Term
|
Definition
Behold-- The Pollinator!
Bombus impatiens, colloquially
The Common Eastern Bumble Bee.
An important American pollinator, spreads pollin from one flower to another while obtaining nectar from each, inadvertently fertilising the plants.
(We pulled this particular fluffy friend out of a watering can. He was drying off when this photo was taken, and I have a video of him fluffing up his fuzz to dry it. One of the best experiences this project brought me.) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Autotroph
Autotrophs use energy from the sun to activate a reaction which makes glucose, from which they can get energy. Plants (among other things) are autotrophs, and trees are plants, ipso facto.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Bilateral Symmetry
Grapevine beetle, aka Spotted June Beetle, aka
Pelidnota Punctata.
Physiologically, the right half mirrors the left half. Usually aesthetically, too, but this particular specimen's back is a little squished. I, however, am equal opportunity photographer, and think he's beautiful anyhow. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Ectotherm
Eastern Newt (subspecies red-spotted newt, terrestrial stage.)
Notophthalmus viridescens
They rely mostly on heat from their environment (sun, sunbathing), as they don't produce much to warm themselves.
Backstory, read if desired:
This guy's name was Noot. He was in some firewood and rode back up here with us from Pennsylvania. He lived with us for a week until we could bring him back, as we don't see many deer around here and we were afraid releasing him out of his natural environment would release an unchecked predator on the local deer, possibly decimating the population. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Hermaphrodite
Most snails have female and male organs for the production of offspring. They reproduce with a partner, although some hermaphrodites can undergo self-fertilisation.
No separation of genders? Good for them. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Amniotic Egg(s)
Sialia sialis
Baby Eastern Bluebirds, several weeks hatched from amniotic eggs.
Additional:
Parents don't mind your photographing their kids if you bring their daily mealworms as well. Chicklets are unusually cooperative, and not as cute as anticipated. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Seed Dispursal
Wild black raspberries are eaten by birds, which excrete the seeds unharmed, and are thereafter free to grow as they please. While inside the bird, seeds can move a great distance, which lowers competition for resources and makes the plant more prolific. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Keystone Species
Toads (this guy) and frogs occupy a key niche in the local ecosystem. They keep down bug populations, like mosquitoes (thankfully) and feed local waterbirds and snakes. If frogs and toads died off for some hypothetical reason, say, global warming, the local ecosystem would become unstable and other wildlife populations would be heavily affected because of it. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Detrivores
Millipedes, slugs, and potato bugs were all pleasantly gorging themselves on the decaying wood and raccoon faeces on this long-felled tree. To each its own, I guess.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in Different Kingdoms
Little pink wildflowers of kingdom Plantae
Little white fungi from kingdom Fungi
Little vexing housefly of kingdom Animalia
The last one is none too impressive, but he was eager to be captured in his full splendor, and I try not to disappoint. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Pollen
Contains male gametes and fertilizes female flowers. Sticks to the legs on bees and other pollinatords for transport.
Will stick to your nose if sniffed, but using your nose to pollinate flowers is not recommended. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Invasive Species
Not sure why this photo is upside-down. Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is not indigenous to the Americas. It's problematic because it clogs up wetlands, sopping up water and making it difficult for keystone critters like frogs to breed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The r-Strategist
Squash bugs of family Coreidae produce more offspring than needed for the species to continue. They grow quickly (on MY pumpkin plant!), and many don't survive to adulthood. Their high numbers help ensure that some of the offspring will reach sexual maturity and reproduce. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Variation within a Population
Natural variation exists within all species, which enables a higher probability of some members surviving when the population is exposed to a stress. Within this population of plants, there is variation of height, colour, and flower number and size. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
C4 Plant
Black-eyed susans (Rudbeckia hirta) are a sunflower. Sunflowers are C4 plants because they make 4-carbon sugars; they grow well in drier environments. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
C3 Plant
Most plants are C3 plants, and hibiscuses are one such example. The sugars they produce have 3 carbon atoms, and they grow well in wetter climates. Not very drought-resistant. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Solution
