Predator-Prey Simulation: Population Growth

Graph:

Analysis:

   The relationship between predators and preys in a biome serves as natural selection and help to maintain a balanced ecosystem. In this stimulation, the number of paper pieces represents the population of the specie, and the paper with different colors and different sizes represent variation in organism. The organism developed different phenotypes as its adaptation to the environment. When natural selection happens, the best adaptation will be able to remain alive and reproduce.

   According to my data, within the first five generations, large populations of white, dark green and light green rabbits survived and were able to reproduce. Since the number of preys drastically increased, the population of wolf increased rapidly too because all wolves were able to get enough food and reproduce. However, the sudden growth in wolf population caused sharp decrease and even extinction in rabbit population. As a result, extinction occured to wolves too. 

   In the following generations, natural selections are obvious. I used white paper as the environment, which represent an environment with snow. The dark green rabbits went into extinction because its color can't serve as a camouflage in a mainly white environment, and it's easier for them to be targeted by wolves. Also, bigger wolves were able to get more food, so when food is scarce and there is a starvation, wolves that survived were mainly big wolves. Therefore, big wolves and rabbits of lighter colors were able to survive because of their better adaptations and reproduce. 

BREAKING NEWS: Volcanic Eruption in Roxanian Temperate Grassland

    4:23 am April 21st, on the Roxanian Temperate Grassland, a volcanic eruption broke out. The lava produced by the eruption killed large amounts of plants and animals. Tephra spreads across the grassland, covering plants on the grassland, which prevented plants from doing photosythesis. The explosion during the eruption also caused wide-ranged fire on the Grassland. As a result, most of the plants on the Roxianian Grassland were killed. A lot of the animals that had not yet fled from the disaster breath in the tephra and volcanic gas such as sulfur dioxide released during the eruption and died from suffocating. Others died from the lack of food source since most keystone specie plants died.

    The volcanic eruption also caused the temperature on the Roxanian Temperate Grassland to increase drastically. Due to the volcanic dust blown into the atmosphere and covering the sun, it will look like night throughout the day, and temperature will eventually drop below the normal temperature. The change in the amount of sunlight and temperature will affect organisms' routine and make it even harder for the remaining organisms to survive.

     Although the biome is almost completely destroyed, it will be comparatively easier for some organisms to adapt to the new environment. For example, some plants on the temperate grassland are adapted to occasional wild fire. For some of the plants, even if the parts above ground is burnt, their roots can resprout after the fire. Some require fire to carry out their germination process. These plants were probably able to survive the fire caused by the volcanic eruption and resprout after a short time.

    Volcanoes have an effect on animals that are sometimes positive. They wipe the ecology slate clean and destroy invasive species. Lava and ash can actually improve the soil around volcanoes. These two outcomes lead to a vibrant return of native plant life after a couple of years, which eventually bring back animals as well. 

Photo Credit: Robert Tumas

Photo Credit: Jessica Ball

Work Cited List

Nelson, Ted. "How Volcanoes Effect Animals." eHow.com. Web.

Lauren, Daniella. "How Do Volcanoes Affect Pants & Animals." eHow.com. Web.

Biome Project

Biome Travel Blog: Temperate Grassland

Temperate grasslands are located north of 23.5 degrees North and south of 23.5 degrees South. The major temperate grasslands include the veldts of Africa, the pampas of South America, the steppes of Eurasia, and the plains of North America.

Temperate grasslands have hot summers and cold winters. Summer temperatures can be well over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, while winter temperatures can be as low as -40 degrees Fahrenheit. They typically have between 10 and 35 inches of precipitation a year, much of it occurring in the late spring and early summer. Snow often serves as a reservoir of moisture for the beginning of the growing season. Seasonal drought and occasional fires help maintain these grasslands. The average sunlight that falls on any particular grassland area will depend primarily on its latitude, as well as on patterns of weather such as cloud cover or precipitation, and the time of year. The Astronomical Applications Department database provides a daily and monthly table of records for a given location over an entire year. Using the tool for 2010 (the last complete year of data), the average amount of sunlight that falls on the Prairie regions of North America is about 12.1 hours, and for the steppes of Russia and the Pampas it's approximately 12.2 hours.

