Polymers and Monomers Video

Ecological Institutions

Monterey Bay Aquarium:
Level of Organization: Marine Biology/Ecosystems
Location: Monterey, CA
Methods of study: diving, submarines, adventures
http://www.montereybayaquarium.org

Happy Hollow Zoo & Park:
Level of Organization: Zoology
Location: San Jose, CA
Methods of study: taming, animal doctors (vets), trainers, animal studies (ex: eating habits, living conditions)
http://www.hhpz.org

Aquarium of the Bay/San Fransisco's Bay Aquarium:
Level of Organization: Marine Biology
Location: San Fransisco, California
Methods of study: diving, adventures
http://www.aquariumofthebay.org/

Polymer and Monomer Mini-Video

Mako's Video

Monomer & Polymer Mini-Video

Queen of the Sun: What Are the Bees Telling Us?

Adrian Mendez

Mr. Bursch

Honors Biology Period 5

27 October 2013

Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?

Bees are considered as sacred organisms by many humans because they give many natural “gifts” such as honey. They also aid in the farming of crops and thus helping humans survive. However, many bees have started to disappear. There are many reasons or theories for their disappearances but it is most likely a collection of all the reasons in a process called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Although the number of disappearing bees is quite drastic, many humans do not seem to notice them disappearing. If humans do not “wake up” to the plight of the bees, then the world could face a greater dilemma. Ways humans can change their  is by beekeeping or helping the bees and by connecting more with nature.

Beekeeping or helping bees can stop the disappearing of the bees because they can survive in their keeping crates and produce honeycombs. Having honey produced can help beekeepers gain a great profit and the bees are not harmed in the process so it is a “win-win” situation. Also, when it is time for most plants to be pollinated, beekeepers can have their bees pollinate them to later collect. Bees are very important with the farming and harvesting of many plants as well as the survival of many organisms. Other organisms rely on bees whether they are plants or animals.

In order for humans to be more connected with nature, they will have to re-adopt customs from

earlier times or be more nature friendly. Since a reason for the CCD is malnutrition, so giving the bees better food can help. Also, being nature friendly would mean that beekeepers should use more natural supplies that are less harmful to the bees. Many bees die off because of antibiotics given to them by their keepers. Bees should also be kept in their area because the long-distance transportation of bees is also a major factor that leads to CCD.

Although many people have already begun to act upon the stopping of CCD, many others should be informed on what is happening and what they can do to help. Some ways humans can help are by polluting less, consume less, and treating bees more naturally by not spraying antibiotics that end up killing them. If this goes too out of hand, humans will be affected dramatically. People will start losing their jobs that involve bees and biodiversity will decrease in our biosphere. If biodiversity decreases, then humans and other organisms will have a difficult time adjusting to the change and learning how to survive.

In conclusion, the Colony Collapse Disorder causes many bees to disappear. Although there are many theories as to what causes CCD, humans are a major cause. To stop this collapse in biodiversity, humans should take accountable what they do in their everyday life and think if it will negatively affect the world around them and to stop a greater issue from coming out of it. Therefor, if humans do not “wake up” and stop this collapse, then the impact will be greater than the current situation.

Works Cited

Colony Collapse Disorder. Wikipedia. 28 November 2013. Web.
How Can You Help the Bees. PBS. 30 Novemeber 2013. Web.
The Plight of the Honeybee. National Geographic. 30 November 2013. Web.
Queen of the Sun. Dir. Taggart, Siegel. 29 November 2013. 2010. DVD.

Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?

Chloe Stothers

Bursch

Biology

2 December 2013

Queen of the Sun: What are the Bees Telling Us?

The bee population is plummeting as a cause of recent human activities.  However, most humans are not aware of this problem or do not seem to think it is very serious.  Bees provide us with many necessary and beneficial materials that have made bees highly regarded for a long time.  These materials may disappear if humans do not start addressing the problem.  Some major factors that might make people “wake up” are the loss of our main food supply and unemployment of hundreds of people.

Decrease of food choices may make people notice the importance of saving the bees.  With the disappearing of bees less and less plants are being pollinated.  If this continues plants will not receive the necessary materials to produce new seeds and fruits.  Plants will slowly start dying off taking with them the majority of our diet.  No flowering plants means very few consumers.  So bee extinction would take away our most of our plant foods and our meat.  Without the proper nutrition humans would also face a downfall that would wipe out virtually all life on earth.

