FIRST DAY!

Hey guys - tomorrow's the "big day"! Remember to bring your plants... prizes for most blooms and bushiest...

Ms. P

Scavenger Hunt #8 Ansley Dieckmann

This moss reproduces asexually by a process called fragmentation. This means that pieces of the parent plant breaks off and grows on its own.

These roots have been modified to secure the tree in this mountain. These roots have to be thick and deep!

These stems have been modified for the specific functions of this plant. Some stems are modified into strange looking stems above or below ground.

These weeds represent a r-strategist organism. A r-strategist organism matures fast and usually has a short life span. There is a large population of these organisms but the numbers are often fluctuating. 

Humans represent k-strategist organisms. These organisms (for the most part) are the opposite of a r-strategist organism. K-strategist organisms normally have a longer life span and have a long period in which they mature.There is a stable population and environment for these organisms. 

Kelly - scavenger hunt post #8

BIOMES

Biomes are areas of the world with a similar climate and groups of plants and animals that are adapted to their environment. Biomes are named for their vegetation. Three biomes are found in Georgia. They are the temperate deciduous forest biome, the marine biome and the fresh water biome.

TEMPORATE DECIDUOUS FORESTS

Temperate deciduous forests are found in the eastern part of the U.S., Canada, Japan, China and Central and Western Europe. They have four definite seasons and the weather is influenced by both the polar and tropical regions. One plant adaptation allows the trees to survive the winters; deciduous trees drop their leaves.

This is an area near my house that shows plants and trees that are found in the deciduous forest.

MARINE BIOME

The marine biome covers most of the earth and has very diverse organisms. Over one million species of plants and animals have been discovered in the oceans.  It includes oceans, coral reefs and estuaries.

Each ocean is different depending on the water temperature and amount of sunlight. Coral reefs are found in shallow, warm water, generally the tropical oceans. They take up 1% of the ocean floor but have almost 25% of the organisms in the ocean.

Georgia has 100 miles of coastline but this is a picture of the ocean from Galveston Island, Texas.

Estuaries are areas where freshwater mixes with ocean water and they are found along the coasts. The salinity of an estuary can change depending on how much freshwater is running in the rivers. Plants have adaptations to survive the changing salt content of the water. It is important to protect estuaries from pollution because they are home to organisms at the beginning of many food chains. They help maintain the fish population in the oceans.

The top picture is of an estuary near Galveston, Texas.  The bottom picture is an estuary along Galveston Island. Georgia’s salt marsh estuaries are the second largest in the continental U.S, behind Louisiana.

FRESHWATER BIOME

Freshwater biomes have less than 1% salt and include ponds and lakes, streams and rivers, and wetlands. Plants and algae give freshwater biomes their oxygen and are food for the animal life. Fish, insects, amphibians, crustaceans and birds depend on freshwater biomes to survive. People depend on this biome for drinking water, food, transportation, recreation, and as a hydroelectric power source.

This is a stream near my house. Yes, cell phones were harmed in the taking of this photo.

Freshwater wetlands can be found on the boundaries of streams, lakes and ponds. They are not connected to the ocean like estuaries. They include marshes, swamps and bogs.

This picture is a swamp in Louisiana. Swamps, unlike marshes, have trees and shrubs.

CONIFEROUS, BOREAL AND RAIN FORESTS

Along with deciduous forests there are also CONIFEROUS FORESTS which have conifers, trees that have needles instead of leaves, and cones instead of flowers. Birds, deer, rabbits, wolfs, fox and bear are some of the animals found there.

BOREAL (TAIGA) FORESTS are the largest land biome. They are found in the northern latitudes and include areas in North America, Europe, Asia, Siberia, Scandinavia, Alaska and Canada. They have colder temperatures and more snow than rain. Trees are mostly conifers and animals include hawks, bats, lynx, wolf, bear and moose.

TEMPERATE FORESTS in the U.S. are found in the North Western part of the country, near the coast. Tropical rainforests are found all around the world near the equator where the temperature is warmer. They have long and wet winters and short and drier summers.

Half of all plant and animal species on the earth are found in the RAINFOREST. The rainforest is divided into layers. The top is the emergent layer, with tall trees. The canopy has trees that shade the rainforest floor and vines that are woody and climb the trees to reach sunlight. Flowers and fruits grow there and the animals have adaptations that help them live in trees. The understory is shaded by the canopy and is cool and dark. It has vines, palms, ferns and smaller trees. The rainforest floor is the bottom layer and it is covered with decaying, wet leave. Almost no plants grow there and only about 2% of the sunlight reaches the ground.