Temperate grasslands have dark, deep soil with very fertile topsoil. Because grasses aren't burned out in seasonal fires, the humus portion of the soil is thicker and rich with nutrients as grass dies and re-grows. The rotted roots hold the soil together and provide a food source for living plants.

The various species of grasses that grow in temperate grassland include purple needlegrass, blue grama, buffalo grass, and galleta. Flowers include asters, blazing stars, coneflowers, goldenrods, sunflowers, clovers, psoraleas, and wild indigos. The seasonal drought, occasional fires, and grazing by large mammals all prevent woody shrubs and trees from invading and becoming established. However, a few trees, such as cottonwoods, oaks, and willows grow in river valleys.

            Animals that live in temperate grasslands must adjust to dry terrain in which just 10 to 30 inches of rainfalls per year, making temperate grasslands less diverse. Temperate grasslands are characterized by short grasses measuring just a few inches in height. The grasses, upon which many animals in the grassland biome rely for food, thrives during the warm growing season, going dormant during the cold winter. The grasslands of North America used to provide millions of buffalo with important food resources, but today, few buffalo remain due to hunters killing most of them in the 1800s. Most of the surviving buffalo are protected in state and national parks, including Yellowstone National Park. Antelope and deer use the plains grasslands where they chomp on the short grasses. In Africa, gazelles, zebras and rhinoceros graze on the grass. Some of the smaller mammals include mice and jack rabbits. Skunks, weasels such as black-footed ferrets and badgers also call the grasslands home. Several species of snakes thrive in the grasslands, including the harmless garter snake and poisonous rattlesnake. Prairie dogs, ground squirrels and pocket gophers rely on burrows for safety and to raise their young. Big cats such as cheetahs and lions hunt prey in temperate grasslands. In North America, wolves, coyotes and foxes hunt for mice, rabbits and deer. These predators help keep populations of grazing animals in check so the grazers do not eat all the grass and other plants in the biome. In the Russian grasslands, polecats, members of the weasel family, make up some of the larger predators. There are also decomposers on the temperate grassland – insects like termite and dung beetle, bacteria like rhizobium. 

            In a food web, the plants are the producers that transfer sunlight, carbon dioxide and water into energy. The insects, small mammals and grass-eating animals are the primary consumers that consume plants primarily. The predators are the secondary consumers that eat the primary consumers. The decomposers help to break down dead organisms.
         Here's a link to a PREZI on the food web of temperate grassland.Click Here

            In order to survive the environment, adaptations took place. Plants in the grassland biome have adapted to annual fire events. For example, though the parts of plants that are aboveground, such as stems and leaves, are destroyed by fire, their root systems are able to resprout following the fire event. In addition, some plants produce seeds that require a fire event to begin the germination process. Animals that live in grassland ecosystems exhibit a number of different adaptations. For example, many animals that are found in grassland biomes are grazers such as pronghorn antelope. Other animals, such as prairie dogs, live in underground burrows that allow them to spend time in a cool environment rather than in the hot and windy conditions aboveground.

         There are examples of symbiosis in temperate grassland. There are three types of symbiosis: commensalism, mutualism and parasitism.

1.      Commensalism: An example of commensalism in the grasslands is when the cattle graze the grass, the insects disturb insects that live inside the grass. The cattle egrets eat the disturbed insects and they benefit from this action, but the cattle is not affected by this. Another example is when large nurse plants give protection to seedlings that are young. The young seedlings grow under the leaves, which offer protection from grazing, frost stress in the winter, and heat stress in the summer.
   
2. Mutualism: An example of mutualism in the grasslands happens between herbivores and the bacteria in their stomach. Since the grasslands is a land full of grass and is a cellulose-rich area, the bacteria inside of the herbivores help them break it down for them to use it as nutrients.
   Furthermore, the African buffalo and ox pecker also share mutualism. The ox pecker picks parasites, like ticks, off of the buffalo.
   

