The characteristics of life are one thing all life has in common and so many living things overlap others with their needs. We all rely on our environment to provide for us but that has to come at a cost to others and humans definitely take more than their fair share. What I mean from this is that because all living things need energy and materials most get their energy from plants who get it from the sun, but the plant dies when it gives it's energy to an animal. As for materials we need we cut down plants to get materials for our homes and clothes, we impact the ecosystem chain daily. By definition population is made up of animals of the same species that live in the same area and can reproduce with one another, as that area or environment changes so much the species to survive. This is done one of two ways, evolution and natural selection. Evolution relies on mutations and natural selection to make a big difference in the species. This process is based on the random recombination and mutations in individuals and their characteristics, this is passed down and makes all future generations carry similar and helpful traits. With natural selection this happens when a species has an abundance of off spring and this has a couple of different results. Some die an early death because there is not enough food for all of them, predators pick off the weaker ones, they can't acclimate to the climate etc. but with more offspring there are more little differences are made in the gene pool. Those that do survive will pass on the surviving traits to their offspring and this will change the species over time but give them a fighting chance. It's hard to think of two things I do that affect organisms as a single entity, I drive my car like everyone else but that hurts more the population than the organism. Thinking really hard I would say that by squishing ants I hurt the organism; not just physically by killing it but also the whole colony is now one man down. Luckily ants are prepared for this kind of thing and they have an abundance of offspring and colony members to pick up the slack. The second would be that I do not intend on having children, the thought has never been appealing. As we have learned, reproduction is one of the characteristics of life so by my action I am choosing not to put my DNA with all the good characteristics it has into the gene pool that could be passed on to others. This also has an affect on the evolution of life because all my good and bad genes will be kept with me and not passed along. Below are the photos from this weeks trip: The photos with the triceratops skulls shows evolution within a species, the top most skulls are the common ancestor that the rest of them shared and as you went down the things that changed were characteristics like how long horns were or how big their frills were. This made life and mating from them most optimal in the area they were in.
The second photos with the fox squirrels show how squirrels and other neighborhood animals are reacting to human expansion. Scientist are tracking the fox squirrels to see how their behavior has changed and where they now choose to make their homes and where they find food. Then scientist will be able to tell us how the human impact affects the animals we share this space with. This being the first week the hardest thing for me was knowing what to expect, "is it vital that I take notes?" yes! "how important it is that everything gets finished before the class?" no, (or maybe it's just the first week) but it does make it so you know what's going on so you can add to class discussion so highly recommended. I think next week I will be able to have a better conversation with my classmates as I am learning what the best method of engagement is.
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