Incapable of producing glucose of their own through photosynthesis, butterflies must consume nectars from plants in order to obtain nutrients. The juice from oranges looks homogeneous, and contains sugar molecules, which are dissolved in water, making for a sweet and sticky solution I can use to expoit butterflies for pretty pictures. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
The Heterotroph
While capable of many things (including making my aunt scream), beetles cannot make their own glucose through photosynthesis. In order to obtain energy, they must eat plants and littler insects. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Tropism
Phototropism is a form of taxis, and is the directional movement of an organism towards the sun because it needs sunlight to carry out photosynthesis. Young sunflowers are phototropic, and orientate themselves to maximise the amount of sunlight absorbed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Connective Tissue
Collagen is a protein found in animal connective tissue. Once hydrolyzed, it becomes gelatin, which goes into the making of jello. Connective tissue supports and connects tissues and organs all throughout the body, which is good because I like Jell-O and I like it cost-effective. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Defensive Behaviour
Thorns serve to protect plants from being eaten. Black raspberries arm themselves as a means of defense, but are open enough so that they won't harm birds, which eat their berries and distribute ther raspberry seeds in their fecal matter. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
GMO
Genetically modified organisms have had their DNA altered by genetic manipulation or splicing, and are almost always agricultural products, which are almost always beans, such as these lovely soy beans here. They've likely been modified to be more resistant to insects and to yield bigger beans. They could potentially solve hunger crises in 3rd world countries, but pose a threat to natural organisms, as they'd out-compete them for resources if grown in the wild. This is cause for heavy debate among politicians and scientists as to its legality and ethics. (I, personally, like them. They kind of remind me of Khan from Star Trek, and he was very effective.) |
|
|
Term
| [image][image][image][image][image][image][image] |
|
Definition
Different Biomes I
(This website is giving me difficulty about importing multiple photos from different sources onto one card, so I'm dividing it up.)
Here, we have the traditional oak and maple (mostly) wood, frequented by white tails and fuzy crittters like raccoons, squirrels, chipmunks, as well as the occasional fox. (Georg is hard to see ,but he's in there,I promise.)
To your left, we have an overgrown creek. It probably could've been used for succession instead, as the drier year we've had has given rise to tall C3s and taken away most of the toads, mice, and water rodents I've associated with the place, and killed all my cat tails. In the words of a famous businessman-turned-politician: "Sad!" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
[image]Different Biomes II
Local wetlands, a project by the state government in attempt to preserve them. Waterbirds and kildeer hang out and prey on the unusually prolific population of unusually large frogs. Probably snapping turtles, too, but i didn't stick my toes in to check.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Predation
Heterotrophs sometimes prey on other heterotrophs as a food source. Praying mantises are one such creature, and lie still in wait for long periods of time to catch something, in this case a japanese beetle- an invasive species that likes to eat hibiscus, grapevines, and cherry trees, so my mother was happy to watch it eaten.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Lichen
Algae/bacteria and fungus living sybiotically. Grows mostly on tree bark, whether the tree is dead or alive, walls, roofs, soil, and bare rock. Hummingbirds use it for nesting-building. Algae/bacteria make energy for fungus via photosynthesis, fungus provides safety and structure. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Gymnosperm Leaf
Gymnosperms are plants (read: trees) with exposed seeds. Most notable example: obviously pine trees. Their leaves (read: needles) close to the cold, and are darker in colour to maximise sunlight absorbtion. More adapted tocolder environments, high altitudes. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Coevolution
Hummingbirds and certain plants have coevolved in order to benefit one another. As flowers became more tubular, hummingbirds evolved enlongated beaks, and visa versa. This enables hummingbirds (such as the ruby-throated female (without a ruby throat, as she is female)pictured here (hard to see, but she's in the passion flower just above Georg's head)) to rely largely on tube-shaped flowers for nutrition, and tube-shaped flowers rely more heavily on hummingbirds to reproduce. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Gymnosperm Seeds
Gymnosperms get their name from their exposed seeds. Pine cones are the poster child of gymnosperm seeds. They're pollinated by wind blowing pollen, and once amture, the pinecones open up and spill their seeds out, which are then wind-dispersed or bird-dispersed. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Cellular Respiration
What's that, a random plant? (goldenrod, regarded as a weed here but grown in gardens intentionally in England and Germany.) While it doesn't fit the human-centric idea of breathing, it takes in O2 and uses glucose in order to complete a reaction which produces ATP and CO2. Every living cell in this plant does it, and every living cell ever does it. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Stigma and Style of a Carpel
