Forest Biology What is a forest?A forest is a large area dominated by trees. a natural woodland unit consisting of all plants, animals and micro-organisms (Biotic components) in that area functioning together with all of the non-living physical (abiotic) factors of the environment. The forest ecosystem is very important. There are three major types of forests, classed according to latitude:
Latitude: the angular distance of a place north or south of the earth's equator, or of a celestial object north or south of the celestial equator, usually expressed in degrees and minutes. Longitudes: are therefore imaginary circles that intersect the North and South Poles, and the Equator. Half of a longitudinal circle is known as a Meridian. Meridians are perpendicular to every latitude. Unlike, latitudes, there is no obvious central longitude.  https://www.roughguides.com/gallery/forests-of-the-world-forest-pictures/10 Amazing Ancient Forests Around the Worldtypes of forestsTropical Rainforest:
 Temperate Deciduous Forest:
 Temperate Coniferous Forest:
 Boreal (Taiga) Forest:
 microbiology: a glimpse mushrooms are a big part of the ecosystem
phylogenetic treeThe Etymology of Phylogenetic: The term phylogenetic, or phylogeny, derives from the two ancient greek words φῦλον (phûlon), meaning "race, lineage", and γένεσις (génesis), meaning "origin, source". 
fungal life cycle
fungal spores
hyphae
 
 fungi foster an egalitarian network of RESOURCES and Data Transfer (communication) between plants of various species that keep the planet aliveProtozoa: is a single-celled organism that is a eukaryote (which are organisms whose cells contain membrane-bound organelles and nuclei). Most have flagella to move around. Protozoans:  nematodeNematodes are among the most abundant animals on Earth. They occur as parasites in animals and plants or as free-living forms in soil, fresh water, marine environments, and even such unusual places as vinegar, beer malts, and water-filled cracks deep within Earth's crust. Called roundworm: unsegmented cylindrical body, tapering at both ends  How Fungi decompose stuffIsotopes: Carbon-12, Carbon-13, and Carbon-14 are used for Carbon Dating, used to find the age of prototaxites Prototaxites: is a genus of terrestrial fossil fungi dating from the Late Silurian until the Late Devonian periods, approximately 430 to 360 million years ago more on the yew tree mentioned in the video The type of tree that scientists thought the fossils represented instead of prototaxites. One of the oldest wooden artefacts ever discovered by modern humans was made from Yew – a spearhead found in Essex dated at approximately 450,000 years of age. Top 10 Facts about the YewGeologic Periods numbers are in millions of years  plant diseaseDisease etymology: Middle English (in the sense ‘lack of ease; inconvenience’): from Old French desaise ‘lack of ease,’ from des- (expressing reversal) + aise ‘ease.’ "discomfort, inconvenience, distress, trouble," Monoculture: the cultivation of a single crop in a given area.
Pathogen: a bacterium, virus, or other microorganism that can cause disease. plant virus
 plant bacteria
Bacteria reproduce by binary fission. In this process the bacterium, which is a single cell, divides into two identical daughter cells. Binary fission begins when the DNA of the bacterium divides into two (replicates). binary fission= Bacterial reproduction Bacteria: binary fission and asexual reproduction
Bacteriophage Viruses infecting bacteria. Bacteriophage: a virus that parasitizes a bacterium by infecting it and reproducing inside it. bacteriophage replication Phage etymology: to eat plant immune systemGene for gene model modifies genetics |
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what is time?
- These changes happened over millions of years and do not defy religion, time is relative.
- We currently measure time using Cesium 133, the element most commonly chosen for atomic clocks: https://science.howstuffworks.com/atomic-clock3.htm
- Time is something that we agree on, not a mandate of the universe
SOME DEFINITIONS
- Atomic Clock - A precision clock that depends for its operation on an electrical oscillator regulated by the natural vibration frequencies of an atomic system (as a beam of cesium atoms)
- Atom - The smallest particle of an element that can exist either alone or in combination; the atom is considered to be a source of vast potential energy
- Cesium 133 - An isotope of cesium used especially in atomic clocks and one of whose atomic transitions is used as a scientific time standard
- SI Second (atomic second) - The interval of time taken to complete 9,192,631,770 oscillations of the cesium 133 atom exposed to a suitable excitation
transition from reptile to mammal
375 million years ago
monotremes
Echidnas and the platypus are the only egg-laying mammals, known as monotremes. The average lifespan of an echidna in the wild is estimated around 14–16 years.
