Population: Ecology

This picture was taken at the Arnold Arboretum. Here is a large plot of land where many different shrubs and trees grow for display. All of these plants in one area are their own population. A population consists of organisms that can successfully reproduce with enough mates, food, and shelter. The barriers that this population has to prove it lives in its own environment a part from the city where a population of people live, are the streets. Once one leaves the premises of plots of land with trees and goes out into the street, there is a new population - filled with cars. Each population lives in a certain environment that has its own carrying capacity. I don't know if the arboretum is at its peak of trees, under, or just right, but there is a certain amount of trees this environment can sustain until the population has "overflowed". The arboretum also displays a variety of plants that demonstrate that it could be in Hardy Weinberg equilibrium. It is a large population, with random mating, and mutation. But I don't think this population is in equilibrium because there is no genetic drift or gene flow.

Where does Identity come from? Scientific Article Reflection

The Article I chose is called: "Where Does Identity Come From?" This article is about your genes and if they truly regulate who you are. The author of this article writes about an experiment someone conducted with mice. In the experiment, about 40 interbred mice were in an enriched environment for 3 months. The environment had connecting tubes, tiers, and nesting sites. The purpose for such accommodations for the mice was to test how much their experiences influenced their true identity. For instance, they placed 20 wires on these mice to check their every move and location. Roaming entropy was calculated, which is how much one "explores". Someone who goes from work straight home has a low entropy and one who can be anywhere at any time has a high roaming entropy. The amount that they explored proved that the more exploratory mice showed proliferation in their neuron cells. This proved to the scientists and author that identity has to do with ones behavior. Although the experiment is not entirely accurate due to the fact that the mice were very closely related and taking into account epigenetic changes, makes the experiment all the more intriguing to find out more answers. This article connects to Genetics, what we learned in class was that each of our parents combined chromosomes would make who we are. Not only our parents but the choices and diets of their ancestors could also determine our fate. I chose this article because I thought it would go in depth about the content we learned in class about protein synthesis and the correlation between each of our parents. After reading it I realized that I may not be so much of a unique person. My roaming entropy is probably medium. I function better on a strict routine where I must do and be somewhere at a certain time so that I don't get lazy. I am also in favor of wandering. Routine also tends to bore me and I enjoy trying new things and going new places.

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=where-does-identity-come-from&page=2

Exoskeleton: Anatomy and Physiology

In the far right corner is an ant. This little guy is as hard as rock, so if you were to step on him you would hear a crunch. This is due to his structure, ants have their skeleton on the outside, hence exo. This outer cover protects their body which an an evolutionary advantage because they are so small and vulnerable to danger. Having an exoskeleton means they are an invertebrate thereforethey don't   have lungs and organs. Ants oxygen transports through their exoskeleton through spiracles.

ATP: Cells

This is a picture of the sun :) The sun is the greatest form of energy for living organisms on earth. The sun gives of heat energy which is a form of ATP. Plants convert this energy for photosynthesis, the light is used to produce food for itself. The heat of the sun is what allows plants to grow because they are able to create their own source of energy. The sun is also essential in giving its energy to water and the ocean. There are many sea critters that live in shallow waters that need the suns heat energy to live in warm waters.

Hydrophobic: Cells

This is a picture of oil and water. In this picture you could see that when mixed the two substances do not become homogenous. This is because oil is a hydrophobic substance, this means that it is made of large molecules that repel water. Cells have membranes that are made of phospholipids. One part is hydrophilic and one is hydrophobic, not all substances can enter the membrane because the hydrophobic part. Therefore protein channels are used to allow entry.

Heterotroph: Ecology

This is a picture of my pet turtle, Carlisle. Here he is eating his daily meal: lettuce. Carlisle fortunately has a nice owner who feeds him everyday. This means that he depends on me to feed him and he is a heterotroph. As a heterotroph, Carlisle is a consumer that does not make his own food. In a natural environment, he would not be categorized with plants, whom produce their own food. He contributes to diversity in a population.

Genetic variation in a population: Genetics

This a picture of a garden of flowers and plants. Within this garden the plants are not homogenous, they each have their own unique genetic make up. Independent and unique genes contributes to their phenotype and why they all look different. The DNA of these organisms account for the variation in the population. Although flowers reproduce asexually resulting in identical offspring, this population does not only consist of the parent and offspring- many other types are present.