Snaddon: Hazardous Fungus In The Rainforest

Biological Issue. (n.d.). Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://averillbiology.blogspot.com/2011/01/redwood-trees-devastating-deforestation.html CHAPTER FOUR: ECOLOGICAL EFFECTS: THE TERRESTRIAL ENVIRONMENT. (1998). Environmental Management Handbook, 177-192.

Chapter One details the ancestry of frogs and examines the timeline of amphibians on Earth, as well as the increase in frog extinction rate. Kolbert argues that the observed extinction rates which are exceeding expected background extinction rates suggest that catastrophe is ahead for Earth. Humans are key to the extinction of Panamanian frogs due to their spreading of the Chtrid fungus, which is not native to Panama. Thus, Kolbert sees humans

Albino redwoods and fungi share similarities, while also differing in some traits. When it comes to the structure of both plants, albino redwoods have green and yellowish needles, a combination of normal and albino tissues, and male and female cones (http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/03/140319-redwood-albino-chimera-california-tree-tallest/), while fungi have vegetative tissues (hyphae and mycelium), reproductive bodies/structures and spores. Both fungi and albino redwoods do not contain chlorophyll, so they are dependent on other living organisms to provide them with nutrients. Fungi are described as either decomposers or saprotrophs, while albino redwoods are parasites. Albino redwoods act as parasites by stealing nutrients from

The display will be strategically placed near the entrance of a tropical rainforest exhibit concerning rainforest preservation and animal conservation. The display of the new discovery of H. dianae is used to trigger visitors to think seriously and be concerned about the tropical rainforest ecology, diversity, and conservation. The most important lesson is that it is crucial to save the remarkable tropical rainforest, and the present existing and future new discovered beautiful species before they become extinct.

What I found most interesting about the article was how different the Montsechia vidalii is from the flowers we know today. Although the plant does bear resemblance to some plants today, many aspects of the plant have evolved overtime. For example, the plants had genders, and did not have petals. This is sets it apart from today’s plants, and also shows how 130 million years of evolution can both do a great amount, but at the same time a small amount. Although the changes are somewhat large, such as the removal of, they are tiny in comparison to other evolutionary changes, which could have taken even longer.

Rainforest insect or invertebrate includes the scorpion, spiders beetles and more these are just some insects in the rainforest there are millions in the rainforest. The rainforest is being destroyed and theses insects like the animals are losing their homes. Insects are eating and being eaten they mostly get eaten because must have no defences to fight back.This is where the population is just all deaf traits because they die of being killed and from starving so it is decreasing because of other animals .I will be explaining how they are eating what are eaten by and how they survive in the wild rainforest. The rainforest still has wilder animals in the deep forest.

Panamanian golden frogs used to be plentiful in the town of El Valle de Anton. However, a catastrophic decline in these toxic frogs has occurred. Once researchers at El Valle amphibian conservation center noticed the disappearance in these amphibians, the remaining frogs were transported to a “frog hotel” ,where their condition and behavior could be monitored. Kolbert's stated that the National Zoological Park in Washington and a microbiologist in Maine have gathered evidence that could have been the possible answer to the frog's decline. The mortality of the Panamanian frogs could have been caused, due to a non native fungus. Chytrid fungi can weaken an amphibians immune system, thus leaving them prone to any type of disease. However the question remains how did the Chytrid fungi travel to Panama? Many presume that humans have introduced this foreign fungus that lead to the extinction of the once plentiful golden amphibians.

Fungi are related to plants, they were not discovered until microscopes were invented. Fungi are many-celled organism and absorb food from living or dead organisms. Mushrooms grow around tree stumps, molds grow on old spoiled food and damp food. Mildew grows on leather, wood,

The next topic for discussion in this paper is ecology. This will include, in order of discussion: distribution and habitats; food sources; predators and parasites; and lastly, behavior and habits.

When Carolus Linnaeus was a kid, his father kept a small garden. Linnaeus cared for this garden so much that people gave him the nickname “the little botanist”. He certainly was a botanist, but even more a biologist and a naturalist. Carolus Linnaeus created a system for organizing while thinking flexibly to find a way to help identify organisms, and he left a lasting impact in the world and illuminated it by making something used by most people around the world.

The African Grasslands are areas where the vegetation is dominated by grasses and other herbaceous (non-woody) plants. Grasslands cover nearly 50 percent of the land surface of the continent of Africa. While grasslands in general support diverse wildlife, given the lack of hiding places for predators, the African Savannah regions support a much greater diversity in wildlife than do temperate grasslands. The root systems of perennial grasses and forbs form complex mats that hold the soil in place. Mites, insect larvae and earthworms inhabit deep soil, which can reach 20 feet underground in undisturbed grasslands on the richest soils of the world. These invertebrates, along with symbiotic fungi, extend the root

The rate of deforestation is increasing and the tropical forests are falling at approximately 140,000 acres per day (Miller & Tangley 1991: xvi). The forests are crucial to the environment. They are important in minimizing erosion, providing a stable habitat for many animals, and helping to keep the environment clean. Deforestation has devastating effects, not only on the biological dependents within the depleted forests, but also on the surrounding human-populated communities.

Our method of capture was the pitfall trap (digging a hole in the ground and placing a cup) that was filled with isopropyl alcohol. The independent variables for this experiment included location (habitat 1 vs habitat 2) and sun vs shade. The way biodiversity was measured through the arthropod collection project by primarily using statistics including the sum of individual specimens, the sum of taxa, and evenness. The sum of individual specimens allows for the depiction of abundance. The sum of taxa is better known through richness or more specifically how common a certain arthropod is. Lastly, using the Burger- Parker index, evenness is the “lack of dominance” which is known as “1/Pm” (UNO Department of Biological Sciences,1999).

Puccinia psidii is a fungi, indigenous to Brazil. In 1884, it was first observed in the guava fruit and hence was named as guava rust. Later in 1934, the disease spread to Central America and Caribbean island causing a major devastation. The reason behind this spread is still unclear (Tommerup et al., 2003). This fungi is found in China, Southern and Central America, Japan, Africa and Australia (Jolanda Roux et al., 2013). It is notable that a similar type of fungi, ‘Puccinia asparagi’ causing rust entered New Zealand from Australia in 1973 (Viljanen et al., 2006).

Leaf cutter ants have an ant-fungus mutualism. The ants will nurture the fungus by feeding it leaves and protecting it from pests. If