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.