Courtship: Nature Center 5/29/11

Turtles court each other when the male massages the female with its fore claws, and female turtles usually pick a male with nice long fingernails.

Social Behavior: Zoo 5/26/11

The otter on the left is communicating by making noise, which is a type of social behavior.

Thigmotropism: Porter Creek 5/26/11

The ivy in this picture is growing up the tree truck because of thigmotropism. Thigmotropism occurs when an organism grows in response to touch or stimuli. In this case, the tree provides that stimuli, causing the ivy to grow on it.

3 Levels of Biodiversity: Zoo 5/20/11

This is a picture from the rain forest at the zoo. The rain forest is the most diverse environment found on earth. The three levels of biodiversity include genetic, species, and ecosystem. In this picture many different plant species are represented, and their genes are different as well. An ecosystem in the rain forest is much different than that of the tundra, or a desert.

Cryptic Coloration: Nature Center 5/29/11

Cryptic coloration is a type of camouflage. These stick bugs are the same color as the stems of plants in their environment. This helps them blend into their environment and hide from prey.

Water Cycle Components: Zoo 5/20/11

The water cycle consists of many different processes including evaporation and transpiration, condensation, precipitation, and collection. This is a picture of water evaporation; the water is turning into vapor and being released into the atmosphere. Condensation then occurs in the clouds where the water vapor turns back into a liquid. The water in a liquid form then will precipitate and fall back to the ground. Collection is when the water gathers together on the ground in oceans and lakes and can result from runoff.

Tertiary Consumer: Nature Center 5/29/11

This hawk is a tertiary consumer because it eats secondary consumers. Hawks can eat snakes which are secondary consumers.

Secondary Consumer: Nature Center 5/29/11

Secondary consumers eat primary consumers. This snake's diet consists of small rodents, which are primary consumers because they are herbivores.

Producer: Porter Creek 5/26/11

Producers are able to make their own food and serve as an energy source for other organisms. This plant produces sugar by carrying out photosynthesis and serves as a meal for other organisms.

Perennial Plant/ Phototrophism: Backyard 5/30/11

Perennial plants live for more than two years. These plants are dormant throughout the winter, then they grow back in the spring to continue out their life cycle. When plants grow toward the light source, it is called phototrophism. These plants are leaning out from under the roof of the house to grow toward the light.

Annual Plant: Front Yard 5/30/11

This is a picture of an annual plant. Annual plants complete their life cycle in just one year.

Shoot Apical: Backyard 5/30/11

A shoot apical is where new growth takes place in plants. For example, in this picture, new leaves are shown sprouting out from the stem.

Reproductive Barrier: Zoo 5/20/11

These two species are unable to reproduce because their genetic makeups are not compatible.

Analogous Structures: Zoo 5/20/11 & Backyard 5/30/11

Analogous structures are structured differently, but that have the same function. Bird wings and bee wings differ in structure, but they both serve the same purpose, helping the organisms fly.

Homologous Structures/ Altruistic Behavior: Zoo 5/20/11

Homologous structures are similar structures with different functions derived from evolution. The rhino and the koala's forelimbs have the same basic structure but serve different purposes. The koala uses its arms to grasp tree branches and hold its young while the rhino uses its forelimbs for walking and running. The mom koala in the photo above shows altruistic behavior, because she is going out of her way to care for her young. She feels it is her duty to take care of her young and be selfless when doing so.

Science as a Process: Zoo 5/20/11

The zoo portrays the idea of science being a process. It is the responsibility of the vets, zookeepers, and other staff to create and maintain a habitat that replicates the natural habitat of the animals, making them feel more at home.

Aggregate Fruit/ Seed Dispersed by Animals : House 5/30/11

Aggregate fruits develop from many separate carpels of one flower. Strawberry seeds are dispersed by animals because when they are consumed, its seeds are deposited elsewhere.

Branch with Alternate Budding: Backyard 5/30/11

Alternate budding is when buds form on both sides of the branch of a plant.

Monocot: Backyard 5/30/11

Monocots have leaves with a system of parallel veins.

Dicot: Backyard 5/30/11

Dicots have leaves with a system of branched veins.

Plant w/ Fibrous Root System/ Gravitrophism: Backyard 5/30/11

A fibrous root system is a mat of thin roots spredding out below the surface of the ground. The stems of this plant grow in an upward direction, while the roots grow in a downward direction, due to gravitrophism.

Example of Xylem Tissue/ Example of Phloem Tissue: Backyard 5/30/11

Xylem tissue moves water up a plant from roots to shoots while phloem transports nutrients throughout the plant in both directions.

Tuber: House 5/30/11

Potatoes are tubers because they are enlarged ends of rhizomes and are specialized for storing nutrients.

Example from the Class Actinopterygii: Nature Center 5/29/11

This fish is a member of the class Actinopterygii. The class contains ray-finned fishes that have fins that are long and flexable and are used for maneuverability and defense.