Hundreds of people being unemployed may also make people realize the significance of saving the bees.  Beekeepers would lose their source of income and enjoyment.  Factory workers

for honey and beeswax companies would also face unemployment.  However, not only will it affect the products made directly from the bees.  It would also affect the workers that pick the fruits, vegetables, seeds, and other plants as well as the people who raise livestock and hunt for a living and income.  Even gardeners and botanists would lose business.  Without bees our world would fall into poverty.

However, there may be other reasons that would cause people to recognize the severity of the downfall of the bees.  These may include a fall in the economy after food availability decreases and jobs are lost. Or even loss of biodiversity may alert some people as plant and animal types are lost due to no pollination.

It is amazing how influential these little insects are in our world and lives throughout all of history.  Without these small bugs that people take for granted our whole earth would be in ruins.  In order to save our posterity we must start taking action in saving the bees now.  It may just take loss of food, loss of money, and the end of humanity for people to “wake up” and realize that.  Hopefully we will not lose too much before humans notice the harm done to our future and the future of the earth.

Plight of the Honey Bees Essay

Mako Goldston

Mr. Bursch

Honors Biology, p. 5

29 November 2013

Plight of the Honey Bees

Over the past few years, the population of bees have been declining drastically. Beekeepers in the United States first noticed the bees disappearing in 2006, and over 3 million colonies of bees have died in the US since then  Scientists believe that the bees were abandoning their homes for many reasons, such as pesticides making them sick and having a low food supply.  Scientists call this the Colony Collapse Disorder.  According to nrdc.org, scientists “estimate that nearly one-third of all honey bee colonies in the country have vanished.”  Although bees are responsible for pollinating a lot of the fruits and vegetables we eat daily, such as apples, apricots, almonds, cucumbers, and onions, people do not realize the importance of what would happen if the whole honey bee colony were to die out.  It is said that the United States could lose $15 million worth of crops without bees.  I believe that raising the price of honey and fruits and vegetables pollinated by honey bees, and publishing a lot of articles in magazines and newspapers to raise awareness of the decreasing bee population will make a critical mass of people  “wake up” to the plight of the bees and might make people do something about it.  

Firstly, I believe that raising the price of honey and the fruits and vegetables pollinated by bees would cause people to note the importance of bees disappearing.  Although most people do not know it, honeybees, along with other pollinators, are “responsible in one way or another for the pollination of approximately 100 crops” (foxnews.com). Without pollinators like honey bees, the country would no doubt face shortages of the crops that need pollination after a while.  I think that if the prices of some of these crops are raised, people would complain and protest, and would question why the prices are being raised.  This would make people become aware of the importance and severity of bees disappearing and how we, in theory, cannot survive without them.  Furthermore, if the plight of the honeybees is known enough, we could raise money which could go to research foundations or beekeepers to try to keep population of bees steady, so that they won’t be endangered anymore.

In addition, I think that posting articles on magazines and newspapers about the plight of bees could raise awareness for bees.  Since magazines and newspapers are read by many people daily, an article about bees here and there would not hurt, and people could be shown how crucial bees are to us and the environment.  According to ccpollen.com, “Without [bees], the development of life on earth...would have been much different and the conditions for human development may not have existed.”  This means that humans might have not evolved if honey bees did not exist.  I think that if information like this is emphasized in articles, then people will begin to think about what they can do to prevent more bees from dying.  Also, if the main ideas of the problem are addressed in the article, then people will at least be informed about this issue and hopefully will raise awareness to it.

Some people may say that the plight of the honey bees cannot be helped and that it is not something that can be reversed.  Others may not care about if bees are dying, unknowing of how crucial they are to humans.  However, I believe that if those people read an article about bees in a newspaper or magazine article, they would find that bees are essential to humans, and about how they are disappearing largely.  Also, if they choose to ignore this big issue, they may be the people who are questioning why the fruits and vegetable prices are going up, and will be informed in that way about the honey bees and their decreasing numbers.   Although it may be hard to stop the population of bees from dropping completely, small things can be done to help restore all of the bees, and small things add up.  In this way, raising the prices of food pollinated by bees and writing articles about bees in newspapers and magazines can cause people to “wake up” to the plight of the bees and realize the severity of the problem in time, which is that if bees were to disappear completely, we would be facing a loss of $15 million worth of crops.

