Tropism

Tropism is reaction to stimulus by plants or lower animals to a stimulus(such as water or light) that can be achieved movement or a change in structure. This succulent plant's branches are all growing towards the direction of the sun. This response to light is called phototropism. This picture was taken in my backyard.

Endosperm

An endosperm is a specialized tissue in plants that has three sets of chromosomes and whose function is to nourish the growing seed. The kernels on the corn are embryos surrounded by endosperm. This corn cob was found in my house.

Dicot Plant with Flower and Leaf

Dicot plants are a group of flowering plants that when they germinate they have two seed leaves and their flowers parts are in sets of multiples of four or five.Also, the veins in the leaves of these plants look like networks. These flowers have five petals making them a dicot plant. They are princess flowers found in backyard.

Amniotic Egg

An amniotic egg is an egg laid by birds, reptiles, and egg-laying mammals in which the embryo is protected from the environment by a fluid sac and an outer shell. These are chicken eggs found in my refrigerator. The thin membrane under the hard shell is the amniotic sac.

Detritovore

A detritovore is an animal that eats decaying plant matter, known as detritus. Earthworms eat decaying plant matter they find in the soil. This earthworm found under a bag of soil in my garden is a detritovore.

Epithelial Tissue

Epithelial tissue is tissue that is made up of closely-packed cells in one or more layers that covers the entire body. This is a picture of my hand. My hand is covered in skin which is epithelial tissue.

Adaptation in an Animal

An adaptation is a trait that becomes commonplace in a species because it benefits the survival of organisms in that species in someway. The pouches on these pelicans are adaptations. They allow the pelicans to scoop an entire fish from the water and hold it. This picture was taken in Shelter Cove, California.

Anther and Filament of Stamen

The stamen is the male floral organ consisting of the anther and filament. The anther produces and releases pollen and the filament connects the anther to the rest of the flower. The anthers of this passion fruit flower in my garden are the green ovals surrounded by yellow and the filaments are the green cylinders attached to the anthers.

Protostome

A protostome is an organism that, in the embryonic development of the digestive system, the mouth opens first(before the anus). Animals in this group are arthropods, annelids, and mollusks. This chiton found in Shelter Cove, California is a mollusk, thereby making it a protostome.

Vascular Plant

A vascular plant is a plant that has tissues to transfer water, minerals, and the products of photosynthesis throughout the plant. The lines that you see on this houseplant are the vascular tissues, making it a vascular plant. This is a money tree plant growing in my house.

Vestigial Structures

Vestigial structures are structures in organisms that have little or no use compared to other organisms with the same structures, suggesting that said structures once had a use for those organisms ancestors. The dew claw is the fifth toe on many animals. This is a picture of my dogs paw. His dew claw is a little bit above the four toes at the base of the paw. On dogs, the dew claw has become almost useless as over time it became more practical for them to run on four toes.

Seed Dispersal

Seed dispersal is the way plants disperse their seeds away from themselves to prevent overcrowding and to spread themselves around. The most common ways seeds disperse are by wind, water, gravity, and animals. This half-eaten fig found on a fig tree in my backyard is full of sugar and calcium making it very attractive to animals(such as squirrels, birds, raccoons, and my dog). When the animal that ate it defecates, the seeds are planted and another tree can grow.

Endotherm

An endotherm is an animal that can regulate it's own body temperature and keep it constant, or a warm-blooded animal. These harbor seals, like all mammals, are warm-blooded. Their bodies automatically regulate their internal temperature regardless of the external temperature. This picture was taken on a vacation to Shelter Cove, California.

Predation

Predation is the act of one animal preying on another or others. This is a Lacewing that I found in my house. The larvae of Lacewings are fierce predators that prey on aphids. Lacewings are beneficial predators that are used for biological control instead of insecticides.

CAM Plant

A CAM plant only opens it's stoma in the night to save water and collects and stores carbon dioxide. During the day, it uses the carbon dioxide it collected during the night to preform photosynthesis. CAM plants live in dry and arid places like a desert. This cactus, found in my garden, is a CAM plant.

Genetic Variation within a Population

Genetic variation is the differences in genes within a population. Genetic variation can be shown with differences in phenotype, genotype, or both. These are heirloom tomatoes(left) and cherry tomatoes(right) grown in my garden. They both belong to the same species and can interbreed, but they have very different phenotypes.

C4 Plant

In a C4 plant, the carbon dioxide is fixed into a four-carbon compound before entering the Calvin cycle in the photosynthetic pathway. Grasses are the most common users of the C4 photosynthetic pathway. This Johnsongrass Sorghum halepense found in my backyard also utilizes the C4 pathway.

Pollinator

A pollinator is any animal that helps plants transfer the pollen from the anther of one plant to the stigma of another. A bee's body is covered with little hairs that carry pollen from one plant to another. This bee was found in my garden on a mint flower.

r-strategist

An r-strategist is an organism that is typically small, has a short life, has many offspring, has very little parental care, and lives in unstable environment. Flies do not live very long and have many children compared to much larger animals like humans. These are two flies that I found in my garden.

Asexual Reproduction

Asexual reproduction is the creation of offspring with only one parent. Meiosis does not occur and the offspring is a clone of it's parent. In this cactus found in my garden, the smaller cacti branching off the large one in the middle are it's clones, produced by asexual reproduction.

Fermentation

Fermentation is an organic process in which an organism, such as bacteria or yeast, digests carbohydrates with an end product of alcohol or acid. In yogurt, bacteria breaks down lactose  (milk sugar) into mostly lactic acid. This picture of yogurt was taken in my house just before I ate it.

Animal that has a Segmented Body

An animal with a segmented body has a body that is clearly separated into two or more segments. Spiders have bodies that are divided into two segments, the Cephalothorax(the smaller part at the front) and the Abdomen(the larger part at the back). The spider's eyes, mouth, brain, and stomach are on the Cephalothorax. The legs are also connected to this part. The Abdomen is where the spider makes the silk for it's web. This spider was found hanging from the ceiling of my living room.

Hermaphrodite

A hermaphrodite is an organism with both male and female reproductive systems. This is an Ariolimax columbianus, or banana slug, found on a family vacation to Fort Bragg, California. A banana slug, as well as all slugs, have both reproductive system. When slugs meet their mates, they both exchange sperm and lay eggs a few days later.

Lepidoptera

Lepidoptera is an order of insects which are classified by their scale-covered wings. This specimen is a moth found in my house. Moths have wings covered in scales with different colors and transparency, creating unique patterns.

Altruistic Behavior

Altruistic behavior is giving up one's own survival or reproduction for the benefit of another. The workers of Polistes dominulus, or European Paper Wasps, collect food and build nests for the benefit of the queen who lays the eggs. This nest was found on the side of my house in Los Angeles.