Photic Zone: Beach

The Photic Zone is the uppermost layer of the ocean or lake that is the area near the surface with enough light to support photosynthesis. In this zone, both the chemical and biological activity can be enhanced by penetrating solar radiation. This zone is about 20 meters in depth of the ocean and can be the living support and home for a variety of many different organisms and species.

Amniotic Egg: reptile eggs

An Amniotic Egg is any member of the group of vertebrates that develop an egg that will hatch into a baby instead of babies that are out in the open when being born. Reptiles produce these eggs where they normally burry them or keep them out of reach of predators who would try and eat them. After around 2 months, the eggs will hatch, and many babies wiggle out to start their life in the dangerous world.

Auxin-producing area of a plant: tomato plant

Auxins are the plant hormones or plant growth substances that act like a substance that governs the pattern of tissues developed and the position of the various cell types within a tissue. This is a picture of a tomato plant in my Grandpa’s garden. The tomato plant, along with all plants, makes its auxin in its shoot apical membrane and the auxin travels downward in the phloem. Auxin is essential for cell growth, affecting both cell division and cellular expansion.

Eukaryote: Jumper

A Eukaryote is an organism consisting of cells in which the genetic material is DNA in the form of chromosomes contained within a distinct nucleus. My pig named Jumper has his very own set of DNA that doesn’t match any other pig in the world. His also has a distant personality of showing love, which consisted of playing with the hose and nudging me onto the ground to role because he wants me to play with him.

Succession: Anteater

Succession is the order in which or the conditions under which one after another succeeds to a property, dignity, title, or throne. This mom anteater gave birth to this baby boy anteater only a month ago. The mother’s mate is among one of the highest rankings on anteaters, so this baby boy with step into his Father’s footsteps when he reaches of age. As the young grow up and take control over the new population of anteaters, they will begin to reproduce, making offspring that will start a new generation. These offspring will do the same as the ones before them have, mating and making the species grow and succeed.

Ethylene: Fruit (ripening banana)

Bananas are picked when green and artificially ripened after shipment by being gassed with ethylene. Ethylene is a gaseous organic compound with the formula C₂H_4. All plants produce ethylene, but bananas produce a higher concentration and amount of it, which causes them to ripen more quickly.

Asexual Reproduction: Starfish

Asexual Reproduction is a method of producing new young plants or animals from a single plant or animal and without separate male and female cells joining together. This can happen through fragmentation, when each fragment develops into mature, fully grown individuals that are a clone of the original organism. A sea star detaches its arm that eventually develops into an independent individual sea star. A sea-star arm can only regenerate into a whole new organism if some of the central disk of the sea star is part of the chopped off arm.

Commensalism: Clown Fish

Commensalism is the association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other derives neither benefit nor harm. A clown fish and sea anemone are an example of this. The clown fish lives among the deadly tentacles of a sea anemone. The anemone's tentacles contain nematocyst, which paralyzes the anemone's prey and protect it against predators. Oddly, the clown fish cannot be stunned. Living within the anemone's tentacles, the clown fish also gains protection from the nematocyst, as well as food from left-overs of the anemone's meals.

Littoral Zone Organism: Coral

The Littoral Zone is where the land and sea meet, between the high and low tide zones. It is rich in nutrients and oxygen and is home to a variety of organisms. The turbulence of the water is another reason that this area can be very difficult one in which to survive - the rough waves can dislodge or carry away poorly-adapted organisms. Many intertidal animals burrow into the sand (like clams), live under rocks, or attach themselves to rocks. The coral is located in the littoral zone because most corals require sunlight and grow in clear, shallow water.

Homeostasis: Crocodile

Homeostasis is the ability of the body or a cell to seek and maintain a condition of equilibrium or stability within its internal environment when dealing with external changes. Like humans, crocodiles perform homeostasis when the body regulates body temperature in an effort to maintain an internal temperature. They remain in their burrows during the day, coming out at night to hunt in the water, along the banks of the river or pool and into the forest. During the dry season (for those living in savanna areas) they may spend longer period within the burrow.

CAM plant: Pineapple

CAM is short for crassulacean acid metabolism, which are plants that go through a type of photosynthesis in which CO2 is taken up and stored during the night to allow the stomata to remain closed durning the day. This allows the plant to decreases the amount of water loss. This is a picture of a pineapple found at the store with “Stanley” the little paper man, with many CAM Pineapples.

Gravitropism: Sunflower

Gravitropism causes sunflower plants to naturally grow upward, responding to the gravitational pull. If a sunflower seedling is grown in a vertical container, then placed on its side, the plant will bend itself and continue to grow skyward. Auxin concentration is responsible for the sunflower doing this. 

Radial Symmetry: flower

Radial Symmetry is the arrangement of parts of an organism around a single main axis, so that the organism can be divided into similar halves by any plane that contains the main axis. This flower can be split and cut in multiple different angles and directions, and would still by symmetrical to the other half of the cut.

Ectotherm: Snake

An Ectotherm is an animal that is dependent on external sources of body heat. Snakes live in various habitats and include burrowing, tree-dwelling, ground lovers, freshwater and marine forms. During the winter, many snakes will burrow underground to hibernate. This allows their body temperature to stay elevated, allowing them to survive the cold winters. During the warm days, the snakes will usually be out and about, staying warm and getting as much food as possible. This Carpet Python has a heat lamp above him in his cage to keep it at a normal temperature to keep him happy and active for the guests.

Redox Reaction: birthday candles

A Redox Reaction is the transfer of electrons during the oxidation-reduction reactions involving loss of electrons in an oxidation reaction and gain of electrons in a reduction reaction between species is utilized for work that is useful. For my 16^th Birthday, we made cinnamon rolls and put the candles on top of them for me to blow out. Candles use Redox Reaction through combustion, which is the burning of animal fat light to form lamps, torches, and candles.

Niche: camp picture

A Niche is the specific area where an organisms inhabits or makes its home. At the 4-H camp in Las Posadas, there is a little creek that gives life to the surrounding plants and animals. This water is the home to many small species of fish, along with the giving of water that the birds and other animals to drink. Mammals, insects, amphibians, and birds all rely on this creek and the surrounds near it for their survival, which is why some animals would make their home near this creek to know that they can survive and thrive in the environment.

Vestigial Structures-ostriches

A Vestigial Structure is an organ that was once useful in the animal’s evolutionary past, but now has no apparent function now. The ostrich has no use of its wings, so it has adapted to a mode of life that depends on running to escape predators. It has evolved a cloven hoof consisting of only two toes, similar to that of the other animals that share its plain's existence.

Stigma & style of Carpel: up close flower

The yellow strands coming out of the middle of the flower is the pistil or the carpel. The carpel is the female reproductive organ of the flower. The stigma is the circle on top of the carpel. The stigma is sticky which helps it trap pollen. The middle part of the carpel is the style. The style is the stalk of the carpel.

R-Strategist: bunnies

R-Strategist animals are the species that reproduce early in their life span and produce large numbers of usually small and short-lived offspring in a short period. The breeding season for most rabbits lasts 9 months, with the normal gestation period of about 30 days. At the age of 6 months, the females can begin to have the babies.  The average size of the litter varies but is usually between 4 and 12 babies, with larger breeds having larger litters. This means that in one season a single female rabbit can produce as many as 800 children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Mating Behavior: Flamingos

During the breeding season that starts in spring and ends at the end of summer for flamingos, they use Wing-Salute to attract a mate. During this time, the flamingos stand up tall, spread out their wings, puff out their chest, and looks as if they are continuously saying no. By doing this, it allows the males to show off their fitness and well maintained and groomed black feathers.