In conclusion, many people are not aware of the issue of honey bees going extinct.  In order to make people realize that this is a big problem, prices of the fruits and vegetables pollinated by bees should go up, and articles should be published in newspapers and magazines to “wake up” a critical mass of people.  If the honey bees were to go extinct and we do not realize in time, we could be facing a loss $15 million worth of crops, and food shortages after a while.  Therefore, people need to understand the issue of honey bees and raise awareness for them, so that something can be done to stop the bees from dying.

Sources

• http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/animals/bees.asp
• http://animal.discovery.com/endangered-species/diminishing-bee-populations.htm
• http://www.ars.usda.gov/News/docs.htm?docid=15572
• http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2012/07/19/crops-that-would-disappear-without-bees/
• http://www.ccpollen.com/the-importance-of-bees.html
• http://theextinctionprotocol.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/are-honey-bees-headed-towards-extinction/

Comment to Mathew Coleman

Presentation: Wise Use of Our Resources: Fossil Fuels

Location: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1OmF4GxgJFNUEGbTGohYbONONilViTfW_gXPTrYWGbro/edit#slide=id.p

Creator: Matthew Coleman

My Response:

I found your presentation to be rather intriguing learning new ideals such as statistics and facts about fossil fuels. I felt that the images fit perfectly with the topic at hand and some were quite amusing. Overall you did well laying out the presentation but i felt that there was little explanation as to what a greenhouse gas was and what it causes. Other than that, your presentation was great.

Wise Use of Our Resources Response

Presentation: Wise Use of Our Resources: Deforestation

Location: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ywakTJN2pdLuiIEe7PPYVbsHkEvuMMzYNZuM
i3DMHqk/edit#slide=id.g17874782c_044

Creator: Mako Goldston

My Response:
The picture of the destroyed lungs of the earth really stood out to me.  People don't really seem to be very interested in the future of our world as they continue to cut down our sources of oxygen and destroy our future.  Your presentation connects to mine in virtually all aspects as we explored the same topic.  What do you mean by ypur possible solutions?  They weren't explained very well and cause some questions to arise.  This student has included a specific list of the sources from which she got her information.

Wise Use of Our Resources: Global Warming

Presentation: Wise Use of Our Resources: Global Warming

Location: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1dGPIyuz5eQvIc5w_ylwjF-e44WOmf5Hn3Al6GelUurI/edit#slide=id.p

Creator: Morgan Tong

My Response:
Your topic about global warming made me think about what we can do to stop it. By looking at your pictures of things caused by global warming, like deforestation, melting icebergs, and more, I can tell that global warming is a big issue. Your topic ties in with mine, deforestation, because deforestation contributes to climate disruption the Earth. A question I have is how does global cause natural disasters to become more frequent? Overall, your presentation made me aware of how global warming is affecting the environment negatively.

Wise Use of Our Resources: Deforestation Response

Presentation: Wise Use of Our Resources: Deforestation

Location:https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/125MoKy2M1qdfTaetLqenUVfDHuygAuuhiadZrAWCVvY/edit#slide=id.p

Creator: Chloe Stothers

My Response:
The first thing that caught my eye in your presentation was all of the cut down trees in a pile. It's hard to believe that so many trees are cut down just for farming or expansion. I liked how your presentation had lots of pictures of deforestation, especially the picture with "the lungs of earth", because it really shows how deforestation is not good for the environment in many ways. Like my presentation, yours stresses the problem of how deforestation is affecting animals greatly. You could have elaborated more on the causes of deforestation, so we can begin to brainstorm ideas to put an end to deforestation. Overall, your presentation can make one think about what we can do about deforestation and how we can stop it.

Wise Use of Our Resources Presentation

Wise Use of Our Resources: Deforestation

Deforestation Presentation

Deforestation Presentation

Pollution Presentation

Wise Use of Our Resources: Pollution

Plant Status Update #5

     Our plants are still very healthy and growing well. We saw white flowers on our beans and these flowers are what will help our plants reproduce. Our beans could increase their numbers as pollinators, such as bees, come around and pollinate the flowers and ultimately fertilizing them. The flowers then grow into beans and the bean life cycle starts again with another bean plant. However, beans that do not survive and fall into the soil can be used to grow more bean plants.
     There are many factors that would limit the number of beans that can grow in each garden box. Some include soil texture, pollinators, space, and the amount of supplied water. If there are too many beans in one area, then they will not have the necessities viable for them to survive. Therefore, I believe the carrying capacity of one garden box for Phaseolus vulgaris is about one hundred seventy-five plants. I believe there is room for this amount of plants but there would be a lack of resources which would make the amount of plants to about two hundred.

