I haven't the Boggiest

By Aaron Jones - June 04, 2025

“Sometimes you just got to feel the sphagnum between your toes!” These were the words of Dr. Heath Garris after he bounded into an unnamed bog in the Milock Family Preserve. This rather humorous tone was kept up throughout the learning experience, as Heath also demonstrated bog surfing, whilst still educating on bogs' unique ecosystems.

The particular bog (Figure 1) we visited was located in the Upper Manistee Headwaters within the Milock Family Preserve (Preserve Map). This preserve is a large Natural area spanning 1,357 acres of Northern Michigan. It is located near Grass Lake and was the site of one of the insect collection trips (Figure 2). This site is managed by the Grand Traverse Regional Land Conservancy (GTRLC). This preserve is a centerpiece of the GTRLC’s six-year “Campaign for Generations”. This campaign is a region-wide effort that seeks to permanently protect some of the finest remaining land in the area, which would help facilitate valuable access to nature for people of all ages and abilities. The preserve is named after Richard and Diana Milock, who donated a $1 million gift to the campaign. They have also helped the GTRLC monetarily in the past and are in full support of the work it wishes to do (see article).

A group of people standing in a grassy area next to a body of water

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 1: The Bog we visited

A screenshot of a map

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 2: Upper Manistee Bog Location (Google Maps Image)

A bog ecosystem is technically very nutrient-rich however, it is also very acidic. Therefore, many of these nutrients are inaccessible to most organisms. In conjunction with acidity, soil saturation severely inhibits the breakdown of organic waste. This allows for the rapid accumulation of dead matter, often referred to as peat. The primary colonizing biota of a bog are sphagnum mosses, which also contribute to the acidity and saturation of the bog. These mosses are incredibly absorbent. To demonstrate this, when we first arrived at the bog, Heath grabbed a handful of it and rang it out; the sheer amount of water that came out was impressive. These bogs are usually kettle bogs created by a glacier carving a depression and then melting into said depression. Within these kettle bogs, they can occupy the entire basin or be a mat (floating or grounded) on the margins. The floating sphagnum becomes colonized by other species of plants that are stress-tolerant but can often not outcompete other species in non-bog systems. These include carnivorous plants like Sundews (genus Drosera; Figure 3) and the Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea; Figure 4).

A hand holding a plant

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 3: A Sundew (genus Drosera)

A plant growing in the grass

AI-generated content may be incorrect.

Figure 4: The Northern Pitcher Plant (Sarracenia purpurea)

These unique plants utilize the entrapment methods primarily to gain vital nutrients like nitrogen from arthropods. S. purpurea has an entire system that operates within its pitchers. Usually, an insect falls into the pitcher leaves that are filled with water, it drowns and is eaten by midge and mosquito larvae that are often species-specific to pitcher plants. These now chewed-up insects are then degraded by microbes, which are consumed by things like rotifers. The nutrients that are fragmented and excreted by this microsystem and its biota are also absorbed by the pitcher plant.

As we explored the bog, there were many opportunities for insect collection, and as a class, we got several interesting things, such as dragonflies and bumblebees, and lepidopterans. We also found pitcher plant midge and mosquito larvae. As we bounced around or bog surfed, as Heath would say, we encountered the instability of the bog as we fell through patches and semi-sank others when we overcrowded areas. This was rather amusing as all of a sudden we were chasing insects and then sinking in water (Figure 5).