BIOL 1020 Padlet by Cassandra Flores

Unit 1

florescassandrac — 2024-08-18 17:53:53 UTC

I currently tend a small garden bed at home as a hobby, but also to cut a few costs in groceries. A change in a plant's appearance can be early warning signs that a plant is not healthy. This lets me know that it is not receiving enough nutrients, enough water, or an outside source is affecting it. Outside sources can include pests, pesticides, and even other plants. Pests are easy to spot from the little nibbles throughout the plants. However, some of the ways to get rid of these unwelcome guests can also be detrimental to your garden too, aka pesticides. Lastly, new growers may not be aware that certain species do not grow well together and will in fact fight for resources in the soil.

Unit 2

florescassandrac — 2024-08-30 21:27:17 UTC

Plants are an important building block in the circle of life itself. Through photosynthesis our green friends take sunlight, carbon dioxide, and water to produce oxygen and sugars that are then used in cellular respiration. Gaseous and uninhabitable planets like Jupiter are examples of what would happen to our planet without plants. I feel it is important to know the basic plant processes so that we as humans might respect our environment more. Billions of trees are cut down each year for many types of production from housing to office supplies. Many of these logging companies plant new trees in place of the old ones. Trees are not only a valuable resource but produce the building blocks I mentioned before. Many cities have even put through initiatives to add more trees to back their barren concrete environments to improve their air quality.

Unit 3

florescassandrac — 2024-09-13 20:35:10 UTC

In the video provided NBC news lists many reasons for plant evolution and adaptions. Cacti for example have spikes to protect the limited water and resources that are hard to find in their barren environments. This could be important to survival if you found yourself lost in a desert with no supplies. Another example I think of are the many crops that adapt to their environments. Farmers are able to take advantage of this through plant breading. While this is not an easy task, farmers can eventually end up with plants more likely to withstand weather, grow larger, or even produce higher supply. Florists can use this same method to produce a certain color or trait in flowers to make their products more appealing. There really are countless more reasons this topic is so important to learn about.

Unit 4

florescassandrac — 2024-09-27 13:59:02 UTC

I remember learning in High School about the meticulous way they check items and baggage of those traveling to the Galapagos Islands. Biomes tend to have checks and balances for their native species and when introduced to new species it cannot manage it becomes an “invasive species” Places like the Galapagos have sensitive ecosystem balance with its large, beautiful biodiversity. Throughout history travelers have accidentally and knowingly brought catastrophic aftereffects with these invasive species. A commonly known example of this is the kudzu plant. This plant grows so fast that it limits the growth of the other species around it. Another example are the European Starling who have decimated crops and spread disease all over North America for over a century. It is so important to know about and be respectful of our world’s biomes to avoid these tragic destruction.

Unit 5

florescassandrac — 2024-10-09 20:59:42 UTC

Knowing about plant domestication is essential information to know due to its connection to humanity’s past, present, and future. It is important to remember that all domesticated plants were once wild ones that someone took the time to cultivate. Plants such as hemp became domesticated in India for its versatility for making oils, making ropes, making clothing, and making other products produced today. Others such as rice, bananas, and tomatoes became domesticated as food sources. Over time we have been able to change these plants on a genetic level with numerable benefits. Genetic engineering can have its benefits such as larger crops, larger seeds, fast growth, and even changing seed dispersal. However, targeting desirable traits sometimes leaves us blind to the good traits left out of the transition. Domestication can remove the diversity in a plant’s genes which can affect their ability to fight pests and disease. In other cases, it can affect their taste and freshness. It is hard to say if the benefits outweigh the cost in a society where food demand is high.

Unit 6

florescassandrac — 2024-10-21 20:35:18 UTC

In this brief video from the History Channel, you can see how the lives of human beings began to change with the discovery of farming. Like animals’ human beings used to be hunters and gatherers solely reliant on moving food sources. This all changed with the domestication of plants. Food became easily available, allowing early civilizations to bloom through growing populations that developed into villages, then cities, and eventually countries. With a more secure food source citizens of early civilizations had the opportunity to diversify their occupations. It is important to learn about plant domestication because these advancements shaped humanity into what it is today. Humanity was able to become domesticated because of plants. However, food is not the only thing we use plants for. Plants are used in the production of building materials, medicine, and cleaning products. Mankind would surely be living like animals without the advancement of plant life.

Unit 7

florescassandrac — 2024-11-05 20:03:37 UTC

Plants nourish our bodies through the nutrients they provide directly, but also through medicinal healing. In the chapter ‘healing the planet’ in the attached E-text you can find several examples of the plants used for healing. Extraordinary plants such as aloe can offer healing to a sunburn or small abrasions. However, it does not stop at the simple medicines. Pharmaceuticals everywhere, even those used in chemotherapy, contain components that were once plant matter. I think it is important to know the history and biology behind the medicines so individuals can better know what they are consuming. Not only that, but these plants directly connect us to many past generations. It is fascinating to imagine someone thousands of years ago using things like ginger to fight an upset stomach, or aloe to heal a burn. Additionally, scientists, doctors, and entrepreneurs continue to find new applications for these plant-based products.

Unit 8

florescassandrac — 2024-11-16 15:13:09 UTC

The topic of Global warming remains a widely argued topic. Some say that extra greenhouse gases are nothing to be worried about and others say the long-term effects could be devastating. Global Warming refers to the rising levels of CO₂and other greenhouse gasesin our atmosphere. The average global temperature has started to rise and is predicted to continue upward throughout the next few decades. The E-text I read to support my findings suggested that Artic and Alpine areas are the most evident when it comes to environmental changes due to global warming. My aunt has lived on Lake Tahoe for the past two decades and I often go to visit her. She often feels like the winters there have gotten shorter with fewer inches of snow each year. Erratic weather puts California into unbelievably hot droughts seasons, and they rely on every bit of precipitation to fight off frequent forest fires. Changing rainfall patterns cause these droughts, but also concentrate precipitations in areas that are not used to it. Globally plants are stressed out by these weather conditions and elevated temperatures. Overall, when it comes to agriculture Global Warming can affect the growing seasons, the pest management, the soil nutrition, and the crop yields for farmers.