1. Parasitism: In the grasslands, one example of parasitism is the brown-headed cowbird and other birds in the region. The brown-headed cowbird lays its own eggs inside of nests of other birds and lets the other birds raise their birds for them. This lets the brown-headed cowbird extend their genealogy while the other bird has the burden of taking care of a bird.
Moreover, another instance of parasitism is between rattle and other grasses. Rattle lives on the roots of grasses. I t gains energy by feeding on the nutrients and water through the roots. But people declared rattle to be only hemiparasitic because this also reduces competition by allowing other grasses to grow in grasslands. Moreover, another instance of parasitism is between rattle and other grasses. Rattle lives on the roots of grasses. I t gains energy by feeding on the nutrients and water through the roots. But people declared rattle to be only hemiparasitic because this also reduces competition by allowing other grasses to grow in grasslands.

            Human have negative impacts on the temperate grassland environment. Human activities caused climate change, which causes draught and harms the grassland. People have exploited a lot of the temperate grasslands, thus destroyed the habitat of animals. The excessive hunting also diminishes the number of animals.  

Work Cited List

Berg, Susan. “What Are Grassland Biome Adaptations?” eHow. Web.

Defenders of Wildlife. “Temperate Grasslands.” Web.

Eguren, Alvaro. Prezi. Web.

Hamilton, Melissa. “Types of Soil in the Grassland Biome.” eHow.com. Web.

Nicholas, Randy. “The Average Sunlight of the Grassland Biome.” eHow.com. Web.

“Temperate Grasslands.” http://tgrobinandjohn.weebly.com/human-impacts.html.

Wagner, Nancy. USA Today. Web.

Webbers, Charles. “The Grassland Biome.” University of California Museum of Paleontology. Web.
http://zaneandjackproject.weebly.com/symbiotic-relationships.html.

Image credits:

Burton, Adam. BBC.

Fletcher, Martin. www. Californiagarden.com.

Kyle and Casey. http://2010biome.wikispaces.com/Kyle+and+Casey.

Loosemore, Sandra. J. http://www.frogsonice.com/photos/sep-fells/.

http://grasslandscience10.weebly.com/temperate-grassland.html.

http://tgrobinandjohn.weebly.com/climatograph.html.

http://www.jeinc.com/bison-buffalograss-turf.

http://www.delange.org/CottonwoodTree/CottonwoodTree.htm.

Animal Behavior Lab

Pillbugs’ Reaction to Different Environments

Abstract

            During the animal behavior lab, pillbugs’ orientation behaviors towards humidity, temperature and smell were tested. One can conclude according to the results that, during the lab, the pillbugs preferred dry environment with lower temperature and no smell.

Introduction

            The study of animal behavior is called Ethology. It studies an animal’s response to sensory input. In the study of animal behavior, one can study proximate questions or ultimate questions. A proximate question focuses on the environmental stimuli that trigger the behavior. For example, how does a bird know when to sing? An ultimate question addresses the evolutionary significance of a behavior. For instance, why does a bird sing (Emilyleck)? Before the lab, there are a few terms need to be clarified. A fixed action pattern is an instinctive behavioral sequence that is indivisible and runs to completion (Campbell). For example, a Graylag Goose will roll a displaced egg near its nest back to the others with its beak. The sight of the displaced egg triggers this behavior. If the egg is taken away, the animal continues with the behavior, pulling its head back as if an imaginary egg is still being maneuvered by the underside of its beak (Rogers). Imprinting is a process whereby a young animal follows the characteristics of his/her mother after hatching. It can be filial imprinting or following a future mating partner. For example, a young goose would follow its mother after hatching. The proximate cause may be it is hungry and need to follow its mother to find food. The ultimate cause is that all geese follow their mother after hatching because of evolutionary reasons (Biology Online). There are two types of learning: classical conditioning and operant conditioning. Classical condition occurs when a stimulus is associated with a particular response. For example, if a dog hears a bell before receiving its food all the time, then the dog will associate the bell with the arrival food. Operant conditioning is a learning process that involves shaping behaviors by using reinforcement or punishment. For example, a child will continue to eat his vegetables if it is reinforced with a treat afterwards (Brewer). Animal behavior falls into three basic categories: orientation behaviors, agonistic behaviors and mating behaviors. The purpose of this lab is to study pillbugs’ orientation behaviors. Orientation behaviors place the animal in its most favorable environment. There are two types of orientation behaviors – taxis and kinesis. In taxis, the animal intentionally moves towards or away from a stimulus, which can be humidity, smell temperature, etc. For example, a pillbug move to a place with higher humidity because it prefers humid environment. In kinesis, the animal moves randomly without reacting to a stimulus. For instance, a pillbug moves randomly between a humid environment and a dry environment.