- The female lays a single soft-shelled, leathery egg
- 22 days after mating, and deposits it directly into her pouch
- Egg weighs 1.5 to 2 grams (0.05 to 0.07 oz)[16] and is about 1.4 centimetres (0.55 in) long
- While hatching, the baby echidna opens the leather shell with a reptile-like egg tooth.
- Hatching takes place after 10 days of gestation; the young echidna, called a puggle, born larval and fetus-like,
- Sucks milk from the pores of the two milk patches (monotremes have no nipples) and remains in the pouch for 45 to 55 days
platypus
monotremes: Mammals that Lay eggs
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gondwana?
Gondwana, also called Gondwanaland, ancient supercontinent that incorporated present-day South America, Africa, Arabia, Madagascar, India, Australia, and Antarctica. It was fully assembled by Late Precambrian time, some 600 million years ago, and the first stage of its breakup began in the Early Jurassic Period, about 180 million years ago. The name Gondwanaland was coined by the Austrian geologist Eduard Suess in reference to Upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic formations in the Gondwanaregion of central India, which are similar to formations of the same age on Southern Hemisphere continents:
ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Gondwana-supercontinent
ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA:
https://www.britannica.com/place/Gondwana-supercontinent
Is Gondwana the same as Pangea?
- The reformed Gondwanan continent was not precisely the same as that which had existed before Pangaea formed; for example, most of Florida and southern Georgia and Alabama is underlain by rocks that were originally part of Gondwana, but this region stayed attached to North America when the Central Atlantic opened.
- Pangaea, Gondwanaland, Laurasia and Tethys. a large supercontinent that existed existed ~225 million years ago at the .. between the close of the Paleozoic and start of the Mesozois (at the Permo-Triassic).
- The oldest of the supercontinents is called Rodinia and was formed during Precambrian time some one billion years ago.
- Another Pangea-like supercontinent, Pannotia, was assembled 600 million years ago, at the end of the Precambrian. Present-day plate motions are bringing the continents together once again.
nothing visible is permanent,
not even the position of the continents
Continental Drift: the gradual movement of the continents across the earth's surface through geological time.
slow but constant, change is the norm
mass extinctions
The big five mass extinctions
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) extinction, was a sudden mass extinction of some three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth, approximately 66 million years ago.
- Biologists suspect we're living through the sixth major mass extinction. ...
- Late Devonian, 375 million years ago, 75% of species lost. ...
- End Permian, 251 million years ago, 96% of species lost. ...
- End Triassic, 200 million years ago, 80% of species lost. ...
- End Cretaceous, 66 million years ago, 76% of all species lost.
The Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) extinction event, also known as the Cretaceous–Tertiary (K–T) extinction, was a sudden mass extinction of some three-quarters of the plant and animal species on Earth, approximately 66 million years ago.
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Desert Animals
ornithology
--the study of birds
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songbirds
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birds of prey
eagles
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red tailed hawk
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Cooper's Hawk
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prairie falcon
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Eats mostly small birds and mammals.
turkey vulture
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Desert Salmander
Amphibians: include salamanders, toads, and frogs. One difference between the two is the structure of their outer skin. Reptiles are covered with scales, shields, or plates, and their toes have claws.
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salamander technology
- Salamanders have the ability to regrow limbs using stem cells.
- They can regrow a leg several times
- Some know bio luminescence
venomous reptile
The Gila monster is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora.
Lizards of the desert
- A yellow-bellied three-toed skink carrying embryos, visible as light orbs inside its body.
