Adaptation Of a Plant

We found these ferns when we were joyriding in the golf cart up north. I noticed that they were growing in the direction of the sun. (Click on these two pictures especially). Being in the woods, there isn't many areas that get full sunlight; they are more so patches of sun here and there. (Which is shown well by the shaded area around the patch of sun). By growing in the direction of the sun in the small area that it shines, the plant gets the most sunlight that it can from where it is. This is an adaptation of a plant; which is when a plant will change to become more suited for its environment over a period of time. I put the whole container of cookies in the picture; (bottom of picture, in the center. Container is blue..) odds are a single cookie wouldn't show up.

CAM Plant

"Crassulacean acid metabolism" (CAM) is used by plants when its living conditions don't have a lot of water. (It's a very complicated night-day routine, but long story short the stoma in the plant stays closed during the day to save the water, and opens at night to collect CO2.)
I used my wallet in place of the normal cookie, because I was at a fruit market and didn't have a cookie with me. Pineapples use CAM because they grow in tropical regions that don't get much rain.

Basidiomycete

"Basidiomycota" is a phylum within the kingdom "fungi". Mushrooms, like this one shown here, are part of this phylum. These were found in our front yard up at the lake; for some reason I've never seen them at home.

Hermaphrodite

A hermaphrodite is an organism that has both male and female reproductive organs. An earthworm is known as a simultaneous hermaphrodite.
These are the worms my sister used to go fishing, they're "neon" to attract more fish underwater.

K-Strategists vs. r-strategists

We rescued these kittens a few days ago from outside.(They're only 3/4 of a pound each. Cutest things ever, I know.) Cats are examples of K-Strategists; K-strategists reproduce to where the mother has fewer babies that require more care and attention over a long period of time. Fewer babies also allows the mother to provide maximum care to ensure that more will survive. The offspring have a longer life expectancy and larger body sizes. (Our mother was not an example of a good mother, however, the theory of K-selection is shown in the sense that she had few babies.)

On the other hand, the hundreds of any larvae shown in the pictures above show the results of an r-stragetist; where reproduction is quick with many offspring. r-strategists belong to the r-selection theory, whose organisms have characteristics such as a small body size, short generation time, and a short time until they reach maturity. The cookie is in multiple pieces in the pictures of the ants... they attacked it when I went to put it in the picture. (Oops) Click on the pictures of the any colony to truly see just how many eggs there are. It's gross.

Gymnosperm Leaf

These are the leaves of one of the pine trees in my backyard. Pine trees are known as gymnosperms because their seeds are enclosed. (See post on gymnosperm cone for full explanation)

Gymnosperm Cone

I found these pinecones on and around some pine trees in my backyard. Pine trees are gymnosperms because their seeds are stored in cones; a gymnosperm is a plant whose seeds don't come in fruits, but in cones and are not visible. Pine trees are known as "conifers"; and the seeds develop inside a protective cone like the ones shown above called a strobilus.

Adaptation of an Animal

Adaptations of animals involve physical changes that help it become more suited to its environment (as well as behavior changes) so it can survive. I found these roly polies under some garden stones in my front yard. One of them was in the middle of rolling into a ball. By doing this, a roly poly protects itself from predators.