 Hypothesis

            If a humid and a dry environment are provided for pillbugs, they will move to the humid environment. If an environment with strong smell and an environment without smell are provided for pillbugs, they will prefer the environment without smell. If an environment of lower temperature and an environment of higher temperature are provided, pillbugs prefer lower temperature.

Materials

10 pillbugs

Box with two chambers

Filter paper

Water

Ammonia

Ice pack

Stopwatch

Procedure

1.     Place a piece of filter paper in one of the chambers in the box and soak it with water. Place 10 pillbugs in the dry chamber and cover the box. Observe the pillbugs every 30s and count the numbers of pillbugs in each chamber for 7min.

2.      Clean the chambers. Place a piece of filter paper in each chamber. Soak one side with water and the other side with ammonia. Place 10 pillbugs in the chamber soaked by water and cover the box. Observe the pillbugs every 30s and count the numbers of pillbugs in each chamber for 6min.

3.     Clean the chambers. Place ice pack under one chamber and place 10 pillbugs in the chamber without ice pack. Observe the pillbugs every 30s and count the numbers of pillbugs in each chamber for 6min.

Results

Time/Mins	Number in Dry Chamber	Number in Wet Chamber
0	10	1
0.5	8	2
1.0	8	2
1.5	8	2
2.0	9	1
2.5	9	1
3.0	9	1
3.5	9	1
4.0	9	1
4.5	9	1
5.0	9	1
5.5	9	1
6.0	9	1
6.5	9	1
7.0	9	1

Time/Mins	Number in Ammonia Chamber	Number in Water Chamber
0	0	10
0.5	0	10
1.0	0	10
1.5	0	10
2.0	1	9
2.5	1	9
3.0	0	10
3.5	1	9
4.0	1	9
4.5	1	9
5.0	2	8
5.5	2	8
6.0	3	7

Time/Mins	Number in Room Temperature Chamber	Number in Cooler Temperature
0	7	3
0.5	5	5
1.0	4	6
1.5	3	7
2.0	3	7
2.5	2	8
3.0	2	8
3.5	2	8
4.0	2	8
4.5	1	9
5.0	2	8
5.5	2	8
6.0	3	7

Conclusion

            Throughout the experiments, factors like humidity, temperature and smell are independent variables. The number of bugs is a dependent variable. In the first lab, temperature and brightness are constants when humidity is changing. During the experiment, there were always more bugs in the dry chamber. As a result, it proves that the more humid the environments is, the less the pillbugs like it, and it failed to prove my hypothesis of pillbugs like humid environment. In the second lab, temperature, brightness and humidity are constants while one chamber smells (because of ammonia) and the other does not. There were more bugs in the chamber that does not smell throughout the entire experiment. Thus, it proves my hypothesis. In the third lab, brightness and humidity are constants while temperature changed. There were more bugs in the chamber with lower temperature throughout the whole experiment. Therefore, it proves my hypothesis that pillbugs prefer lower temperature. Two potential errors in this lab can be: First, seven and six minutes were not enough time for the pillbugs to react to its surroundings, so the pillbugs did not have enough time to move to the chamber they prefer. Secondly, after the second lab, the smell of ammonia might not have been completely cleaned up. As a result, the pillbugs can still smell ammonia and stayed in one chamber for that reason

Work Cited List

Biology Online. “Imprinting.” Web.

Brewer. “Classical and Operant Conditioning.” University of Massachusetts Amherst, 2011. Web.

Campbell, N. A. Biology (4th edition), Chapter 50. New York: Benjamin Cummings, 1996. Web.

Emilyleck, “Chapter 51: Study Questions ~ Behavioral Ecology.” Quizlet.com. Web.

Rogers, Philip. “Fixed Action Pattern” video. Sep. 14^th, 2009. Web.