Current Events: The Joy of Sets: For Ants and Trees, Multiple Partners Are a Boon

In the world of ants and plant partnership, "serial Monogamy." Research had shown that this can help trees maximize their own evolutionary fitness. This means that trees that continuously are partnered with many different ant species will produce of offspring than the trees that are partnered with a single ant species will maintain lifelong associations with a single ant. According to researcher Todd Palmer (UF biology professor) “The study has broad implications because many of the world’s ecosystems rely on cooperative partnerships between species."

Palmer's team went to Africa and studied a regular tree and looked at the trees relationships with 4 different ant species over the trees lifetime up till now. What surprised the team most was that in the tree in Kenya was doing its best during the time that it was occupied by all 4 plant species even though one ant species joined "forces" with beetles causing death rates to increase.

The ants also provided useful defending the tree from elephants and other herbivores. "There are some ant species that appeared to do nothing but they all did enough" says Palmer.

Source:

"The Joy of Sets: For Ants and Trees, Multiple Partners Are a Boon." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. 26 Sept. 2010. Web. 29 Sept. 2010. .

Reflection Guest Speaker

• Why do animals migrate? (What is occurring within their environment that triggers this response?)

During winter not all animals can live/survive/adapt to such a cold climate therefore they will usually migrate to warmer waters and then return in the summer. However some species do stay all year round and do not migrate.

• When do most large animals reproduce? What does it depend on?

During spring so in Summer their young can feed and develop requirements for survival during winter.

• What adaptations did the animals exhibit in the polar region? (For example: body shape, appendages, wing span, food, coloration, stream-lined bodies, teeth, beaks, blubber, fur, group formations, hooks on tentacles, etc...)

Lots of the seals had a lot of blubber in order to keep warm, the Krill ate so much algae that they started to turn green.

• How do they ensure survival of their species? (Feeding, reproduction-production rates/birth rates/death risks, growth, etc...

For birds and other animals if they have 2 young only 1 (the stronger 1) is likely to survive the parent will pick the stronger one and look after it basically letting the weaker die.

• How did this presentation provide examples of what we have been studying?

We have been studying the adaptions and habitats of different animals seeing and hearing about real life observations and the way a habitat looks from someone who has actually lived among animals in the habitat is very useful in understanding.

Living Things and the Enviorment

What needs are met by an organism's environment?
An organism needs to obtain food, water, shelter, and other things that it needs to live, grow and reproduce.

What are the two parts of an organism's habitat with which it interacts?
An organism will interact with living (biotic factors) and non living things (a biotic factors) within its environment.

What are the levels of organization within an ecosystem?
Organism, Population, Community, Ecosystem.

why do you find different kinds of organisms in different habitats?
Every organism needs different things in an environment to be able to adapt and not every environment contains different habitats.

Food Web

Current Events Pea sized frog

By: Emily Voorhies
7A
September 22, 2010

Pea Sized Frog/ Amphibian

This species of micro hylid frogs were found in the pitcher plants in Borneo. They found them because of the frog’s distinct singing voice where they sing from twilight till morning (all night, good luck sleeping there. :) ) The reason these particular frogs swarm the pitcher plants is because they lay there eggs on the pitchers and then when the tadpoles hatch the swim and develop in the pitcher plants water.

Dr's. Indraneil Das and Alexander Haas discovered these in a search for lost amphibians because some species (Ex: the Sambas Stream Toad has not been seen since 1950's) have completely disappeared or misplaced, because this species of frogs I quote, " I saw some specimens in a museum collections that are over 1000 years old. Scientists presumably thought that they were juveniles of other species, but it turns out they are adults of this newly-discovered micro species," said Dr. Das.

These frogs are all tiny for example the adult males are all about 10.6 mm - 12.8 mm, now that’s small. To conclude things aren't always what they appear (one 100 years there babies the next there adults.)

Source:

"Tiny, New, Pea-sized Frog Is Old World's Smallest." Science Daily: News & Articles in Science, Health, Environment & Technology. 25 Aug. 2010. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. .

Animal Survival

In the movie Survival we learn't how different animals survive in the wilderness. For example; a fox will play dead to hunt its food so it plays dead then when birds gather around it, it waits and then jumps up and turns the tables (the fox eats the birds.) Of course to do this the fox has to require good senses. so while surviving a fox uses his senses.

Some other types of animals hunt and when they do this they use communication, perseverance deceit (fox) camouflage (snow owl/ stick bug) also being in packs and groups which makes them look bigger and more intimidating.

How young are born is also important in survival (3 ways of bearing young) Live - Mammal - Besides platupus or pouch - marsipial and/or egg - reptiles - also a platypus even though its not a mammal.

Click the following link to view the animal survival video that i found.

Strategies for animal survival Volume II (2)

What is a Living Thing?

A living is...

something that:

1. Excretion
2. Needs nutrients
3. grows and develops
4. has cells
5. moves
6. reproduces
7. Adaption

Some Questions I have are...
1. Whats the longest a food can go without going bad/rotting?
2. What is the largest group of a species?

My Goals

My goals for this year are:

1. Bring in all of my assignments on time.
2. To be more organized in all my classes
3. To be neater with my ISN
and i will make more goals when i have managed to complete the one's above