Creosote Bush Grasshopper Essay

Pillbugs and sowbugs are terrestrial isopods that belong to the order Isopoda and the arthropod class crustacean. According to the Current Topics in Microbiology and Immunology, the terrestrial isopods have evolved from the marine forms. However despite the fact that they seek moist environments they must also avoid an overly moist environment (Journal of Insect Science, 2008). The two different species resemble one another phenotypically. However, pillbugs are a dark gray and the sow bugs are a light gray with posterior projections. Pillbugs also curl into a ball when they feel endangered and the sow bugs do not. The pill bugs used in this experiment were female. Isopods primarily live in dark, damp habitats in order to prevent dehydration (Isopod Behavior Lab). The purpose of this experiment was to determine the type of environment isopods prefer. First we tested to see if the isopods preferred a dry or moist environment and then we tested to see if they preferred the potting soil or the leaf litter environment. For the observation of isopods in response to moisture experiment it was said that each of the two different species would prefer a different environment. For part two, Observation of Isopods in response to other variables, it was hypothesized that the Isopods would prefer the potting soil or the leaf litter environment.

The isopods used for this experiment range in color from gray to brown and were about 8.5 to 18 mm in length. Each Isopod’s head had one pair of antennae and one pair of antennules, both used to detect sensory stimuli from the environment around the pillbug. Their bodies were made of a hard thorax with seven segments and an abdomen. Each pillbug had seven pairs of legs, one for each segment of its thorax. Pill bugs breathe through gill-like structures and must live in moist places.

One day, Jürgen Otto was walking in a forest and nearly stepped on a spider. The spider quickly jumped away and Jürgen had never seen a spider that looked like the spider Jürgen had almost stepped on. He looked on the Internet and in books but only found one picture in a book made in the 1970s. He had discovered the new species called the Peacock Spider. “Peacock Spiders are only about 3 millimeters long and are found only in Australia” (Jürgen Otto, 2005). Jürgen now spends over 40 hours a week studying these spiders Jürgen has found and learned to love Peacock Spiders and document their actions and interests. Jürgen has found over 10 new species of spiders for scientists.

Females lay white spherical eggs on the trunk, and produce a yellow viscous material from the ovipositor which is smoothed over into a covering, before fading to white or grey. Larvae exit the egg directly into the plant, never becoming exposed, and so are impervious to sprays. Young larvae are restricted to the cambium, circling the cane 3-4 times in a close spiral, girdling the primocane, and producing gall-like swellings. As larvae grow, they extend feeding deeper into wood and pith, and staightening the spiral and heading usually toward the distal end of the cane (tunnels may extend 15 cm below to 64 cm above the gall). Larvae reach a length of 12 mm, and have a pair of horn-like projections on the posterior end. The larvae are white and legless, with a flattened head (the family is often called flat headed borers). Larvae winter in the cane, and in March create a pupal chamber. The pupa is formed in late April. The pupal period lasts 20-40 days. When the adult leaves the pupal skin, it remains in the tunnel for about 10 days before chewing a D-shaped emergence hole. Adults feed on foliage for several days before beginning oviposition. They are most easily found on the plants on warm sunny days. There is one generation

Introduction: Terrestrial isopods, also known as pill bugs, are comprised of a variety of different species and are known for their adaptability to different environments, which have certain wavelengths of light and sufficient water and nutrients to survive (Danielson et. al. 1976). They are usually found in moist, dark areas because they are extremely vulnerable to dehydration and need a sufficient amount of water to survive (Wagler et. al. 2013).

Originating from eastern and southern United States, phylloxera lives on native American vines. Developing on mature storage roots, phylloxera disrupts their function, allowing countless secondary fungal pathogens to be introduced. Early signs of a phylloxera infestation include yellowing of leaves and stunting of growth as the leaves lose function. Symptoms will appear within three years, ultimately killing the vines between five to six years depending on the phylloxera genotype. Phylloxera is characterized by having three-jointed antennae, the third of which is the longest, and its overlapping wings resting flat on the back. It belongs to the order of Homoptera, and shares commonalities between two families of that sub-order: the plant-lice and bark-lice. Their lifecycle, from egg to adult, is gradual and complex—one species is known to progress through 21 different phases. Phylloxera adults are all female and reproduce asexually. One adult female is capable of producing 1) 200 eggs per cycle and 2) having several cycles in a lifetime.