Cancer fighting drugs, about 25%, come from materials only found in the rainforest and 70% of the plants found to be cancer fighting are found only in the rainforest. 

These animals live in the rainforest canopy, which is where most rainforest animals live. There is enough food for them so they don’t have to go down to the forest floor.

Use these links to see videos of these animals.

 White-Faced Saki Monkey  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EMPmJ78B6_E&feature=youtu.be&hd=1

Scarlet Ibis

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgbHBWXRElA

More than 75% of the world’s frog and toad species live in tropical rainforests. They live in rainforests of Costa Rica and Brazil. Their bright color is their way of keeping predators away; this is called aposematic coloration.

The Panamanian Golden frog (Atelopus zeteki) is also only 2 inches long but has enough venom to kill 10 grown men. Their venom has been used for hundreds of years on the tip of blowgun darts that people in Colombia used to hunt.

This frog is an endangered species and their spots are like a human fingerprint, they are unique to each frog. Panama uses the golden dart frog as their national symbol and it is found on lottery tickets and tee-shirts.  

The bottom picture is a blue poison dart frog.

The top photo is a lapacho tree which is a Brazilian walnut tree. It has antimicrobial, antiviral, and antifungal properties. Medicine to treat small skin cuts, insect bites and psoriasis can be made from this plant. Its inner bark is used to make an herbal tea called Lapacho that is used to relieve coughs and colds.

On the bottom is the rain tree (Samanea saman) grows in South America and its roots are used to treat stomach cancer and the seeds are chewed to relieve sore throats.

The giant Corpse Flower (Amorphophallus titanium) is found only in Sumatra, Indonesia. It gets its name because when it flowers the plant gives off a smell like rotting flesh. This attracts carrion beetles and sweat flies that pollinate the plant. They are an endangered species in Indonesia.

Use link to see video of Giant Corpse Flower

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3n3SBkcOSY&feature=plcp

GRASSLANDS

Grasslands are open, flat areas of grass. There are few trees and they are usually found around streams. Winters are cold and summers are warm with some rain. They are found on every continent except Antarctica.  The Great Plains in the U.S. are grasslands.

Savannas are grasslands and make up about half of Africa. During the dry season fires are common and usually kill mainly insects and lizards. Other animals can outrun the fire or go into underground holes. Birds and other animals come back to eat the barbequed insects and smaller animals. Some grasses, trees and shrubs survive because their roots are alive.

DESERTS

Desert biomes are the driest biome. They get only 10% of the rain the rainforest does. Plants have to adapt to the limited water and many store water in their stems or root systems. Not all deserts are hot and cold deserts can be found in the South West U.S., and Western Asia.

In EPCOT’s Land Pavilion research is being done to find ways to grow food in deserts and other locations where they are not normally found. These pictures show some of the plants they are growing.

TUNDRA

The arctic tundra is the coldest biome and gets very little precipitation. It is located in areas below the ice caps of the Arctic and a large part of Alaska and half of Canada is in the tundra. Winters are cold and dark and the ground has a layer of permafrost, or permanently frozen ground below the surface. Plants are mostly mosses and lichens with very few trees. Animals found include polar bear, seals, caribou, wolves, arctic foxes, falcons, mosquitoes, cod, salmon and trout.

DETRITIVORES - Lobsters and sea stars are primary detritivores, an organism that feeds on dead organic materials. The lobster will also feed on small mollusks or arthropods if it can catch them.

KEYSTONE SPECIES

In building a keystone is a stone at the top of an arch that holds the other stones in place. I found this out this summer because I had a job painting trim on a house.  In biology a keystone species do the same thing in an ecosystem. They are species that have a great effect an ecosystem even though there may not be a large number of them. They are needed for the survival of other species in the area. A keystone species was originally defined as being a predator.

These are mangroves growing in the Rainforest Pyramid in Moody Gardens in Galveston, Texas. They live in tropical areas in the salt water of the littoral zone. They are a keystone plant in the Everglades in Florida. You can see larger roots in the background. They have many adaptations to live in salt water. Their roots can filter out salt, but if too much gets into the tree their leaves collect it, turn yellow and fall off. They help in the littoral zone because they reduce erosion of the soil with their roots. Mangroves also are like nurseries for fish, shrimp and other ocean animals who stay in their roots so they are protected from predators.

