Author: patrickledouxbiology

Adaptation of a Plant (Berries) – Summer Item #22

On By patrickledouxbiologyIn Uncategorized

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Dispersing ones child seeds is always a challenge for a stationary plant. One way to overcome this is to develop adaptions to hijack animal’s freedom of movement as this Huckleberry bush has done. The Huckleberry grows berries around its seeds, which are just the right size for birds to snack on. The birds then fly to another location while digesting the berries and poop out the indigestible seeds at the new site. In this way the birds and the bushes have developed a symbiotic relationship where the bushes feed the birds and the birds spread the bushes.

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Adaptation of an Animal – Summer Item #21

On By patrickledouxbiologyIn Uncategorized

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Cold environments can be a pressing challenge for any organism. Above we can see a very common adaptation to cold weather: the fur coat. This golden retriever uses his fur to trap air close to his skin, effectively creating an insulating layer between him and the outside environment and making it harder for his body heat to dissipate.

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Cellulose – Summer Item #18

On By patrickledouxbiologyIn Uncategorized

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Cellulose is the most common organic compound on earth. It is a polysaccharide made of several chains of glucose monomers. Cellulose is what builds very strong plant cell walls and makes plant fibers and stems so strong. We can see this in the thin stem shown above that is holding up dozens of leaves.

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Insect – Summer Item #15

On By patrickledouxbiologyIn Uncategorized

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Insects are a class of invertebrates within the arthopod phylum. Insects have six legs, an exoskeleton, a three part segmented body, two head antennae and very often one or two pairs of wings. Insects are extremely plentiful on earth, with over 10 quintillion individuals alive at any given time and over 925,000 species having been identified. Accordingly, insects are diverse and come in all shapes, sizes and behaviors. Above we can see several ants forming a trail near their colony.

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Lichen – Summer Item #13

On By patrickledouxbiologyIn Uncategorized

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Lichen is not moss. Neither are lichens plants or related to plants. However like plants they survive using photosynthesis. Lichen is a composite organism, consisting of algae or cynobacteria living with several fungi. The algae and fungi share a symbiotic relationship, and together a Lichen’s properties are different than its component parts. Lichens can be extremely resilient, with different species living in arctic tundra, arid deserts, on bare rock and hanging freely from tree branches. The lichen seen above is growing on a fallen stick in the grand forest. Lichens can live an extremely long time, with one example dating to be over 8000 years old, and have a very slow growth rate of usually only 1-2 mm a year.

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