Presentation Abstract
Oak galls are formed when a female gall wasp lays her eggs on the host plant. She then injects the host plant with a toxin that makes the plant form a tumor around her eggs, protecting them. Oak galls and lichen both use the same nutrients, resulting in competition for nutrition and space on a tree. Our data was collected at the Glacial Heritage Preserve in Thurston County, Washington. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between oak gall placement and the presence of lichen on twigs. We measured the diameter of an oak gall and then measured the distance between the oak gall and lichen growth. There is an extremely strong positive correlation (R-square of 0.7994) between oak gall size and the distance the lichen grows from the gall. The relationship is apparent when the oak gall is very large because then there was little to no lichen. There also seems to be a relationship between the age of the twig and the placement of the gall on it.
Session Title
Session S-09E: Marine, Freshwater and Terrestrial Species: Threats and Conservation
Conference Track
Species and Food Webs
Conference Name
Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference (2014 : Seattle, Wash.)
Document Type
Event
Start Date
2-5-2014 10:30 AM
End Date
2-5-2014 12:00 PM
Location
Room 613-614
Genre/Form
conference proceedings; presentations (communicative events)
Contributing Repository
Digital content made available by University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Subjects – Topical (LCSH)
Oregon oak--Diseases and pests--Nutritional aspects--Washington (State)--Glacial Heritage Preserve; Galls (Botany)--Size--Washington (State)--Glacial Heritage Preserve; Lichens--Ecology--Washington (State)--Glacial Heritage Preserve
Geographic Coverage
Salish Sea (B.C. and Wash.); Glacial Heritage Preserve (Wash.)
Rights
This resource is displayed for educational purposes only and may be subject to U.S. and international copyright laws. For more information about rights or obtaining copies of this resource, please contact University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA 98225-9103, USA (360-650-7534; heritage.resources@wwu.edu) and refer to the collection name and identifier. Any materials cited must be attributed to the Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference Records, University Archives, Heritage Resources, Western Libraries, Western Washington University.
Type
Text
Language
English
Format
application/pdf
Included in
The Relationship of Oak Gall Size to Lichen Proximity on Quercus garryana
Room 613-614
Oak galls are formed when a female gall wasp lays her eggs on the host plant. She then injects the host plant with a toxin that makes the plant form a tumor around her eggs, protecting them. Oak galls and lichen both use the same nutrients, resulting in competition for nutrition and space on a tree. Our data was collected at the Glacial Heritage Preserve in Thurston County, Washington. The purpose of this paper is to study the relationship between oak gall placement and the presence of lichen on twigs. We measured the diameter of an oak gall and then measured the distance between the oak gall and lichen growth. There is an extremely strong positive correlation (R-square of 0.7994) between oak gall size and the distance the lichen grows from the gall. The relationship is apparent when the oak gall is very large because then there was little to no lichen. There also seems to be a relationship between the age of the twig and the placement of the gall on it.