Eukaryote/ Cellular Respiration: Nature Center 5/29/11

This deer would be described as a eukaryote. Its cells have membrane enclosed organelles and its cells are differenciated in order to perform the variety of functions needed to survive. It's cells are always undergoing cellular respiration. They break down the food consumed by the deer to make useable energy.

Carbohydrate/ Lipid/ Protein: Nature Center 5/29/11

This fox's fat is made up of lipids. It's muscles rely on protein in order to keep them strong and durable. It consumes carbohydrates for useable energy.

Interdependence in Nature: Backyard 5/29/11

Some flowers depend on other factors to help them pollinate. Here, a bee is collecting pollen on its feet. When the bee stops at another flower, the pollen will be transfered, and fertilization will hopefully take place.

Structure Function: Zoo 5/20/11

The monkey's tail is structured in a way to act as a third arm in order to hang from tree limbs, or in this case ropes.

Continuity and Change/ Evolution/ Natural Selection: Zoo 5/20/11

All of these fish are from the class Actinopterygii but they all belong to a different species. All of these different species are thought to have evolved from a common ancestor but differenciated based on natural selection.

Energy Transfer/ Scavenger: Nature Center 5/29/11

The vulture would be considered a scavenger because its diet involves organisms that have already been killed. Once it eats, the food is broken down using energy to create useable energy for cells.

Regulation/ Thermal Regulation: Nature Center 5/29/11

These lizards were trying to burry themselves in the sand to regulate their body temperature by moving further away from the heat lamp, under the cool sand in their habitat.

Universal Solvent: Nature Center 5/29/11

Water (H2O) is a universal solvent. Many different substances are dissolved in water. Oxygen and other nutrients are dissolved in this pond in order to keep the organisms inhabiting it alive.  

Organisms with a Gilled Respiratory System: Nature Center 5/29/11

This fish has a gilled respiratory system. This means that gas exchange occurs at a localized extension in the body surfaces of aquatic animals.

Organism with a Closed Circulatory System/ Primary Consumer: Nature Center 5/29/11

The rabbit has a closed circulatory system because its blood is confined in blood vessels and is kept separate from the interstitial fluid. The rabbit is also a primary consumer because they eat producers such as grass and hay.

Bulk Feeder: Nature Center 5/29/11

This boa would be considered a bulk feeder because it eats prey that is relatively large compaired to its body size.

Fluid Feeder/ Organism with an open Circulatory System/ Example of an Arthropod: Backyard 5/29/11

A bee is an example of an arthropod because its body is segmented, has jointed appendages, has a segmented coelomate, and a chritinous exoskeleton. It is in the process of sucking nutrients from the flower. Because it gains nutrients by sucking fluids from other organisms, it would be labelled as a fluid feeder. The bee would also be considered an organism with an open circulatory system because it's hemolymph (equivilent of blood) is not contained in vessels, but it interacts with the organs directly.  

Suspension Feeder: Nature Center 5/29/11

This starfish sifts and consumes small particles from the water. It would be labelled as a suspension feeder.

Insect Exoskeleton: Nature Center 5/29/11

These cockroaches have a cuticle of protection and muscle attachment called an exoskeleton.

Nest: Porter Creek 5/26/11

This nest was found high up in the trees at porter creek, where a bird can lay her eggs, and where the baby birds will grow and develop until they are old enough to leave the nest.

Example of Photosynthesis/ Chlorophyll a/ Chlorophyll b: Porter Creek 5/26/11

These leaves are carrying out photosynthesis by absorbing sunlight and using its energy to make sugars and oxygen. Chlorophyll, located in chloroplasts absorb the light. Chlorophyll a is involved directly in the light reactions of photosynthesis, and it is a blue-green photosynthetic pigment. Energy is transfered to chlorophyll a by chlorophyll b, which is a yellow-green accessory photosynthetic pigment.

Science, Technology, and Society: Porter Creek 5/26/11

Wood from trees are used to make a variety of furniture types in society, including bed frames, dressers, couches, and even benches.

Simple Leaf: Porter Creek 5/26/11

A single, undivided blade is called a simple leaf.

Compound Leaf: Porter Creek 5/26/11

Compound leaves have blades that consist of multiple leaflets with no axillary buds at their bases.

Decomposer: Porter Creek 5/26/11

Fungi and prokaryotes are in the process of decomposing this fallen branch, by absorbing nutrients from it.

Substrate Feeder/ Example of an Annelid: Porter Creek 5/26/11

This earthworm in an example of an annelid. It has a cylindrical, segmented body. It moves using its hydrostatic skeleton. It is also a substrate feeder, because it lives in the soil that it eats.

Identified Animal Track: Porter Creek 5/26/11

This is a picture of a dog print at Porter Creek after a few rainy days, so the ground was nice and wet, perfect for making animal tracks!

Ectothermic Animal: Zoo 5/20/11

Fish are examples of ectotherms. Since ectotherms do not generate enough metabolic heat, they rely on energy from the environment and behavioral adaptations to regulate their body temperatures.

Endothermic Animal: Zoo 5/20/11

Lemurs are endothermic animals, and this means that their body heat is regulated by metabolism. Their body heat is usually maintained at a stable temperature.