Interspecific Interaction

The interspecific interaction I will be documenting is between humans and grass.  Despite the fact that there are an abundance of paved sidewalks on campus, students still feel the need to walk over the grass in very specific patterns.  This leads to the grass being matted down and even uprooted, leaving distinct dirt paths cutting through otherwise grassy fields. A good example of this is a position just north of the student union and just east of the parking garage.  Just looking at a map, one can tell that the humans benefit because they save time. However, the grass does seem to have one mechanism of defense. If it is saturated with water, it will be muddy, and humans will be less inclined to trample it because doing so would damage their shoes.