Link for video about mangroves:

http://www.thewildclassroom.com/biomes/estuaries.html

This is a pictures of the Giant Flying Fox bat (larger) and the Rodrigues Fruit Bat (smaller). These bats are considered KEYSTONE SPECIES in the rainforest. They help restore areas that have been cleared because they eat fruit and then deposit the seeds by pooping as they fly. They also collect pollen on their bodies when they eat the nectar of flowers, then they pollinate other plants when they fly to other flowers.

Finished!!!!

Mrs. Lory, I believe I now have 50 terms, and 100 points. All of my terms are bolded, and there are multiple terms per picture, so sometimes they are hard to see. So glad to be done!!!! :)

Scavenger Hunt #7

Gymnosperm Cone-- Gymnosperms are seed producing plants. For example, conifers and cycads. Conifers is the largest group of gymnosperms. A pine tree is a conifer. They have pine needles, or gymnosperm leaves.

Seed dispersal-- Seed dispersal is the transport of seeds from the parent plant. Seeds are dispersed by animals like birds or other mammals that ingest them. They are dispersed by wind, as well as the ocean (water). This is a frozen waterfall off the coast of Whittier, Alaska. The birds that like to stay there are bald eagles.

Vestigial Structures-- Vestigial structures are something that are no longer functioning structures on an organisms. They are structures that once were needed and functioning in ancestral organisms, but are no longer needed today. Over time the species would use it less and less from generation to generation until there just was no use for it anymore. I suppose a cat's tail is an example of a vestigial structure because there is no apparent use for it now, but maybe back in the day wild cats had a use for it. A human and their appendix is kind of the same thing.. our ancestors used to need their apendix, as it was an important organ. However, nowadays people can have them removed no problem and never notice it is gone.
Territorial Behavior-- Territorial behavior is when one animal believes that it has right to one specific territory and will guard that territory against other animals it does not approve of. Cats are notorious for this if they are outdoor cats. They will guard their backyard and have cat fights in the middle of the night fighting the cats who decided to walk onto their territory.

Bilateral Symmetry-- Most unicellular animals have some form of symmetry, either radial or bilateral. Bilateral means that you can be split in half and both halves would be a mirror image of the other. Humans have bilateral symmetry, as well as most mammals. In the picture above, there are sea otters floating on an iceburg off the coast of alaska. Sea otters very well have bilateral symmetry.

Frond-- A frond is a large, divided leaf. Some believe ferns have fronds, and only ferns. However, others do not limit the use of the word frond to only ferns. Some believe that the term frond can also be used as the term for the large leaves on a palm tree or a cycad.

Fermentation-- Fermentation is the process of carbs, like sugar, turning into an acid or alcohol. Yeast can be what changes the sugar into alcohol. Bacteria can also be the responsible party in that it can convert carbs into lactic acid. Fermentation is a natural process that occurs in foods like yogurt, and cheese; it is also a manmade process in that humans use fermentation to produce beer and wine. Fermentation is also what makes bread rise! (yeast)

Ectotherm-- An ectotherm is an animal that is dependent on another source of body heat, an external source. Fish have a certain type of ecotherm called poikilothermy; this is when the environment the animal lives in determines the body temperature of that organism. Salmon have a very low body temperature because they are in very cold rivers. The salmon pictured above I caught as it was swimming up stream of the kenai river from the ocean to go lay it's eggs, or in the male's case to go fertilize the eggs that have already been layed.

Meristem-- Meristem is the tissue in plants where new cells are made. This is the region of the plants in which the new cells have not yet differentiated or specialized. The meristem cells of the plant are what keep it growing. The meristem of the plant is located at the parts of the plant that are growing longer. For example, they are at the top of the stem, root tips, and at the end of branches.

Scavenger Hunt #6

Sorry I have been so MIA.. I have had an extremely busy summer juggling summer work, 4-5 days of real work a week, and bouncing back and forth from Nicaragua, alaska, and california.

Epithelial tissue-- This is one of my beautiful Nicaraguan babies I made friends with in June. Her name is Dayan, she is four years old, and I am in love with her sweet self. As every human is, she is covered head to toe in epithelial tissue, or in other words, "skin". Epithelial tissue is the lining of all internal and external parts of the body. The cells that make up this tissue are very closely packed together. Depending on the number of layers the tissue has, it can be divided into two types: simple (one layer) and stratified (two or more).

Population-- These are the two families of girls that I became the most close with in Nicaragua. I hung out with them, went to the store with them and they bought me candy, and I went to their house and hung out with their parents and watched Big Momma's House in spanish. Population is a group of people or species inhabiting one area. They interbreed and live in the same place at the same time. This is part of the Nicaraguan population that lives in Nicaragua, and in the village of El Chunco.