- Release live babies that hatch inside the body
- They live in the forest but are here in the desert presentation to show different types of lizards
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blue tailed skink
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horned lizards
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desert rodents
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Rabbits
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mexican wolves
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coyote
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The coyote; from Nahuatl, Coyotl, is a canine native to North America.
concepts covered this week
Taxonomy: classification, especially of organisms
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
- Parasitism between opuntia moth and prickly pear cacti
- Parasitism: A relationship between two organisms in which one organism (the parasite) benefits and the other (the host) is harmed.
- Commensalism/mutualism between roadrunner and pricklypear cactus, mutualism if poo is a good fertilizer.
- Commensalism: an association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm.
Plant reproduction:
- carpel includes an ovary (where the ovules are produced; ovules are the female reproductive cells, the eggs)
- style (a tube on top of the ovary)
- stigma (which receives the pollen during fertilization)
- Male Reproductive Organs: Stamens are the male reproductive parts of flowers.
Plant evolution:
- Scientists believe that plants evolved from green algae (protista)
- Protista: single celled organism. The animal-like protists are known as the protozoa, the plant-like protists are the algae, and the fungus-like protists are the slime molds and water molds.
- Early plants were similar to moss, needed water, could dry out, lived in water
- Did not reproduce through flowers
- Plants developed cuticle: waxy cover that prevents water loss
- Vascular tissue, tubes to transport materials, roots vs trunk
- Xylems sucks water up: water to leaves from roots
- Phloem flows food down: sugars down to roots from leaves
types of plants
- Bryophytes: seedless, non-vascular, do have cuticle, have to live in the water, can't pull water up so they have to be low to the ground
- Mosses reproduce by spores that move in water
- Ferns: seedless, have vascular tissue, can grow bigger, have cuticle, also need water
- Gymnosperms: needles to prevent water loss, have seeds, seeds don't have shells or a fruit around them for nutrients
- Angiosperms: flowers, make fruit, vascular seed plants
Also important: Moncot vs Dicot
Monocot: flowering plants whose seeds typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon.
Dicot: flowering plants whose seeds typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon.
Dicot: flowering plants whose seeds typically contain only one embryonic leaf, or cotyledon.
types of photosynthesis
- C3 plants are the most common and the most efficient at photosynthesis in cool, wet climates.
- C4 plants are most efficient at photosynthesis in hot, sunny climates.
- CAM plants are adapted to avoid water loss during photosynthesis so they are best in deserts.
- Stoma: also called a stomata, is a pore, found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that facilitates gas exchange.
Cacti are CAM plants
photosynthesis formula
Photosynthesis: the process by which green plants and some other organisms use sunlight to synthesize foods from carbon dioxide and water. Photosynthesis in plants generally involves the green pigment chlorophyll and generates oxygen as a byproduct.
photosynthesis: absorbs red and blue light and reflects green light
cycles
Nitrogen Cycle
- nitrogen fixing bacteria live with legumes
Carbon Cycle
Calvin Cycle, in plants
ATP: Adenosine triphosphate: made up of the molecule adenosine (which itself is made up of adenine and a ribose sugar) and three phosphate groups
 ATP Chemical Structure  |  The numbers and letters are the chemical formula, this is here just so you see what it looks like (not on a test) |
- Energy from ATP and from the reduced coenyzme NADPH is used to remove a phosphate group from 3PGA and reduce the resulting diphosphoglycerate (DPGA) to produce the 3-carbon sugar glyceraladehyde-3-phosphate (G3P).
- There is only 1 net carbon produced to play with for each turn.
- To create 1 surplus G3P requires 3 carbons, and therefore 3 turns of the Calvin cycle.
- To make one glucose molecule (which can be created from 2 G3P molecules) would require 6 turns of the Calvin cycle.
Water Cycle
types of research
Good to know, names of types of research:
Botany: study of plants
Entomology: study of insects
Arachnology: study of arachnids such as spiders and scorpions
Ornithology: study of birds
Herpetology: study of amphibians and reptiles
Mammalogy: study of mammals
Botany: study of plants
Entomology: study of insects
Arachnology: study of arachnids such as spiders and scorpions
Ornithology: study of birds
Herpetology: study of amphibians and reptiles
Mammalogy: study of mammals
animals
Trophic level: each of several hierarchical levels in an ecosystem, comprising organisms that share the same function in the food chain and the same nutritional relationship to the primary sources of energy.
