#1 - Amniotic Egg
This egg is an example of an amniotic egg. The amniotic egg's most obvious feature is its shell, which gives protection and also allows eggs to be laid in much drier climates than previously required. It was a key development in allowing animals to move onto land and shed some dependence on water.
This flower shows very clearly the anther and filament of the male reproductive organ in most flowers, the stamen. The filament is the stalk that supports the anther and the anther produces pollen, which is then transported by various means, such as pollinators or wind, to the female reproductive elements of the flower.
C3 plants are the most abundant of the three types on earth, they thrive in temperate areas where there is plenty of water. They do not have the ability to close their stomata which would allow them to prevent water loss, thus they lose much of the water they take in and require more water as a consequence.
C4 plants differ from C3 plants in that they have a system that is better at removing carbon dioxide and wastes less oxygen. The result is a plant that uses water more efficiently and can survive in drier conditions such as drought, as well as the ability to endure higher temperatures.
CAM plants such as this cactus have the unique ability to actually close their stomata during the day, this allows them to prevent evaporation of valuable and scarce water during the day. They use a similar carbon fixation process as C4 plants giving it similar advantages.
This clam is a great example of connective tissue, the tissue that holds clam closed and allows it to open is actually connective tissue. Connective tissue is the tissue that connects everything in the body. It holds the bones together, connects the skin to the muscles, and also protects many vital organs.
An ectotherm, such as this snake, is an organism that does not produce a significant amount of heat internally and relies on its surrounding environment to regulate its body temperatures. Ectotherms are mostly reptiles, amphibians, and insects.
This dog is an example of an endotherm. Endotherms do not rely on the environment to regulate their body temperature. Instead, they produce heat internally through a number of processes. Endotherms also have specialized features to conserve the heat they produce, such as fur or hair to insulate from cold and trap in heat.
Epithelial tissue is the tissue that covers and protects animals and plants. In humans it is a major part of the immune system as it acts as a wall to any infection by bacteria or virus. It also helps to regulate what molecules go into and out of the body.
These lobsters are one of the many species of animals and insects that, instead of having bones, have an exoskeleton. Exoskeletons are used for both support and protection, in other words, they keep the animal from being a gelatinous blob and can also protect it from predators, to an extent.
These pickled vegetables are perfect examples of fermentation, the process in which sugars are broken down into alcohol or acids.Fermentation also has many other uses, most commonly in the production of alcoholic drinks such as wine and beer, but also in the making of bread, cheese, and yogurt.
This is a picture of a flower's ovary with the petals and other parts removed. The ovary is where the pollen will end up and fertilize the flower. A flower's ovary will often become a fruit as a method of seed dispersal in which animals eat the fallen fruit, or ovary, and then excrete it at a later time hopefully in a different area, so the flower can spread.
Frond refers to the leaves of a fern, and possibly to the leaves of cycads and palms. It almost exclusively covers leaves that are divided into many smaller sections along the center. An interesting feature of fern fronds is where the sporangia appear, which is usually in clusters on the abaxial side of the frond.
This is a picture of two female pine cones found dropped from a few pine trees. The female cone receives the pollen from the male cones. Once the ovules under each flap are fertilized they will become seeds and then disperse and hopefully will end up as more trees.
This small pile of pine needles is a collection of dead gymnosperm leaves. These leaves often cover most of the younger branches of pine tress and can last for many years in some species. The needles stay green in the winter which is the reason pines are often referred to as "evergreen" trees.
This example of a hydrophobic substance, in this case olive oil, demonstrates a very distinctive separation between the oil and the water. The reason this happens is because the oil molecules structure can not bind with the water molecule, thus preventing the oil from dissolving and creating a homogeneous mixture, and instead creating a heterogeneous mixture in which the oil sits on top of the water because it is lighter.
Purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) is a flowering plant native to Europe,Asia, and parts of Africa and Australia. The plant is also an invasive species in North America and New Zealand. Common in the northeast United States, it spreads alarmingly fast and is hard to get rid of. It crowds out many important plant species when it enters an area, mainly cattails, and can severly disrupt an ecosystem.
Many keystone species reside in this wetland area around the great bay. A keystone species is a species that many other parts of an ecosystem depend on, directly or indirectly. If for example, one of these species were to fail, another species would lose its food source and that population would dwindle, then that species predator would also have less food and the same would happen to them, and so on and so forth until the effects reach the apex predator of the ecosystem.
Lichens are a composite organism consisting of a fungus and some sort of photosynthetic organism. The fungus usually coats the photosynthetic plant, sometimes even penetrating the cells. Lichens can survive with very little water and thus can grow on many surfaces, commonly rocks and trees, where there is less competition.
Long-day plants such as the clover pictured here, are plants that flower once the days have grown long enough for it to support a flower. This is usually done by a chemical reaction involving various proteins. This process helps plants to flower at the ideal time for reproduction.
This picture of the root system of an uprooted swiss chard plant is a perfect example of the meristem of a plant. The meristem is the place where actual root growth takes place, and is what pushes through the dirt searching for water and nutrients for the plant to keep growing.
The mycelium shown here is that of a stinkhorn, a foul smelling mushroom found in many parts of the world. Mycelium is very similar to a root system of plants in some ways, as it collects nutrients from the area to support the fungi, it is the vegetative part of the fungus.
Phloem is the carrier of nutrients in plants, the phloem is actually part of the bark and is composed of living cells. It carries mainly sucrose, a sugar vital to the plant, as well as an assortment of other nutrients that plants require.
This picture of a bee on a wildflower is an example of a pollinator. Pollinators are what many plants rely on to transport their pollen from the stamen to the style. Pollinators are lured in often by nectar or scent, and when the land on the plant they pick up some of the pollen then, when they land on another plant some of that pollen rubs off and fertilizes the plant.
A rhizome is the stem or stalk of a plant that, instead of being above ground, is actually underground. This allows for multiple plants to grow from one root system and makes plants like this very difficult to remove, due to the possibility of extensive root systems.
These dandelions are the perfect example of seed dispersal by wind. When the wind blows hard enough these seeds will be blow off of the plant and disperse so that more dandelions can grow elsewhere. They are helped along by a light feathery puff that is attached to the seed so that the seed can catch the wind and travel farther.
This ant is an example of a segmented insect. The ant's organs are divided between two to three different segments that each houses a different set of organs. It's legs are also considered segmented.
This stinkhorn structure that appears just before the mushroom contains spores that will then be released by the mushroom to spread the fungi even farther. Spores are an important part of plant reproduction and function as a type of seed.
The stigma and style, or carpel, is part of the female reproductive system of flowers. The stigma receives pollen produced by the anther, the pollen the travels down the style and into the ovary where it will fertilize an ovule and eventually produce a seed.
Xylem are the main composition of wood and are what transports water throughout the plant. Xylem are composed of dead cells mainly. Xylem also form the rings that are visible in many trees with the darker, smaller, and more compact xylem forming early in the growing season when water is plentiful, and the larger and lighter xylem forming later in the season when less water is available.
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