Genetic variation within a population-- I went dog sledding in Alaska. The dogs that pulled us were all Alaskan huskies. However, there was a genetic variation between coloring of the alaskan husky's fur. Some has a a typical husky look to them with the black and grey back and a white belly, while others were solid white. Ironically, it seemed as if the white huskies were behaved better than the others, but that is most likely just a coincidence. :)

Connective Tissue--  Connective tissue binds together other tissues. It has cells scattered unlike epithelial tissue. It attaches epithelial tissues to other tissues.There are many types of connective tissue: loose connective, fibrous, elastic, collagenous, and specialized connective tissues. An example of a specialized is cartilage, which is found in humans ears, nose, and trachea.

Glycogen--  Glycogen is how our body stores glucose. The liver produces it, while our muscle and fat cells store it. Eating carbohydrates is what forces more glycogen to be made, and it will be released when our blood glucose levels are low. Therefore, low carb diets hurt our glucose levels, by allowing it to not be stored because our body is not producing more glycogen to store it. South beach diet is a low carb diet. While some think it is a great weight loss diet, it actually is hurting your blood glucose levels.

Endotherm-- This is a bald eagle in Kenai, Alaska. I was fishing and happened to look behind and up at a huge tree only to find a rare (in Ga) animal but not rare at all bird in Alaska: a bald eagle! They are warm blooded animals, just like all mammals. Therefore, they have the ability to make warmth using interior processes like shivering and increasing heart rate/metabolism. This makes them an endotherm.
Analogous Structures-- Analogous structures are structures of two or more different species that look similar and perform the same function but have evolved separately and at different times. The wings of birds and the wings of insects are an example of analogous structures.
Amniotic Egg-- Birds, mammals, and reptiles all lay amniotic eggs. They have yolks inside that nourish the organism that is developing inside the egg. The egg is used to protect the organism as it develops.

Summer Work/Posting Update

 (some of MY summer work)

It looks like Tyler and Kelly are "done".  You both have enough points to take off this week, should you choose to do so. Well done! Amanda, Braeden, and Ansley are soooo close.  David and Carrie... where are you??? Both of you had strong starts and seem to have dropped off.  Only 12 days until class... whoo hoo! Don't forget to bring in your plants for some prizes :) Ms. P

Scavenger Hunt # 7- Ansley Dieckmann

This plant is budding. These new ends are the auxin producing area of the plant. Auxin is a hormone found in new part of the plant is growing.

This plum contains ethylene. Ethylene is a natural hormone in some fruits that help ripen the fruit.

My mom has blue eyes and my dad has green eyes. Blue eyes are the recessive gene because my sisters and I all have green eyes like my dad. 

This lizard is an ectotherm. Ectotherms regulate their body temperature by exchanging heat with its surroundings. Endotherms are able to regulate their body temperature through metabolic processes unlike this ectotherm.

This is an example of homologous structures. My dogs paw and my foot are used for the same purpose and have similar structure.

scavenger hunt and book

This cactus uses the CAM plant process. It is an arid adaptation of  the C3 and C4 plant processes.  CO2 that enters the stomata during the night is then converted into organic acids which then in turn release CO2 in the day when the stomata is closed. Most CAM plants have to be found in dry and arid regions, which is why cacti are CAM plants.

This plant and most everything else in the world uses cellular respiration. Cellular respiration is the process to convert biochemical energy from nutrients into ATP and with that it releases the waste products.  They are catabolic reactions which breaks bigger molecules down into smaller molecules. It is also a redox reaction. 

All plants have auxins in them that are hormones of plants. Auxins play a key role in the growth of  a plant. Also the life/plant cycle of a plant is affected by the auxins as well. Without auxins plants wouldn't be able to develop. 

The plant has a stalk called the filament. This filament is used to  support the anther up. The anther is the key role in spreading the flower around in time of pollination. The anther has microsporangia that hold all the pollenating material. Any flowering plant has the anther but not all of them have the filament, only stalky plants that dangle need the filament.

Adenosine triphosphate is a multifunctional  nucleoside triphosphate used in cells as coenzymes . It transfers  chemical energy within cells for its metabolism. It is one of the end processes of cellular respiration. One molecule of ATP has three proteins. ATP is used in all complex living organisms. ATP at the end breaks down into its basic version which makes it easily recyclable.

On another note I finished the book and I found the last couple of pages to be quite alarming about all the different viruses that still threaten today's society and how it is soon to be that we will have another giant and international viral outbreak. I thought though that the last part was a little weird. But in the end it made sense, I really enjoyed the book so I will definitely read more books by the author who's name pervades me.