Poison is absorbed or ingested; a poisonous animal can only deliver toxic chemicals if another animal touches or eats it. Venom, on the other hand, is always injected. Every venomous animal has a mechanism (e.g., stingers, fangs, etc.) to inject toxins directly into another animal. It is for these reasons that frogsare can be poisonous to touch or eat, while snakes are venomous when they use their fangs to bite.
cow digestion
How did that cow eat that cactus?
- Cattle are ruminants, meaning that they have a digestive system that allows use of otherwise indigestible foods by repeatedly regurgitating and re-chewing them as "cud".
- Cattle have ruminant stomachs -- stomach with four separate compartments. The compartments are called the rumen, the reticulum, the omasum and the abomasum. Each compartment has its own specialized duty in the digestive process.
- A cow briefly chews food as she eats, breaking it into smaller particles. As she chews, digestive enzymes in her saliva are mixed with the food before it passes down the esophagus into the reticulum and rumen.
phylogenetic tree
Rabbits (Lagomorphs) and rodents split
oh yeah, birds are dinosaurs
We live in the chihuahuan desert
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desert creatures web site
Taxonomy
Classification of a species is organized by:
| Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus Species | |
Taxonomy is the practice and science of classification of living things.
latin roots
THe desert food chain starts with nitrogen fixation
- Cyanobacteria, blue green algae help with nitrogen fixation, found in desert soil crusts
- Also done by legumes: beans and peas
- Nitrogen cycle includes: nitrogen fixation, ammonification, nitrification, and denitrification.
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Nitrogen fixing plants: take nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in nodules in the roots
local parks
c3, c4, cam plants
calvin cycle
- C3 plants are the most common and the most efficient at photosynthesis in cool, wet climates.
- C4 plants are most efficient at photosynthesis in hot, sunny climates.
- CAM plants are adapted to avoid water loss during photosynthesis so they are best in deserts.
- Stoma: also called a stomata, is a pore, found in the epidermis of leaves, stems, and other organs, that facilitates gas exchange.
plants communicate through a fungal network
Mycorrhizae: a fungus that grows in association with the roots of a plant in a symbiotic or mildly pathogenic relationship
Mycorrhiza: is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular host plant, although 29% are non-mycorrhizal plant species.
The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungi in the plants' rhizosphere, its root system.
Mycorrhiza: is a symbiotic association between a fungus and the roots of a vascular host plant, although 29% are non-mycorrhizal plant species.
The term mycorrhiza refers to the role of the fungi in the plants' rhizosphere, its root system.
phylogenetic maps
A phylogenetic tree or evolutionary tree is a branching diagram or "tree" showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological species or other entities—their
Phylogeny—based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.
Bacteria- a type of biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals.
Archaea- a domain of single-celled microorganisms, prokaryotes, meaning they have no cell nucleus, found inside plankton and in extreme environments like volcanic sites
Eukarya- includes eukaryotic organisms. These are organisms with cells that contain a nucleus as well as membrane-bound organelles.
Phylogeny—based upon similarities and differences in their physical or genetic characteristics.
Bacteria- a type of biological cell. They constitute a large domain of prokaryotic microorganisms. Shapes, ranging from spheres to rods and spirals.
Archaea- a domain of single-celled microorganisms, prokaryotes, meaning they have no cell nucleus, found inside plankton and in extreme environments like volcanic sites
Eukarya- includes eukaryotic organisms. These are organisms with cells that contain a nucleus as well as membrane-bound organelles.
Desert Arthropods
Etymology. The word arthropod comes from the Greek ἄρθρον árthron, "joint", and πούς pous (gen. podos), i.e. "foot" or "leg", which together mean "jointed leg".
Insects
Orthoptera: ortho- straight, ptera-wing, grasshoppers, locusts and crickets
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Hymenoptera: is a large order of insects, comprising the sawflies, wasps, bees, and ants. Over 150,000 living species of Hymenoptera have been described, in addition to over 2,000 extinct ones.