Together, they make the pistil of the flower. The style is a long, tube-like thing that pollen has to go through to get to the ovary. the stigma sits on top of the style with little fuzzies to grab pollen and make it adhere.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Anther Filiment of a Stamen
Anthers make the pollen- they are the testes of the plant. A thin sticking filiment supports them upright. Together they comprise the stamen. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Dominant vs Recessive Alleles
'Tall' is a well-known dominant allele over 'short,' evidenced by the coneflowers. Some have recieved conflicting alleles, a different one from each parent,in which case a dominant allele is presented over the recessive one even though they are both equally represented genetically. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Herbicide
Chemicals used to destroy weeds or unwanted plants. (I know you probably wanted a can of Round-up, but even if this example is stretching it, it's way cooler.) Walnut trees, including black walnut trees, as the one shown here, are allelopathic. They emit chemicals that inhibit the growth of nearby plants and prevents seeds in the area from taking root. This limits competition for resources without harming the walnut tree itself. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Dicot
Has 2 initaial "cotyledons," those little initial leaves that unfold shortly after germination. Dicots typically have petals in fours and fives, have vascular bundle rings in the stem, roots which branch out from a main line, and can have second growths.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Monocots
One cotyledon. Flower petals in threes, random vascual bundles in stem, roots spread out without branching from a main line, don't grow secondary growth (therefore have comparatively less thick bark and roots). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Parasite
Ladybugs are the host of the infamous Dinocampus coccinellae, which lays a single egg on a ladybug's underbelly, which hatches. The ladybug is infected with a virus, and continues to eat in order to feed the growing larvae in a so-called "zombie-like" manner. The ladybug is paralysed before the larvae comes out. 75% of ladybugs don't survive the ordeal. The waspy ladybug-killers are can be found in New York occasionally in August. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in Different Plant Divisions One of 3 (because of how this website is coping with my importedd images; I'dmuch prefer to have them all on one card, but c'est la vie.)
There are 12 plant divisions, including gynkgophyta, which has only one living member, the ginko tree. Bryophita are mosses, and aren't vascular (don't have stems/trunks, aka "plant tissues xyle and pholem that transport water and nutrients), though they are naturally antimicrobial, which is why we had to do all those questions about the possible destruction of invaluable mosses in the Amazon for Living environment. It all makes sense now. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in different plant orders 2/3
(Coniferophyta)/Pinophyta (read: just conifers, nothing scary) are a vascular, seeded (cones) order, and are pretty much just gymnosperms. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in different plant divisions 3/3
Anthophyta is the only division with flowering plants. They're vascular, have seeds, and sometimes even fruits. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Ethylene
A hydrocarbon (C2H4) found in gases and oils humans use for fuel, and given off by fruit as it ripens. Nonpolar, hydrophobic, gaseous, organic. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Littoral zone organism
Frogs live in the shallower waters and on the muddy edge around the lake (or pond) where they live. They prefer the shallower water area because they are amphibious and live partly out of it, as well as because the water is warmer and the proximity to the surface enables more light to pass through to underwater plants, making for dense underwater foliage. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Endotherm
Squirrels are, as you'll remember from primary school, "warm-blooded," aka endothermic, aka their body is capable of producing heat to keep them at homeostasis, they needn't rely on their environment to keep them warm enough to survive. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in the same genus but different species 1/3
Black Maple, aka Acer nigrum. Very similar to sugar maple, and considered a subspecies of it by some. Identifyable by diffference in bark, slight difference in leaf and seed size and shape, and number of flowers in a nodule of them. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in the Same Genus, but different species 2/3
Silver maple, Acer saccharinium, grows relatively fast when compared with the slow-growing sugar and red maples. Identifyable by slender leaf shape, pronounced pattern of those little cappilaries on the leaf, its white underside, and its propensity for feeding and housing the squirrels my mother hates so much.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Organisms in the Same Genus, but different species 3/3
Crimson king maple/Norway Maple, Acer platanoides, identified easily by its dark maroon leaves and white sap. It's an invasive species in North America, and its shallow roots starve nearby plants of nutrients.
that's 50; I'm done. (: |
|
|
