Wildlife at Coe

   With flowers blooming and spring coming nearer, this is a perfect time to discuss one of the most interesting parts of Coe (at least in my opinion) and what makes the campus unique; the animals that inhabit the campus. The wildlife at Coe is diverse yet a handful of animals take the cake of being the most notorious and the most in-your-face. This includes the squirrels, geese, and cicadas which were hard to miss this last fall. This blog post will focus on these three animals discussing unique and interesting facts about why they are the way they are on campus and dive into biologically understanding these critters. 

Squirrels 🐾

   Probably the most notorious animal on campus, squirrels have become domesticated by Coe's students and faculty. Some squirrel species that you might notice on campus are fox squirrels, grey squirrels, and chipmunks.

    According to the Journal of Heredity what makes many of Coe's squirrels unique is the prevalence of black belly grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) which is caused by "varying distributions of eumelanin (dark brown/black pigmentations) and phaeomelanin (paler red/yellow pigmentations) pigment in hairs. The melanocortin 1 receptor (MC1R) plays a central role in regulating eumelanin and phaeomelanin". The exact numbers of these black squirrels are unknown worldwide, but there is a clear increase in the numbers of these critters. This increased number of black squirrels is caused by many different mutations. 

    Furthermore, the closer you get to the cafeteria the more domesticated the squirrels appear to become. As someone who unfortunately got bit by a squirrel not too long ago, it's important to remember that while these little guys may appear to be domesticated they are not. You should not try petting them nor should you give them your finger to let them sniff it; they can and might just bite. 

    It's also a common occurrence to feed squirrels junk food, but for the squirrel's health and safety, this should be minimized. Squirrels are prone to all sorts of diseases including Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which means that the more junk food they consume the more at risk they to these diseases. Things like salty french fries and nuts have too much sodium and anything too heavily processed is all around bad for their health. Not having a proper diet could cause health complications and possible death (and we don't want to kill these cute guys). 

    Although feeding wildlife is never a good idea, if you are going to feed the squirrels sticking with unsalted nuts, eggs, and anything that isn't heavily processed is a much better idea. 

If you want to learn more about these mutations or other information about squirrels in not just Coe College:

• Mutations: https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/100/6/709/834239?login=true
• Squirrels in Iowa: https://birdwatchinghq.com/squirrels-in-iowa/
• What not to feed squirrels: https://www.motleyzooanimalrescue.org/post/what-to-feed-squirrels-in-your-backyard
• What to feed squirrels: https://www.birdsandblooms.com/gardening/backyard-wildlife/what-to-feed-squirrels/?srsltid=AfmBOor7RgqQ8YIxGGITDu06_ARSK-Pxalgm411paZZwe5VapQPC03e4

Geese 🪿

   Another prominent member of Coe's ecosystem is the Canadian geese, which can be seen stopping by Coe on their migrational path. This migrational path defines both the family and life cycle of these guys, breeding in warmer months and traveling down south in colder months. The migrational paths that they partake in are crucial for their survival. 

    Why do birds migrate? According to All About Birds, birds migrate from low/decreasing resource areas to areas with high/increasing resource areas. With spring around the corner birds that migrated down south will be coming back up to the north to take advantage of the booming insect populations. But when winter comes close these birds travel southward to where the insects and other resources don't die off. Furthermore, birds like hummingbirds are simply unable to withstand the cold while birds like the Canadian Geese are able to. This allows for geese to keep their migrational path more north than that of other smaller, less hardy bird species. 

    As seen by the migrational map of Canadian geese below where we are located in Iowa the Geese stay here year around. This explains why periodically throughout the winter geese can be located on the grounds of Coe College. Although it is interesting to note that some Geese travel from the Arctic all the way down to Northern Mexica, it just depends on where their breeding grounds are located. 

If you want to learn more about how and why geese and other birds migrate:

• How and where they migrate: https://varmentguard.com/blog/why-geese-migrate
• Map of migrational patterns: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Canada_Goose/maps-range
• Why birds migrate: https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/the-basics-how-why-and-where-of-bird-migration/

Cicadas 🐛

    A very loud member of Coe's ecosystem is the cicadas and 2024 was loud for a reason. The cicadas we experienced this last fall are known as periodic cicadas, which emerge in unison in either a 13 or 17-year cycle. There are exactly 15 periodic cicada broods active today, the rest have gone extinct. Mentioned in Yard and Garden, two different broods, broods 13 and 19 had emerged this fall, which hasn't occurred in 221 years, since 1803. 

    The map below shows the non-extinct active broods and when they are expected to emerge next!

If you want to learn more about the brood cycles of cicadas:

• Periodical cicadas: https://naturalhistory.si.edu/education/teaching-resources/life-science/periodical-cicadas
• 2024 cicadas what to expect: https://yardandgarden.extension.iastate.edu/article/2024/05/2024-periodical-cicada-emergence-what-should-you-expect

    In short, this was just a quick summary of some of the prominent non-human animals on Coe's campus and some interesting facts about them. The links shared in this blog add to what I discussed so I hope they are useful for anyone who wants to learn more!