Monday, September 7, 2015

Batesian Mimicry


This is a picture of a snake. Snakes are an animal that utilize batesian mimicry. Some species of harmless snakes will mimic the sound of poisonous snakes. For example in Central America the Scarlet King Snake, which is non-venomous, mimics venomous Eastern Coral Snake. Batesian mimicry is a form of mimicry where the harmless species has began to imitate the harmful species' warning signals to scare away predators. 

Ectotherm



This is a picture of a baby lizard. Lizards are ectotherms, meaning they are dependent on external sources of body heat, such as sunlight or a heated rock. Ectotherms are called cold-blooded animals. They include fish, amphibians, reptiles, and invertebrates. Ectotherms are also different from endotherms in that they require less food for animals of the same size, however they cannot deal as well in cold environments.

Analogous Structures


The picture on the left is of a bird and the picture on the right is of a flying insect. The bird's wing and the insect's wing are examples of analogous structures because they have the same function, but the bird and insect are not related. Analogous structures have similar function, but differ in anatomy and origin.

Littoral Zone


This is a picture of some fish from a pet store. The fish represent the littoral zone, because they come to the shallow water to feed on algae and aquatic plants. The littoral zone is the water nearest shore, where the sunlight shines all the way through to the sediment at the bottom. This allows aquatic plants to grow and animals such as the crab to live in both a water and land environment. 

Technical Error!!


My dog ate the duck that has been in all of my pictures so far. It was hers, so I'm not surprised.
My next pictures will have a different duck in them, just so you are not confused.

C4 Plant


This is a picture of sugar. The sugar stands for sugar cane which is a C4 plant. C4 plants are different from other plants in that they are more efficient with water, but less efficient with light. This is why C4 plants grow best and make a lot of energy in hot, dry climates.

Gymnosperm Cone


This is a picture of a pine cone from my back yard. This pine cone is  a gymnosperm cone, part of the reproduction process of the pine tree. A gymnosperm cone is the gametophyte of the plant. There is a difference between female gymnosperm cones and male ones. The female cones are usually larger and lower on the tree, while the male cones are smaller and farther up in the branches. They are arranged in this way because gravity is the main pollinator of the gymnosperm. The pollen producing male cones release the pollen to fall onto the seed generating female cones where the seed is then fertilized and released.

Modified Leaf of a Plant


This is a picture of some pine needles in my backyard. The pine needles represent a modified leaf because most leaves are broad and flat, while pine needles are thin and pointy. This is because pine trees keep their leaves all year long while broad, flat leaves dry out in the winter and die. Therefore pine tree leaves have reduced in size in order for the tree to produce food even in the winter and not lose water. A modified leaf is an example of plant adaptation meant for its survival.

Cellular Respiration



This is a picture of my friend's rat. Rats cannot make their own food, therefore they must consume organic substances and use cellular respiration to breakdown the glucose. Cellular respiration is the process of oxidizing food molecules to carbon dioxide and water. It is how animals get energy because they can not preform photosynthesis. The energy released is in the form of ATP. Cellular respiration has two phases, glycolysis, the breakdown of glucose to pyruvic acid, and the oxidation of pyruvic acid to carbon dioxide and water.

Bilateral Symmetry


This is a picture of my friend's cat. The cat represents bilateral symmetry because if there was a line directly down the middle of the cat's spine both sides of the cat would be identical. Bilateral symmetry is the arrangement of an organism along a central axis, so that the organism can be divided into two equal halves. Animals that can move freely throughout their environment usually have the characteristic of bilateral symmetry.

Auxin Producing Area of a Plant


This is a picture of the bud of a sunflower plant. The bud at the top of the stem represents the auxin producing area of a plant because that is where the stem is continuing to grow from. Auxin is a hormone produced by plants that coordinates the stems growth and development. The auxin hormone is also called indoleacetic acid (IAA).

C3 Plant


This is a picture of an orange. The orange represents a C3 plant because fruit trees are C3 plants. C3 plants are the most common type of plant. Their distinguishing characteristic is that they conduct photosynthesis most efficiently in cool, wet climates.

Endotherm


This is a picture of my friend's dog, Diesel. Diesel represents an endotherm because he is a warm-blooded animal. Endotherms are organisms that control their own internal temperature. This maintenance of body temperature is independent of the environment's temperature.