Plant Update 5

     Our plants are bright and healthy.  They are continuing to grow bigger each day.  We recently started seeing little white flowers on our beans.  These flowers are what will help our plants reproduce. Our beans could increase their numbers as bees come around and help fertilize the flowers by spreading the pollen.  The flowers would then grow into the actual beans.  As the beans sit there for a while they dry out and fall off the plant, if not picked, dropping into the soil to grow up next year increasing the bean plant numbers.
     There are many factors that would limit the number of beans that can grow in each garden box though.  These factors may include soil availability, water availability, space availability, and bee population for fertilization.  If there are too many beans in a enclosed areas they will not have enogh soil to stabilize in and will not be able to collect as much sunlight for photosynthesis making it hard for them to survive.  On that note, I believe the carrying capacity of one garden box for Phaseolus vulgaris is three hundred and twenty-five plants.  I believe there is room for this many if not more.  However, I believe the main limitation would be lack of resources causing the carrying capacity to be somewhere around three hundred and twenty-five.

Plant Update #5

New anatomical structures on our plants include small white flowers and more leaves.  I think that the small flowers will perform photosynthesis, which will provide our plants with more energy.  Our plants can increase their numbers by getting more water and reproducing seeds, which would lead to more of our plants growing.  Some factors that limit the number of bean plants that could grow in each garden box are other plants and weeds competing for water and energy from the sun, and organisms living within the garden. Some of the organisms living in the garden are eating the leaves of our plants.  I think that the carrying capacity in one garden box for Phaseolus vulgaris is 50 plants.  I think this because there are also other weeds and plants growing in the garden, and there is probably no room for any more than 50 phaseolus vulgaris plants.

Plant Update #4

Some abiotic factors (non-living factors) that our bean plants depend on are water, soil, temperature, and sunlight.  Some biotic factors (living factors) are insects and birds. Competition is when organisms use the same limited resources or nutrients.  Our plant is competing with other plants around it for sunlight. We can infer that the plant that is the tallest-growing is getting the most sunlight.
Sometimes, "winners" and "losers"are determined by what organism has the longest life-span.  Other times, it depends on which organism is healthier, and it doesn't necessarily depend on which lives the longest.  There is not always a clear cut "winner" and "loser" to this struggle.  Sometimes, the plants get equal amounts of water and sunlight, and there is no conflict between unequal distribution.
Other types of interaction I saw was the predation. Predation is when one organism eats another.  Parasitism is when one organism depends or lives in another organism, and the organism is harmed.  An example of predation and parasitism is on our seed plant is the insects living on it.  Little by little, the insects are eating the leaves of our bean plant, which is harming it, and the bean plant is also not benefitted in any way.
There is a lot of evidence that shows that succession is occurring in the garden ecosystem.  When we first planted our seed in the garden, there was nothing but dirt and soil.  Now, our plants are there as well as other grasses and plants, such a buckwheat.  This shows that succession has occurred.  Primary succession begins at a place without any soil.  Secondary succession begins at a place that already has soil and was once home to another organism.  In this particular situation, I believe that it is secondary succession, because there was already soil and other organisms living in the garden.

Plant Update 4

     Our beans depend on abiotic factors like water availability, soil fertilization, and temperature for its survival. More abiotic factors are amount of sunlight and geographical features. Competition, for example other plants growing around them, and predators, for example birds and insects are biotic factors that affect our plants. Competition is when two or more species in an ecosystem need to use the same resource at the same place and time.
     Our plants are engaged in competition for sunlight and water. We can tell this because the are growing in the direction of the sun. The competition is the other plants that have grown up around our bean plants. They also compete for water by reaching their roots down as far as they can.
     "Winners" and "losers" are partially determined by what plants live and what plants die. Sometimes it is hard to tell  who the "winner" or "loser" is. Not being able to see the roots and tell how much water different plants are getting makes it difficult to determine who "wins" or "loses" the struggle.
     Our plants are involved with preditation as well. Our beans are attacked by predators, while they "prey" on sunlight. Predators are organisms that kill and eat other organisms for food. Prey are the organisms being eaten. The plants are also involved in symbiosis. Specifically they are involved in mutualism, in which two organisms use each other and both benefit. The plants provide nectar for bees and in return the bees fertilize our plant's flowers.
     When we first ventured into the garden there were no plants growing in the beds we planted our beans in. There was chopped down plants suggesting that there had been plants there before. This would mean that something like secondary succession occured as our beans grew and other plants grew up around them.