Etymology: Hymenoptera comes from the Greek words Greek words hymen meaning membrane and ptera, which means wings. This refers to their filmy, or membranous, wings.
Etymology: Hymenoptera comes from the Greek words Greek words hymen meaning membrane and ptera, which means wings. This refers to their filmy, or membranous, wings.
Lepidoptera: Members of this order include: butterflies and moths. Etymology: Lepidoptera comes from the Greek words lepido, which means scale, and ptera, which means wings.
Coleoptera: Beetles Etymology: Coleoptera comes from the Greek words koleos, which means sheath, and ptera, which means wings. This refers to the hardened forewings, which are known as elytra in beetles.
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Crustaceans
Roly Polies, pill bugs
Desert shrimp: eggs can stay dormant for 30 years
Found in ditches, ponds, pools and other ephemeral freshwater habitats in northern Mexico and parts of the southern and southwestern United States, west of the Mississippi River.
Arachnids
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9:40 sun spider, 11:30 giant desert hairy scorpion, 14:00 long nosed snake, 17:30 spadefoot toad, 18:30 rattlesnake
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hawk wasp: State insect of New Mexico
Parasitic Hawk Wasp will paralyze tarantula and lay an egg in them then drag the tarantula to a burrow where the egg(s), usually a single egg, hatch and eat the semi paralyzed tarantula
Article: Youth are standing up for the world!!
Teen Climate Activist to Crowd of Thousands: 'We Can't Save the World by Playing by the Rules Because the Rules Have to Change'
Desert Plants
desert cacti
opuntia
Opuntia: commonly called prickly pear, is a genus in the cactus family, Cactaceae. Prickly pears are also known as tuna, sabra, nopal from the Nahuatl word nōpalli for the pads, or nostle, from the Nahuatl word nōchtli for the fruit; or paddle cactus.
Nahuatl: a member of a group of peoples native to southern Mexico and Central America, including the Aztecs. Current native speakers: over 1.7 million
Varieties: divided by type of spines, flower colors, size of pads
web site on Opuntia varieties: http://eol.org/pages/37701/overview
Noticeable traits: -flat paddle-shaped stem segments called cladodes
-tiny, easily detached spines called glochids that
look soft and fuzzy but spine you up
-formidable spines in addition to the glochids
-flowers are typically yellow, sometimes pink, and rarely white
Uses: can be eaten, some animals can chew up the spines,
you can roast them, peel, or eat the red fruit
you can roast them, peel, or eat the red fruit
Who is in there? road runners nest in there
Ecology: Does not like soggy soil, naturally grows throughout North and South America from as far north as Canada, through the Caribbean, and down into Argentina.
| | Below are cactus moth babies and adult |
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Desert Trees
Desert SHrubs
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Our desert used to be more of grassland than a shrubland but cows changed that
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Amaranth
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Entire plant is edible including the tasty black seeds. Nutrients: protein, vitamins C and B6, riboflavin, thiamin, folate, pantothenic acid, magnesium, phosphorous, potassium, iron, and calcium.
Red varieties are used by Hopi communities as red dye.
Red varieties are used by Hopi communities as red dye.
Desert Gourd
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Desert flowers
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Desert cacti can be eaten in an emergency, but it is nice to let it live and thrive
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Animals of CHIHUAHUAn Desert
Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)
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more on ngss
reflecting on questions such as:
are forest fires natural and necessary?
space x
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Elon Musk's SpaceX rocket lights up California sky
we study the complexity and INTERCONNECTedness of all things
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new mexico stem ready standards
jeff bezos' money move
Amazon's minimum-wage increase for its hourly workers comes with a trade-off: no more monthly bonuses and stock awards.
Blue Origin
concept map
our class concept map
dimensions that we can study in each ecosystem
- Diseases that affect the organisms involved
- Food Web
- Genetic Flow
- Environmental Factors
- Human Impact
- Location of the ecosystem in relation to other ecosystems
wolf spiders live on the ground, do you think that the person that made this video put the wolf spiders on the web just for views on you tube?
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review on punnet squares
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environmental considerations
nitrate toxicity in meat industry
Author: Jazmin Gannon
A place to grow
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