Introduction to Natural History
Master Naturalist Program
University of Maryland Extension
Author: Sylvan Kaufman
What is Natural History?
• The study of the
natural world
– Plants, animals,
rocks, planets,
weather, …
Illustration from Mark Catesby’s Natural
History of Carolina, Florida and the
Bahama Islands
Geology
• The Earth’s physical structure
Sideling Hill
Photo by Paul Breeding, http://www.mgs.md.gov/esic/features/sidel.html
Formation and Structure of the Earth
Movement of
Continents
Plate Tectonics
Formation of the Appalachians
http://geology.teacherfriendlyguide.org/index.php?opti
on=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=83
Types of Rocks
• Igneous – from volcanic
activity
• Sedimentary – from
erosion, deposition
• Metamorphic – from
heat and/or pressure
Maryland’s Physiographic Provinces
Geologic Time
http://www.cr.nps.gov/history/online_books/geology/publications/b
ul/1393/images/fig59.jpg
Important Events for Maryland
Precambrian
3.5-1bya
4.56
bya
3.5 bya
Formation
of Earth
1.8bya
oxygen
increasing in
atmosphere
one-celled
organisms
Paleozoic
600-230 mya
500 mya
Pangaea
forms
Mesozoic
230-65 mya
230mya
65mya
Cenozoic
65 mya - present
50mya
35 mya
2mya
18000 ya
10000ya
Pangaea
Extinction of
breaks apart dinosaurs
Chesapeake Glaciation
End of Wisconsin Chesapeake Bay
Bay bolide periods, spruce glaciation
forms
lands
forests, tundra,
Appalachians
North America
grasslands
forming
splits from
Humans settle
Insects, mollusks, Dinosaurs, birds, Laurasia
Mammals
eastern North
fish, amphibians,
first mammals,
dominate on land
America
primitive plants
seed plants
(not to scale)
Atmosphere
http://www.theozonehole.com/atmosphere.htm
Climate
Historic climate change
Image from: http://climate.nasa.gov/evidence
Recent climate change
Future climate change
•
•
•
•
Warmer winters and summers
Wetter autumns and springs, drier summers
Increase in storm severity
Sea level rise
Weather
Maryland Watersheds
Chesapeake Bay
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/bay/monitoring/
Formation of Dead Zones
Native Americans in
Maryland
• Paleo Indians
• Archaic period
• Woodland Period
Population
Human Population Growth
Year
Hydrological Cycle
Soils
Figure from:
http://vro.dpi.vic.gov.au/dpi/vro/vrosite.nsf/pages/soilhealth_what_is
Industrial Mining
Mine tailings in the Savage River
Image from
http://ian.umces.edu/imagelibrary/displayimage-960.html
Limestone quarry in Cockeysville,
MD
Forest Products
• Building lumber
• Shipping crates and
pallets
• Shelves and furniture
• Chips for fuel pellets
• Mulch
• Pulp for paper
http://www.dnr.state.md.us/forests/
planning/sfla/socioeconomic.htm
Wildlife – Hunting and Fishing
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Image from:
news.maryland.gov
Deer
Black bear
Rabbits
Muskrats
Squirrels
Game birds
Waterfowl
Fish
Shellfish
Loss of Habitat
Skills for Naturalists
•
•
•
•
Observation
Recording
Research
Reporting
Nature journal page from Margan Glover, used
with permission from the author.
Famous Maryland Naturalists – You
could be next!
Benjamin Banneker
Rachel Carson
Charles Wilson
Peale
Mary Elizabeth
Banning
Chandler S.
Robbins