Plant Status Update #4

Some abiotic factors that our plants depends on are the temperature and soil quality. The temperature affects our plants because if it is too cold then our plant would struggle to grow. The soil quality also affects our plants because if the soil is not fertile, then our plants would not grow. My plants are competing against the other plants around it for sunlight and water. I know they are competing because they all get the same amount of water and sunlight but some plants take the resources away from each other which causes competition. Sometimes winners and losers are not apparent because the plants seem to be growing normally. Our plants are involved in commonalism because insects feed off of them. This might harm the plant a bit and seem like parasitism but they might also benefit from the insects being there. Secondary succession is shown in the garden because the left over plants in the soil gives a way for life to begin.

Plant Status Update #2

Our beans are showing progress. They have made lots of growth even with competition around them. The plants getting sun energy through photosynthesis and is then passed over to the consumer when eaten. Our beans are producers and would be the bottom of an ecological pyramid diagram. I would place them at the bottom because other organisms eat them but they do not eat other organisms.

Plant Status Update #3

     Our beans are still developing very well. They have flowers blooming which means new beans will be made. Our plants take water from the soil through their roots and send it throughout the plant. The plants saves up the water and uses it for transpiration where water vapor is released into the atmosphere. Our plants look healthy because of the water they stored and the result of transpiration keeping it cool to prevent it from getting to hot. Our plants take carbon from the air and begin photosynthesis. The plants are consumed by organisms who use the carbon in their bodies to help them survive. Decomposers make deposition in the in the soil and get carbon from fossils or fossil fuels that remain in the earth. Our plants also look healthy of the carbon cycle. This takes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and puts it through photosynthesis which gives the plants their lively green color and help them maintain their health. Our plants also play a role in the nitrogen cycle because of nitrification which involves nitrogen fixation. For example ammonia and decayed material in the soil affect our plants. Also denitrification is the release of the nitrogen into the atmosphere which our plants do. In conclusion, our plants are a big part to the atmosphere and environment around them.

Plant Update 3

Our bean plants are continuing to grow and develop. They recently had some flowers bloom which means new beans may come soon. Our plants absorb water from the soil and distributes it throughout the plant. The plant saves up this material to use to cool off later in the process of transpiration in which water vapor is released into the atmosphere. Our plant looks healthy as a result of the movement of water in the biosphere because it did not over heat as it used transpiration to cool itself off. Our plants take carbon from the air to preform photosynthesis. The plants are eaten by animals who consume the carbon to help their bodies. The plants also decompose to make deposition in the earth where fossil fuels or carbonate rocks are then formed. Our plant also looks healthy as a result of the carbon cycle because it is taking carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and is putting it through the process of photosynthesis giving it its vibrant green color. Our plants take up nitrogen from fertilizer, ammonia (NH3) from the earth, and nitrate ions (NO3-) and nitrite (NO2-) from the soil.

Plant Update #3

Our plant looks about the same as last week.  The only big change is that flowers have grown on our plant, and the flowers weren't there last time.

When our plants are watered every week, or when water evaporates from the air into the soil, the plant uptakes the water that is absorbed in the soil, and distributes it throughout the stem and the leaves.  Then, transpiration, which is when water vapor is released into the air, takes place. Therefore, the plant grew more.

The plant took carbon from the air to perform photosynthesis. The plants are eaten by animals, which consume the carbon to help their bodies.  They also decompose to make deposition in the earth, and then fossil fuel is formed.  Therefore, the plant can grow properly.

The plants, who are producers, uptake nitrogen from the fertilizer in the soil in order to help them grow.  Producers can use use nitrogen to make proteins.  Then, consumers eat the producers and reuse the nitrogen to make their own proteins. Therefore, nitrogen is essential to the growth of the plant.

Plant Update 2

Our beans are doing well. They have made steady growth even with the new competition growing up around them. The plants are gathering energy, through the process of photosynthesis, which is then partially passed on to the consumer when eaten. Our beans are producers and would be the base level of an ecological pyramid diagram. I would place them there because other organisms feed on them but they do not feed on other organisms.

Plant Update #2

After another 2 weeks of steady growth, we found that our plant had grown a little taller.  There was no significant changes, but it seemed to be adapting well to the environment.  I would say that our plant is a producer on the ecological pyramid, because it takes in energy from the sun, and also produces energy.

Plant Update 3

I've been looking at my plant and it's getting bigger and bigger every time I look at it. This time it has a flower growing out of it. It's a pretty little white flower.