Biology Collection

Archaebacteria: Single celled Microorganisms that are somehwat similiar to bacteria in terms of size and the simplicity of its structure but completely different when it comes to molecular organization.



an archaebacteria, through a microscope.


Autotroph: An organism that is able to create nutritional organic substances from simple inorganic substances such as CO2

The autotroph creates organic substances from carbon dioxide which the heterotrophs consume

Heterotroph: an organism that relies on complex organic substances and lets out inorganic substances such as CO2 for growth


the elephant is a heterotoph as it relies on plants to gain organic subtances

Niche: is a status or a job or a role a specie occupies in a community or population


the lion's role in the African savannah is a predator. The African lion is an appex predator.


Commensalism: An association between two organisms in which one benefits and the other is neither benefited nor harmed.


the bird eats on top of a cow, and the cow is neither benefitted nor harmed

Analagous Structures: body parts that do the same function of various animals but has a different structure overall. The Butterfly and the bat is an example of this.




the bird wing and the bat wing serves a similiar function; to fly, however they do not have the same structure, hence they are analogous

Homologous Structures: body parts on different species that are similar and most likely evolved from a common ancestor. The structures are used for different purposes as well.


The human, cat, whale and bat all have similiar structures but serve differemt purposes.

Batesian mimicry: Mimicry in which an edible animal is protected by its resemblance to a noxious one that is avoided by predators

venomous coral snakes have red, yellow, and black bands, while the non-venomous scarlet king snake has the same colors in a different order. Animals afraid of venomous snakes would do well to avoid 4 foot long snakes with red, yellow and black stripes, in the process avoiding the scarlet king snake (alternatively, one could remember the rule "Red on yellow, kill a fellow; red on black, friend of Jack").

Exoskeleton: exterior protective hard covering of an animal that encloses the muscle and organs of an organism.


invertebrates especially anthrophods have exoskeleton covering.
The two layers of the cuticle have different properties. The outer, sclerosed layer is very strong under compressive forces, but much weaker under tension.When it fails, it does so by cracking.The inner layer is not sclerosed, and is thus much softer; it is able to resist tensile forces but is liable to failure under compression.

Mutalism: relation between two animals that benefit each other



 the anemone receives protection from polyp-eating fish, like Butterfly Fish, which the Clown Fish chases away. The anemone also gets fertilizer from the feces of the Clown Fish

Keystone Species: important specie  that many others depend on, a vital member in a population or community.


 Otters eat sea urchins and urchins eat kelp Withou he sea otter there would be no balance, hence they are a keystone specie

Hydrophillic: an element or substance that has a tendency to mix with, dissolve or wetted in water.


Asexual Reproduction: is a typeof reprocution with the fusion of gametes


    Aemoeba uses binary fission to reproduce

Introduced Species: a specie not native to an area which was brought intentionally or unintentionally by humans.
 
 an introduced specie of the British Isles, the gray squirrel

Population: A group of organisms that are of the same specie inhabiting a given area


The African Lion inhabiting the savannah in Kenya have been decreasing over time

Parasitism: type of relation where one animal is harmed and the other is benefited

 
Tapeworms live in the digestive tract of vertebrates as adults, and often in the bodies of various animals as juveniles.

Gametophyte:  The gamete-producing and usually haploid phase, producing the zygote from which the sporophyte arises




a gametophyte of the fern

Long-Day Plant: a plant that needs a long period of time than regular in the sunlight to induce flowering

Didiscus caeruleus needs a lot of time in the sunglight to grow during the winter

Xylem: A vascular tissue in land plants primarily responsible for the distribution of water and minerals taken up by the roots; also the primary component of wood

 

the characteristics of the Xylem vessel

  Parenchyma Cells: a type of cell plant cell that is responsible for most metabolic activities

  the microscopic image of a parenchyma cell

Meristem: A region of plant tissue, found chiefly at the growing tips of roots and shoots and in the cambium, consisting of actively dividing cells forming new tissue

 

the meristem on top of the growing root

Littoral Zone Organism: an organism that lives near the shore of a sea, lake or river.

the image shows organisms living in the literal zone

Frond: The leaflike part of palm, fern or other similiar plants




the image shows a sterile and fertile frond, the fertile frond carries a sorus

Pollinator: an insect that carries pollen from one flower to another.

 
the honey bee is the classic example of a pollinator. The bee carries pollen to another which results in pollination 

---