The most prominent fossils in the Crato Formation are the insects that are preserved. One example of an insect that has been recently found is the Araripenymphes seldeni (as seen in figure 3), an extinct species of lacewing (Myskowiak et al., 2016). The taphonomic classification of A.seldini is: Nymphidae Family Neuroptera Order, and Insecta Class (Myskowiak et al., 2016). This particular species shows sexual dimorphism, a difference in characteristics beyond the sexual organs (Clarkson, 1998). In particular, differences in the wing colouration and wing lengths (Myskowiak et al.,

Mountain-pine beetles have drastically changed the environment they are living in; due to this, areas such as industry, recreation, and the ecosystem have been impacted. For the last few decades the mountain- pine beetle has become a huge problem in the Rocky Mountains, stretching all the way from New Mexico all the way to central Canada. More than 60 million acres of forest have been infected, which has resulted in about 60% of the mature pines across North America to be killed (Rosner, 2013). Every day hundreds of trees are felled in an effort to clear out the beetles and to rid the forest of the unsightly dead trees. Entire forests have been reduced into nothing more than standing grave yards that mark a once great ecosystem. Forest Service officials are struggling to come up with a solution to this epidemic but find their options limited due to legal framework, public opinion, and just options in general.

The adult females lay eggs stacked on each other which resembles a cactus spine. The larvae feed by burrowing into a pad which can kill their host plant. They have three flights in the southeastern United States which is in late March to May, July to August, and late September to mid-November. They have one host and that is the pricklypear cacti. They are native to Argentina but now found in southeastern United States. They do need some management because they need to be prevented from spreading further.

In the article “The Seasons Aren’t What They Used to Be,” David George Haskell berates that fact that climate change is evident in most forms of life around us, however, humans have refused to acknowledge the obvious signs and take necessary action. Haskell is a professor of biology on the faculty of Sewanee University in Sewanee, Tennessee. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Oxford, and a Ph.D. from Cornell University and writes about biodiversity, evolution, and conservation. Haskell education background and experience give him the credibility to speak on the effect of climate change. Haskell’s purpose is to point out the signs of the changes in season triggered by climate change and its effect on plant, animal and human

Shifts in temperature and precipitation will be a shock to fragile ecosystems which depend on specific climatic conditions. Many species will be unable to adapt as fast as their environment changes and face sharply reduced numbers or extinction. Scientists estimate that a warming of just 2 degree will put as many as 30% of the world's species at risk of extinction. Plants and animals aren’t the only ones feeling the pressure of changing ecosystems. Many regions will face severe water shortages in a warmer world, creating the potential for conflict. It is believed that the genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region is at least in part a response to water shortages resulting from global warming.

Unlike crickets and other species of grasshopper, this grasshopper lacks strong hind legs and light wings, so it didn’t flee while I was approaching; the body was majorly green and a little brownish on the belly, and I assume that is its’ camouflage color; it’s size would be larger than a regular brown grasshopper; unlike other grasshopper stayed still for a long time and suddenly escape from moving larger object, this grasshopper kept moving slowly and didn’t escape; this larger kind of grasshopper has a smaller population than the brown one in campus. Its’ big mouth had large mouthparts and they have teeth-like structures so I assume this species can consume larger or harder

One of the essential elements of life for living organisms is survival, which in most cases, requires the consumption of other organisms, and therefore is where separating living organisms into two categories: predator and prey. But with survival there comes a time where the organism must avoid death by factors of life. The influence of camouflage on the predation rate has given the organism that is preyed apound a chance to experience a longer life span. According to G.D. Ruxton in “Non-visual crypsis: a review of the empirical evidence for camouflage to senses other than vision,” organisms use the ability to camouflage to make themselves seem invisible or difficult to see to their prey. Camouflage varies from changes in the color of the body,

"We call them dumb animals, and so they are, for they cannot tell us how they feel, but they do not suffer less because they have no words” (Anna Sewell). There is undeniable evidence that animals are being affected by climate change. Even though the effects are difficult to measure, there are many different ways animals are being affected. With the loss of predator and prey species it affects the life cycles in the food chain. The earth’s climate change causes habitats such as snow, ice, or forest areas to alter, resulting in loss of habitat and food accessibility as well as causing extinction.

Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007)