Focus Questions

Week 1- In California where I live is is near the northern end of the Mediterranean
biome. It is also called the woodland biome. In my area I have only seen 3 relationships
which are between lizards and the plants they eat, minnows and the insects or algae it
eats, and the water skeeters being eaten by other insects and eating some spiders or
certain insects. A food chain in my area is how the algae takes in sun, minnow eats
algae and water skeeters, they die, go into the soil and nutrients flow back to the start.
Week 2- In my area there are two types of impact from humans which are shown by
some trash around, specifically plastic. The second is the footprints all around. The
limiting factors for my area is not the best soil, mostly sand and there isnt much of
sufficient food sources besides the small amounts of blackberry bushes and algae.
Week 3-In my area bacteria is important Bacteria is important in my site because it
decomposes complex material, it does nitrogen fixation which makes nitrogen for the
soil, and biomediation breaks down complex molecules that would otherwise pollute the
environment. Fungi is generally found on the ground feeding of dead plants and
animals. There roll in the natural world is to decompose dead animals and turn them
back into dirt. The fungi apparent in my area are some eukaryotes.
Week 4- In my area the invertebrates found are Gerridae, dragonfly, butterfly, and
crawdad. The Gerridae feed on other invertebrates such as spiders and its predators
are some small fish, and birds, they live normally on small bodies of water and never
usually leave from their necessity to be on water and their primary food source is the
easiest accessible from the water. The dragonfly carnivorous eats a wide variety of
insects and is preyed upon by many birds such as hawks and such as wasps, they
normally are formed in small bodies of water, but can live very far away from how good
of flyers they are.. The butterfly is fairly uneventful and gets preyed upon by some other
insects and small birds, they live all around the world, but since they are cold blooded
they need a warm environment.. The Crawdad or Crayfish eat nearly anything dead or
living, animal or plant found in their ponds, lakes or rivers and they can live here
because of their high sensitivity to pollution in water from their gills.
Week 5Plant 1=blackberry bush-angiosperms\ from the closest description to having berrys
Plant 2=stinging nettle-angiosperms(dicot)\ from the veins going outwards on grass
looking leaves
Plant 3=grass-angiosperms(monocot)\from the veins on the grass going straight only
Plant 4=algae-bryophytes\from it looking like moss

Plant 5=oak tree-gymnosperms\from cones growing in the tree

Week 6-What is the difference between dermal, vascular and ground tissue? How are they
arranged in a plant?
Dermal, vascular, and ground tissue are plant tissues. The dermis forms the outside
layer of the plant and provides protection and keeps the water inside the plant. The
vascular is the very middle plant tissue. Its job s to transport water and minerals.
The ground tissue is in between the dermal and vascular tissues. Its function is to
complete photosynthesis and store energy.
-What are the essential nutrients needed in soil? Why are each important?
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Magnesium, Calcium, Iron, Boron,
Manganese, Zinc, Molybdenum, and Copper are all necessary for plants to grow. These
nutrients all help the plant perform specific actions like photosynthesis.
- Explain different methods of pollination you see in your area. Give at least 3 examples.
In my area, I have angiosperms and gymnosperms. There are blackberry plants and
stinging nettles that are angiosperms and oak and bay trees that are gymnosperms.
The blackberry plants and the stinging nettles are both dicot. Some adaptations the
plants in your area have happened. The blackberry vines have adapted by climbing up
the trunk of the bay trees in order to receive more sunlight. In general, most of my soil
is too acidic for vegetation to grow, but a cluster of stinging nettles has taken hold and
over the weeks has grown extremely tall.