Olivia King

AP Biology Summer Assignment

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Xylem is a vascular tissue found within plants that aids in transporting water and nutrients from their roots to all throughout their bodies. Along with transportation, Xylem also provides structure to the plants. It can be easily seen, along with phloem, in the veins of leaves.

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Unicellular Organisms are single celled biotic creatures that undergo all of their functions through their one cell. Things such as eating, moving and removing waste are all performed by one cell. Unicellular organisms are very small, and can only be seen through a microscope, unlike multicellular organisms. Pictured, is a part of a decaying log. In this picture, there are most likely thousands of unicellular organisms breaking down the log and using the decay as nutrients for their survival.

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Trophic level is used to describe all of the organisms in an environment which are on the same level of a food chain (i.e. primary consumer, secondary consumer, etc.). Trophic levels are useful in biology because they help us determine organism niches and food webs. In an urban food web, grass and other green plants are often found in the primary producer trophic level because they are autotrophs and provide energy to consumers.

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Transpiration is a process in which plants absorb water through their roots and release water vapor through their leaves, flowers and stems. Plants use the water to undergo photosynthesis, but there is often an excess of water that is not needed. This is transpired from the plant, and usually accounts for 95-97% of the water it absorbs.

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Speciation occurs when two new, different species form from one previous species. This process occurs over time, and can be the result of genetic mutation or physical separation. An example of speciation can be seen with the Thin-lipped cichlid and thick-lipped cichlid fish. Once a single species, the two are now seperated due to a genetic mutation. Having thick or thin lips has not necessarily affected their function in their ecosystem, so both fish exist together in the environment, not one dominating over another.

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R-Strategist is a characteristic of organisms that tend to have more offspring very frequently. R-Strategist species typically have shorter lifespans and are smaller in size. Their gestation periods are also shorter, and time for maturity is shorter than in K-selected species. Ants are a common R-selected species because they only live for about 90 days and the queen ant can reproduce asexually, up to thousands of ants in an entire lifetime.

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A protein is a molecule composed of amino acids and polymers; Usually containing Nitrogen, Hydrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen, proteins are connected with peptide bonds. Shape and size of different proteins can vary vastly, but depend on their specific DNA. Human skin and muscles are composed of proteins, and they also play a role in bodily processes such as digestion and respiration.

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Photosynthesis is a process utilized by autotrophs in order to create energy. Using water, sunlight, and carbon dioxide, plants are able to undergo photosynthesis to create energy and the release of oxygen. This process takes place in the chloroplasts of plant cells, and the chlorophyll in the chloroplasts traps CO2, making photosynthesis possible. Pictured, is a plant collecting sunlight for photosynthesis.

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Phloem is a vascular tissue in plants that is responsible for transporting organic nutrients from the leaves to other parts of the plant. Phloem, located next to xylem, dissolves the nutrients in water, making it easier to transport throughout the plant. It can often be seen in the veins of leaves, which are the transportation roads for nutrients.

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pH is a measure of how many Hydrogen ions are contained in a substance, or how acidic or basic it is. The pH scale is a range from zero to fourteen, with more basic substances having a higher pH, and acidic substances having a lower pH. Water is neutral, and should measure a pH of around seven. After testing the water at my work with litmus paper, I found that the water has a pH between 6 and 7 because it did not change color.

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A niche is the role or purpose an organism plays in its environment. Niches are important for both food webs and interrelationships with other biotic and abiotic things in an environment. Fruits, such as blackberries, play an important role in their environments. Not only do they provide food for animals around them, they also hold soil together with their plant roots, preventing erosion.

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Natural Selection is a process by which organisms more adept to live in their environments live longer and have more offspring, furthering their ancestral line. This process occurs over long periods of time, and can be affected by genetic mutation and natural disaster. A common example of natural selection can be found in the giraffe species. It is believed that giraffes did not always have long necks. In order to reach food in high treetops, giraffes with longer necks were able to eat more, allowing them to live longer and have greater amounts of offspring. The long neck gene was passed down to further generations, and now almost all giraffes have necks up to 1.8 meters.

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Mutualism describes the relationship between two organisms in which both organisms benefit from the interaction. Mutualism can be seen in many different forms, and in many cases, the organisms rely on each other for nutrients, protection, or other lifely functions. A common mutualistic relationship is between flowers and bees. Flowers provide bees with sweet nectar, giving them nutrients and energy. And bees, traveling from flower to flower, spread pollen and fertilize the plants.

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Lipids are complex molecules bonded by fatty acids and other compounds. They are not soluble in water, meaning they are hydrophobic, and vastly vary in structure. Lipids play a vital role in energy storage; when animals eat an excess of food and have more energy than immediately needed, it can be stored in fat molecules for later use. This is very useful for animals on the go, and needing energy when food is not always available. Humans contain lipids to store excess energy.

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K-strategist refers to a type of species that maintains a population around its carrying capacity. K-strategists, or K-selected species, tend to have less offspring because of their longer gestation periods. These species also tend to have longer lifespans because of their slower maturation. Humans are K-Strategists because they have an average of 3.14 children in their lifetimes.

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A keystone species is one in which has a large impact on its ecosystem’s food web. Keystone species typically hold ecosystem distributions together, and without them, there would be no food web. A common example of a keystone species is the muskrat. Muskrats typically eat small fish and aquatic animals, but are also hunted by owls. Without the muskrat species, there would be an overpopulation of small fish and a lack of food for owls.

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An invasive species is a group of organisms, non-native to an environment, that are brought into a new space and harm the surrounding ecosystem. Invasive species are mainly brought in by external influences, such as humans, but can also be a result of mass migration. A prominent example of an invasive species in the United States is Kudzu. Kudzu, a climbing perennial vine, first came to the United States from Japan in 1876, and has completely taken over forests and urban areas since. The plants are aggressive, and exploit all surrounding resources, cutting off access for other plants.