everything to continue and thrive. If one of these pieces is thrown out of whack, then it can cause issues if it isn't resolved soon. If the plant population grows too large, then it chokes out all other life, which hurts the ticks food supply. Overgrowth or overpopulation can murk up the waters of the tick, which cuts down on sunlight and sustenance for all involved. If it goes wrong for too long, the tick may grow weak or sick and eventually die, which destroys the whole habitat and everyone within. You see what I am talking about? Everything must remain in balance, lest it start a chain reaction that spells doom for more than just one species!

The Glass Ticks are also a good example for invasive species in an environment! In one region, the Glass Ticks are being plagued by an invasive species of snail. Now these snails are no monsters by any means, they aren't devouring Glass Ticks or smashing their tank-like abdomens. No, what is happening is their larvae are being slurped up and introduced into its personal ecosystem. These young can survive and grow, eventually out competing certain species within. This doesn't hurt the tick immediately, as the snail's waste still provides food. But slowly, the snails start to take over and their populations get a little high. Even if the system stabilizes, there is another issue. When the snails die, their shells are left behind. These don't easily decompose, but they can also get too large to be flushed out its waste port. The shells can build up and plug its system, causing nasty stuff to build up and giving the whole ecosystem an infection. In time, this can kill the tick and, once again, destroy the habitat. And that is just one little snail! One snail in the wrong place, where the residents don't know how to deal with it! Just imagine if it was something bigger! Like say, a giant armored pig that some moron decided to - Following section removed by editor -

Chlora Myron

Dryad Natural Historian

-----------------------------------------------------

Not gonna lie, I really love this one. Always wanted to do something with ticks that felt different, and then I saw those pond-in-a-jar ecosystems and it finally came together. Like a walking fish tank, though minus the fish.

A continuation of my species concepts that are essentially "giant invertebrate where it shouldn't be." Stay tuned for "Wasps? In my mountains? It's more likely then you think!"