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What is it that attracts us to solving mysteries? Why have detective stories been so popular through time? Characters such as Sherlock Holmes and Columbo have become icons of our desire to understand such enigmas in the realm of crime, but our love of the unknown and mysterious knows no genre boundaries. The TV series 'House MD' explored it in the medical field, for example. We get a thrill out of trying to uncover the truth alongside the characters. In the words of Jean-Luc Picard from Star Trek:
Clues were left behind that suggested a mystery. And to many humans, a mystery is irresistible. It must be solved.
This is true for the natural world as well and encompasses not just the present, but the past and the future too. I can recall an old TV program that deliberately called paleontologists 'Dinosaur Detectives' (mostly for the fun alliteration, but also to emphasize the mystery-solving element of their work). In fact, the mysteries of nature can be some of the most complex and challenging puzzles we have available. I am again reminded of the idea that "ecology is not rocket science, it's much more complicated." Even when we are able to solve an interesting question, that is rarely the end, as explanations are often incomplete and the answers we do get will bring up new questions to explore.
In recognition of the human love of solving mysteries and puzzles, Season 11 of Nature Stories will cover 'Nature Mysteries'. We'll be exploring some of the solved, and ongoing, questions that biology, zoology, geology, and other related subjects have tackled over time. Much like a detective show or book, I won't just be telling you about what happened. Instead, you'll be immersing yourself in the perspective of the scientists working on each problem and trying to think about what approach to use.
Branching Paths, Make Your Choice
In order to facilitate this immersion, we'll be borrowing something from an old favorite book format of mine: Choose Your Own Adventure. In those books, when the main character had a choice of where to go and what to do, each choice would direct you to a particular page number to continue the story from. Thus, you did not read the book in page order and there were usually multiple possible endings available. Each choice would also have a different level of stakes. Some would only involve story flavor. Others would have an immediate positive or negative outcome. And still others would only affect the narrative further in the future, when the consequences of you choice became apparent.
Of course, the stories presented for Nature Mysteries won't have quite as many branches as those books, but you'll be able to follow along with the process of the scientific method as hypotheses get repeatedly tested and refined based on available data.
No doubt, you'll want to read all of the options available (I admit I often used a bookmark to hold an old page in a Choose Your Own Adventure book in case I made a catastrophically bad decision), but I highly encourage you to pursue each branch to its end point before backtracking. That will create a much better facsimile of the various research struggles, choices, and dead ends that accompany each story.
You will be able to control which parts and branches you see through the use of something called Toggles. These include a visible header and a dropdown textbox that you can click to expand. Below is a brief example of how the decisions you make will work:
It's a lovely day in Southwest Florida and you can't bear to stay inside any longer. You decide that you want to go out for a walk and maybe look for some interesting wildlife. You can...
Go to the park
The park is a lovely combination of forested and open area. As you arrive, you can see crows on the ground. Perhaps they've found something edible that they are congregating around. There's a lot of cover here, so you don't immediately see as many birds as you might at the beach.
However, you've been practicing recognizing some of the more common bird calls you come across and are able to hear blue jays, mockingbirds, and even woodpeckers in the trees. This allows you to pinpoint the location of some and observe some neat behavior. On some visits, you've spotted non-native iguanas sunning themselves, but you don't see any today.
You have a peaceful afternoon and enjoy yourself thoroughly.
Go to the beach
The beach is full of tourists, but you have a pleasant walk and observe the various shorebirds. Small sandpipers run along the intertidal area, avoiding the incoming waves and probing the sand for invertebrates. A brown pelican flies overhead and dives into the ocean attempting to catch a fish in its large pouch. Terns huddle together in big flocks and gulls prowl around beach lounges and umbrellas, hoping to snatch a snack from an unsuspecting human.
You don't find any seashells worth keeping. Most of them are too badly damaged. You'll need to arrive early in the morning, or find somewhere more remote if you want to get some nice specimens. You do find a fighting conch, but discover the snail still in the shell and so do the responsible thing and toss it back into the ocean.
Your afternoon is crowded with people as well as birds, but you still enjoy yourself.
Of course, these choices were quite low stakes, but keep in mind that in the Season proper, there can be consequences for your actions.
Nature Mysteries will cover a total of nine investigations over the next nine months, approaching each one like a detective story. So put on your thinking cap, lace up your hiking boots, and get ready for an adventure.