Sunday, September 6, 2015

Adaptation of an Animal


This is a picture of a tree frog on my shoulder. The frog represents adaptation of an animal because frogs are spectacular creatures adapted to their environment. On e adaptation frogs is their powerful legs and webbed feet, that allow them to jump great distances and swim in water. Also frogs can breathe through their skin, allowing them to stay underwater as long as they like. Frog skin is camouflaged usually to hide from predators, and certain frogs can change the color of their skin depending on their surroundings. There are many more adaptations of the frog, but I shall not list them all. Adaptation is defined as the modification of a species, regarding their structure, function, or behavior, to make them better suitable to their environment.

Homologous Structures


This is a picture of my forearm and hand and my dog's lower leg and paw. Our limbs represent homologous structures because they both have similar bone structures. Homologous structures are similar organs or bones that appear in different animals. Theses similarities occur due to common ancestry.

Heterotrophy



This is a picture of my Airedale, Nellie. Nellie represents a heterotroph because she must consume other organisms to survive. A heterotroph is an organism that cannot synthesize its own organic compounds from inorganic material, so it must take in organic food to live.

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Detritivore


This is a picture of a mushroom. A mushroom is a detritivore because it consumes the detritus in an environment. Detritivores  are any organism that receive most of their nutrients from the detritus of an ecosystem. They can be vertebrates or invertebrates, not only plants. Detritus is waste or debris of any kind.

Lichen


This is a picture of a fallen tree in the woods behind my house. the green substance on the tree is most likely moss. The moss can represent lichen because both can be found on three trunks and are similar in appearance.  Lichen is a symbiotic relationship between certain fungi and algae or cyanobacteria. The fungi in this relationship provide inorganic food and water, while the algae or cyanobacteria provide the organic food.

Hydrophobic


This is a picture of a leaf with a drop of water on it. The surface of the leaf is hydrophobic because the water is staying in drop form. Leafs have hydrophobicity in order to redirect rainfall to the soil and root system in the case of arid environments. Hydrophobic is when a non-polar substance excludes water molecules from a solution. These substances are considered "water-fearing."

Hydrophilic


This is a picture of a drop of water on my deck railing. My deck railing is hydrophilic because the drop of water is being absorbed into the wood. Hydrophilic means having the tendency to mix or dissolve with water. A material that gets wet is hydrophilic.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

Homeostasis


This is a picture of my friend. He represents homeostasis because human bodies have the ability to regulate their inner environment. An example would be how our body temperature is always around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit even when the temperature around us ranges from 20 degrees to 105 degrees. Homeostasis is the maintenance of a normal internal environment, either in a cell of an organism. It functions by means of self-regulating mechanisms.

Glycogen


This is a picture of my friends bicep. This muscle represents glycogen because starch that is consumed is broken down into glucose in the body and is stored as glycogen in muscles. Glycogen is a storage polysaccharide in animals. It is composed of glucose molecules that are joined in a linear fashion with numerous branches.

Genetically Modified Organism (GMO)


This is a picture of cheddar cheese. Cheese represents a genetically modified organism because it is a dairy product which means it contains some additives that were produced by genetically modified microorganisms. Hard cheese, like the cheddar in the picture, contain an enzyme produced by GM microorganisms that would otherwise have to be collected from the stomach of a calf. A GMO is an organism whose genetic material has been changed, usually to enhance it, by using DNA technology.

Enzyme


This is a picture of my friends stomach. The stomach represents enzyme because gastric juices contain the enzyme pepsin to break down food in the process of digestion. An enzyme is an organic catalyst , usually a protein, that has a particular shape allowing it to increase the speed of a reaction in a cell.

Calvin Cycle


This is a picture of the flowers on my patio table. These flowers represent the Calvin Cycle because they conduct photosynthesis and the Calvin Cycle is a portion of photosynthesis. It takes place in the stroma of the chloroplasts, using the products of the light reactions to reduce CO2 to a carbohydrate. The Calvin Cycle can occur in the dark.

Animal that has a Segmented Body



This is a picture of a spider. It represents an animal that has a segmented body. Segmentation is the repetition of body units. The spider is segmented into two sections, the cephalothorax, head region, and the abdomen, the butt of the spider.